LODC ATD

Large Omnidirectional Child anthropomorphic test device

The Large Omnidirectional Child (LODC) anthropomorphic test device (ATD) is the first ever child ATD designed and built fully in-house by NHTSA. It has features such as a flexible thoracic spine, human-like thorax, instrumented biofidelic abdomen, and anthropometrically accurate pelvis to provide a more realistic representation of a child occupant than the regulated Hybrid III ten-year-old child ATD. Because of this improved biofidelity, the risk of injuries that are typical for improperly restrained children can be more comprehensively assessed by the sensors contained within the LODC. 

NHTSA is evaluating the LODC against recent pediatric biomechanical data as well as existing ATDs in a wide array of test conditions. The omnidirectional design features of the LODC make it an ideal candidate for vehicle safety evaluation in frontal and non-frontal crash modes, including child occupant protection in automated driving system (ADS) equipped vehicles. NHTSA fully controls the LODC’s development through in-house prototype design & fabrication activities, which will eventually allow for public release of open-source/non-proprietary, detailed information necessary to both specify and manufacture the ATD.