Car Tech 101: What is virtual crash testing?
[MUSIC]
[SOUND] It's part of the automotive landscape.
New cars Crashed intentionally with great precision and measurement to determine how they'll behave when you do the same thing to them with far less precision and intention.
But the setup is exacting and tedious.
A given car can only be crashed once.
And there isn't time to crash every model of every year of every make of car.
Enter virtual crash testing which stands to perhaps revolutionize this spectacle of auto crash worthiness.
Cars and their parts are all designed on computers these days via CAD, computer-aided design.
The design is just a file of data.
That same data, which exists about every part, every panel, every rivet, ****, and well, and even the amount of gas in the tank.
Along with any crash you can imagine can be fed into a computer.
A serious computer running ten thousand cores across 200 or so CPUs and GPUs.
Turn off the lights.
Come back in 10 or 20 hours.
And see the crash that never happen.
It's amazing to look at the realism.
But more important, are these three gains.
It's repeatable.
No cars were harm in this collision.
That means you can run it over and over with the cost and setup time of real test removed.
It's peelable.
You can peel back or making visible any portions of the car to see how it given sub assembly performs in real time.
Can't do that with a real crash test.
[MUSIC]
And it's variable.
Find the weakness, redesign that area via CAD, upload the new design data, run the crash again, see if it's now fixed.
No need to retool and create a new part for another crash test.
[MUSIC]
So why are we still crashing cars for real?
Well virtual crash tests aren't complete they're about 90 plus percent accurate and data full.
A gap that should be closable.
Risk does move slowly.
Car makers, insurers, and regulators aren't the type to jump over night to a new method where our lives are involved.
It still takes too long about half a day to a day of data processing per crash test needs to come down.
And widespread adoption is needed.
Not every car maker uses this technology, nor are they using a standardized version of it.
Nonetheless, virtual crash testing looks like it may do to the world of crash-worthiness what the computer did to photography.
More car tech demystified, right here now at CNETOnCar.com.
Click on CAR TECH 101.
[MUSIC]
Up Next
Crash Testing New Electric Cars Proves They're Typically Safer
Up Next
Crash Testing New Electric Cars Proves They're Typically Safer
See What Makes the Best Tire for Your Electric Car
See What Makes the Best Tire for Your Electric Car
Why Are So Many Electric Cars, Scooters and Bikes Burning?
Why Are So Many Electric Cars, Scooters and Bikes Burning?
Seen the New 2023 Prius? Here's Why It's Turning Heads
Seen the New 2023 Prius? Here's Why It's Turning Heads
The Bestselling EVs of 2022
The Bestselling EVs of 2022
Best Dash Cams: A Buying Guide
Best Dash Cams: A Buying Guide
GM's Electric Pickups Head On: Comparing the Sierra EV to the Silverado EV
GM's Electric Pickups Head On: Comparing the Sierra EV to the Silverado EV
Meet a Mind-Bending Hybrid: The Sono Sion Solar-Grid EV
Meet a Mind-Bending Hybrid: The Sono Sion Solar-Grid EV
These Are the Cars That Qualify Now for the New Tax Credit
These Are the Cars That Qualify Now for the New Tax Credit
Don't Buy an EV Until You See the Most Important Ones Coming in 2023
Don't Buy an EV Until You See the Most Important Ones Coming in 2023
Tech Shows
Latest News All latest news
What to Expect at Apple's iPad Event
What to Expect at Apple's iPad Event
How to Install Windows 11 on M-Series Mac Computers
How to Install Windows 11 on M-Series Mac Computers
Rabbit R1: Here's What It Can Actually Do
Rabbit R1: Here's What It Can Actually Do
How to Access AI on Your Apple Watch
How to Access AI on Your Apple Watch
Beats Solo 4 Headphones Review: Same Look, but Better Sound and USB-C
Beats Solo 4 Headphones Review: Same Look, but Better Sound and USB-C
Living With Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra: 3 Months Later
Living With Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra: 3 Months Later
Most Popular All most popular
First Look at TSA's Self-Screening Tech (in VR!)
First Look at TSA's Self-Screening Tech (in VR!)
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra Review: More AI at a Higher Cost
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra Review: More AI at a Higher Cost
'Circle to Search' Lets Users Google From Any Screen
'Circle to Search' Lets Users Google From Any Screen
Asus Put Two 14-inch OLEDs in a Laptop, Unleashes First OLED ROG Gaming Laptop
Asus Put Two 14-inch OLEDs in a Laptop, Unleashes First OLED ROG Gaming Laptop
Samsung Galaxy Ring: First Impressions
Samsung Galaxy Ring: First Impressions
Best of Show: The Coolest Gadgets of CES 2024
Best of Show: The Coolest Gadgets of CES 2024
Latest Products All latest products
Rabbit R1: Here's What It Can Actually Do
Rabbit R1: Here's What It Can Actually Do
Beats Solo 4 Headphones Review: Same Look, but Better Sound and USB-C
Beats Solo 4 Headphones Review: Same Look, but Better Sound and USB-C
Robosen's Megatron Transformer Is Too Much Fun for an Evil Robot
Robosen's Megatron Transformer Is Too Much Fun for an Evil Robot
Battle of the Humanoid Robots: MenteeBot Is Ready
Battle of the Humanoid Robots: MenteeBot Is Ready
2025 Audi Q6, SQ6 E-Tron: Audi's Newest EV Is Its Most Compelling
2025 Audi Q6, SQ6 E-Tron: Audi's Newest EV Is Its Most Compelling
Hands-On with Ford's Free Tesla Charging Adapter
Hands-On with Ford's Free Tesla Charging Adapter
Latest How To All how to videos
How to Install Windows 11 on M-Series Mac Computers
How to Install Windows 11 on M-Series Mac Computers
Tips and Tricks for the AirPods Pro 2
Tips and Tricks for the AirPods Pro 2
How to Watch the Solar Eclipse Safely From Your Phone
How to Watch the Solar Eclipse Safely From Your Phone
Windows 11 Tips and Hidden Features
Windows 11 Tips and Hidden Features
Vision Pro App Walkthrough -- VisionOS 1.0.3
Vision Pro App Walkthrough -- VisionOS 1.0.3
Tips and Tricks for the Galaxy S24 Ultra