Instrumented Anthropomorphic Prototype for Non-Lethal Weapons Effects

DOD personnel are increasingly involved in situation in which they must control riots and civil disturbances and must capture, rather than kill, individuals to obtain intelligence and to convince civil communities of US friendly intent. Non-lethal weapons (NLW) might assist DOD to maintain force protection for its soldiers and marines which might. Both human and animal testing are inadequate to insure that NLW meet military requirements. dNovus, teamed with M5 Industries proposes to develop the PHYSIOSIM anthropomorphic test system for NLW testing building on their combined expertise and experience in biopsychology, systems engineering and rapid prototyping of anthropometric models for experimentation and the entertainment industry. The PHYSIOSIM system includes a molded anthropomorphic dummy as well as a computer system for data collection and modeling. In Phase I of this development we propose to analyze and characterize NLW physical outputs, sensory and physiological effects of these outputs on human sensory and physiology, develop system requirements, conduct technology surveys for materials and sensors, develop computer instrumentation and modeling requirements and design a prototype to be built in Phase II. We believe that the PHYSIOSIM system will meet DOD needs but also provide the basis for advanced anthropomorphic systems for commercial use.