Project Areas
Occupant Safety |
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BOSCOS (BOne SCanning for Occupant Safety)The objective of the BOSCOS project was the development of a system that can make an assessment of the bone characteristics of each vehicle occupant in order to estimate their skeletal strengths. The seatbelt and airbag characteristics can then be adjusted to deliver optimum levels of protection specifically for each occupant. A system introduced into every vehicle has the capacity to save lives and reduce injury levels across the whole spectrum of vehicle occupants. Ultrasound was selected as the preferred measurement technology, since it does not use ionising radiation (e.g. X-rays), is routinely used to assess foetal development in pregnant women and is safe. In the BOSCOS project the speed of sound (SOS) of the signal through bone was measured. A prototype ‘calliper’ that can take a reading from the finger of a vehicle occupant was developed to provide a reading of bone quality. The total equipment was lightweight and compact. Correlation processes were developed to enable the readings to be used to assess skeletal condition and provide the information to prime the occupant restraint system firing algorithm prior to occurrence of an impact event. The project concluded that if BOSCOS type scanning systems were implemented in cars, during lower speed crashes there would be a 20% reduction in chest injury costs. In the future, with the ageing UK population, it will become even more important that restraint systems can discriminate between occupants’ physical capabilities and deliver optimum levels of protection specifically for each occupant. The BOSCOS project was funded by the Department for Transport under the Foresight Vehicle Link scheme. The Consortium comprised the following organisations:
A copy of the final project report is
available (pdf,
1Mb). |
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| Contact: Roger Hardy |
