Development of Vehicle Occupant Head Movement Envelope 2015-26-0151

for Indian Population Published 01/14/2015

Ganesh Dharmar, Hareesh Krishnan, Riyaz Mohammed, and Ravichandrika Bhamidipati

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd

CITATION: Dharmar, G., Krishnan, H., Mohammed, R., and Bhamidipati, R., "Development of Vehicle Occupant Head Movement
Envelope for Indian Population," SAE Technical Paper 2015-26-0151, 2015, doi:10.4271/2015-26-0151.

Copyright © 2015 SAE International and Copyright © SAEINDIA

Abstract given in SAE J1100. The head contours for Class A vehicles are
based on a USA population having an equal number of males and
Recent trends in vehicle occupant protection have led to renewed
females [2].
interest in the perception of Roominess such as headroom, shoulder
room and foot room etc. Occupants head room in vehicles is currently
As per study published in The National Medical Journal of India in
measured using tools, procedures and definitions described in SAE
2011, “There is an increase in final height at the 3rd, 50th and 97th
J1052 and J1100. “Head Position Contours” defined in SAE J1052
percentiles, in girls and boys, over a 20-year period, ranged from 0
are useful in establishing accommodation requirements for head
cm to 4.5 cm” [3]. This necessitates the understanding of Indian
space [1]. With respect to the Indian Anthropometry database, the
anthropometry growth rate for future vehicle developments.
head position contour as per SAE J1052 will not be appropriate with
Indian population. With this objective in mind a head movement
USA population and Indian population differs in terms of
envelope is generated using the software - RAMSIS Digital manikin.
anthropometric dimensions and body proportions. Securing headroom
RAMSIS is widely used by Automobile Manufacturers for Digital
specific to Indian Population based on SAE J1052 head contour may
Human Modeling. The head movement envelope is a collation of
not give the freedom to meet Indian specific style, size and packaging
different movements of head during driving condition. Possible head
requirement for the target population.
movements for a seated occupant in a vehicle when the vehicle is in
driving condition are, (a) left/ right rotation, (b) Turn left/ right: look
It is vital to find a way to set appropriate occupant space target such
across a cross way, (c) Side swings: Sharp turns, side shakes and (d)
as head clearance for an Indian population. RAMSIS is widely used
Up/Down vibrations: Small bumps. This will help in defining the
by Automobile manufacturers to represent the occupant as Digital
head movement area to be protected around the occupant head mainly
Human Models (DHM). Using RAMSIS software DHM can be sized
for passenger cars.
to any particular population and occupant percentile values. This
article will explain further how the DHM for specific populations can
Introduction help us to set the appropriate occupant space targets.
Protecting occupant space requirements such as headroom, shoulder
room, hip room and knee room etc., during the concept stage of the Indian Anthropometry Database
vehicle development program is imperative. Vehicle level targets
Anthropometry of Indian Population is largely unknown. In the past,
including Occupant Space targets are being captured and protected in
a few institutions have done projects to bring out a picture of the
the CAD layout called ‘Architecture Layout’ which helps to track
Indian Anthropometry. The National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad
occupant space targets throughout the vehicle development program.
developed two data sets ‘Indian Anthropometric data for designers’ in
1989 and ‘A study on Indian Body dimensions for home interiors and
SAE J1052 Standard describes head position contours and procedures
furniture’ in 1994 and compiled the two in a book in 1997 titled
for locating the contours in a vehicle. Head position contours are
‘Indian Anthropometric Dimensions-for ergonomic design practice’.
useful in establishing accommodation requirements for head space
This book contains data of 290 body measurements (both static and
and are required for several measures defined in SAE J1100. Separate
dynamic) collected over the years for about 900 subjects [4]. The
contours are defined depending on occupant seat location and the
same database is available for creation of 3D Digital Manikin
desired percentage (95 and 99) of occupant accommodation. Only the
creation in RAMSIS software.
95th percentile head position contours are required for dimensions
SIZE INDIA Survey conducted by ARAI and supported by
Government of India to gather anthropometric data of Indian Driving
population in 2010. SIZE INDIA includes 3D whole body scan data
and digital images of hand and feet of more than 5000 samples. The
subjects sampled were between 18 and 65 years of age and belong to
the driving population of the country.
RAMSIS Digital Human Model
Figure 1. RAMSIS Digital Human Model
RAMSIS DHM as shown in Figure 1 is a representation of actual
human body with physiological joint representation of 53 joints with
104 degrees of freedom. It normally available with Wire frame
display mode, shaded display mode (Standard Skin) and triangulated
display mode and high quality presentation display mode for ease of
use in CAD environment. A RAMSIS model (DHM) is defined by the
model structure (gender, hand, foot model), the population segment
(gender, nation, reference year and age group, and the key dimensions
body height, waist circumference and sitting height / torso [5].
Indian DHMs for this study is created based on the following inputs
shown in Table 1 from SIZE India Data 2010.
Table 1. Sample Statistics for all India Male
Head Movement Space Envelope
A head position for a specific percentile occupant is created in
RAMSIS with the different head movements given to it. The head
movement envelope which is a collation of normal head range of
motion and clearances for road induced head positions defines the
required space for occupant head.
Possible head movements for a seated occupant in a vehicle when the
vehicle is in driving condition are,
1. Left / right rotation: Turn left / right look across a cross way
2. Side swings: Sharp turns, side shakes
3. Up / Down vibrations: Small bumps
4. Front / Back oscillations: Start-Stop, Accessing Controls
The area to be protected is defined using by the natural range of the
human head rotation, lateral bend or flexion or extension neck
keeping minimal stress on the joints and muscles as given by Scott
Openshaw & Erin Taylor, Allsteel Inc. [6]. Based on the design and
market requirements of the vehicle the road induced head movements
are protected as clearances above the head movement envelope when
they encounter different types of roads like, Highway, City Road and
Rural roads.
Figure 2 shows the head surface of the DHM which is tilted by 12°
on left and right sides. This is similar to lateral neck bend when the
vehicle takes a sharp turn.
Figure 2. Head Side Swing: Left and Right
Figure 3 shows the head surface of the DHM which is rotated by 40°
on left and right sides. This is similar to head rotation on left and
right side for looking across the cross way, looking through the
windows or while looking at the side passenger etc.
Figure 3. Head Rotation: Left and Right
Figure 4 shows the head surface which is rotated front and back. For
protecting area at the front, the head surface is rotated front by 22°
which is natural neck flexion range. And for protecting the area at the
head surface is rotated back by 15° which is the natural extension
range. This is to protect the area around the head during start/ stop
and sudden acceleration or deceleration.
Figure 4. Head Oscillation: Front and Rear
Figure 5 shows the head surface of the DHM which is moved up by
20mm considering small bumps.

Figure 8. SAE Head Contour and DHM based head movement envelope in
Architecture Layout

Figure 5. Up/Down Vibrations Head Contour Comparison

Figure 9 & 10 shows the DHM based Head movement envelopes
All these movements except for the head rotation are involuntary
(Dotted line) generated for the specific populations such as Indian
motions. Usually a combination of movements are experienced.
95th and 50th which are mapped against the SAE J1052 based 95th
These are experienced by the passenger when they are seated in seat
Head contour (Solid line).
belted condition. Hence for protecting the head, all the head
envelopes that are obtained by incorporating the general driving
motions are combined together as shown in Figure 6.

Figure 6. Head Movement Envelope Generation Steps

These on a whole give us the area to be protected for a seated Figure 9. SAE 95th Percentile Head Contour (Solid Line) and Indian 95th
passenger when the vehicle is in motion. A smooth envelope is DHM based head movement envelope (Dotted Line)
created around the join of all the head movements above the eyelevel.
Once the head movement envelope is generated then it is to be fitted
to the respecting DHM head as shown in Figure 7.

Figure 7. Head Movement Envelope Fitted with DHM

Assessment of Occupant Space
Optimizing interiors for the occupant space requirements such as
head clearances will be easy with the help of the head movement
envelope fitted with DHM. DHM with head movement envelope can
be placed in architecture layout with respect to the occupant
designated seating positions of occupants for any available rows of
the vehicle as shown in Figure 8.
Considering the market and target population requirements, the
required head clearance can be added above the head movement
space envelope.
Figure 10. SAE 95th Percentile Head Contour (Solid Line) and Indian 50th
DHM based head movement envelope (Dotted Line)
Indian DHM based Head envelopes are made without considering
occupants hair unlike SAE J1052 based head contour. SAE J1052
based head contour is the resultant of mixed male and female
population whereas Indian DHM based head contour can be made
any specific target population.
It is observed that Indian 95th percentile occupant head movement
envelope are closer to SAE 95th Percentile head contour. The 50th
percentile Indian occupant head movement envelope is relatively
shorter compared to SAE 95th Percentile head contour. Hence
headroom can be optimized for the specified target population based
on the market requirements.
Summary 5. RAMSIS User Guide Version-3.8, by Human Solutions GmbH,
June 2014.
Indian Anthropometric data from SIZE India (2010) is used for
creating specific target population DHMs in RAMSIS. Head 6. Openshaw Scott, and Taylor Erin, “Ergonomics and Design
movement Space Envelopes can be sized to any specific percentile Reference Guide”, Allsteel Inc., 2006.
occupants and fit to the respective DHM. It helps to protect occupant 7. Henry Dreyfuss Associates and Tilley, Alvin R. The Measure
space in vehicle architecture. There by giving a flexibility to design of Man and Woman, Revised Edition. New York: John Wiley &
compact vehicles and accommodate latest style trends in India. Sons, Inc., 2002.

Contact Information
References
Ganesh Dharmar
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