Seal Beach, CA. When the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) contracted Diversified Technical Systems (DTS) in 2017 to integrate THOR-50M with the SLICE6 in-dummy DAS, it was SLICE6’s military experience that caught the attention of the automotive industry, the company reports. Developed by DTS for the U.S. Army’s WIAMan (Warrior Injury Assessment Manikin), the first vertical-load anthropomorphic test device (ATD), SLICE6 is making its mark in automotive testing for two key reasons: first, its proven track record in extensive laboratory drop tests and live-fire testing, and second, SLICE6’s ultracompact design and integration that significantly reduces in-dummy cabling and connectors. DTS will exhibit SLICE6 at the Automotive Testing Expo October 23-25, 2018, in Novi, MI.
DTS reports that with today’s higher channel count tests, ATD manufacturers are also embracing embedded solutions. The new Euro NCAP iTHOR Model 477, scheduled to be available in the fall, is being manufactured to universally accept several in-dummy DAS solutions, including SLICE NANO and SLICE6 from DTS. In addition, SLICE6 is designed to work with both the NHTSA and Euro NCAP lumbar adjustment design.
A range of SLICE6 integration kits are available to support 118, 135, 139, 151, and 156 channels as well as the 96-channel Euro NCAP and the 100-channel NHTSA configurations. Integration can be done by the ATD manufacturer, in-house at DTS, or by the customer.
“We are definitely seeing SLICE6 shift from its origins in blast testing to becoming a standard in automotive safety testing,” said Steve Pruitt, DTS president and cofounder.