Preliminary Facial Impact Model Evaluation for Micromobility Injury Assessment

Paper in proceeding, 2026

Micromobility riders frequently sustain facial injuries, highlighting the need for biofidelic human body models capable of accurately predicting facial injury risk. This study evaluated the biofidelity of the face and head components of the VIVA+ 50th-percentile female (50F) and male (50M) human body models under a facial impact condition targeting the nose. The face submodels were updated with facial-region-specific cortical and trabecular bone properties, cortical thicknesses, and nasal cartilage representation. The models were subjected to impact conditions derived from Nyquist et al. (1986), using 32 kg and 64 kg rigid impactors, and simulated force–displacement responses were compared with experimental data. For the 32 kg impactor, both models exhibited greater stiffness than the experimental responses, whereas the 64 kg impactor simulations showed good agreement with the experimental data. Overall, the models captured the general force–displacement response but overestimated facial stiffness under the higher-velocity impact condition. Further refinement of facial bone material properties and validation under additional facial impact conditions are needed to improve model biofidelity and the accuracy of facial injury prediction for future micromobility crash applications.