Research projects in the biomechanics area include the development of crash test dummies, and injury criteria for the human head, neck and thorax. Efforts in modeling the human thorax, head, and neck are directed at injury prediction, and hence crashworthiness evaluation of the automobile. Tire testing and vehicle parameter measurement techniques have been the focus of experimental research in vehicle dynamics. Modeling efforts have focused on suspension systems and multi-degree of freedom vehicle models. Research in automotive failure diagnostics has involved the development and use of model based techniques to monitor the performance of various vehicle subsystems, including active suspension, four-wheel steering, powertrain and exhaust emission controls.
Emphasis is placed on developing algorithms which are suited for on-board implementation.
Among the techniques which are being studied are failure detection filters, and linear and nonlinear observers, as well as frequency domain methods.