New ASEAN CPD Dummy Enhances Child Safety in Cars

Assoc. Prof. Ir. Ts. Dr. Noor Irza Mohd Zaki

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 28 – The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) today officially launched the ASEAN Child Presence Detection Dummy, a groundbreaking infant surrogate designed to help automakers and researchers ethically and reliably validate Child Presence Detection (CPD) systems. This research project is led by Assoc. Prof. Ir. Ts. Dr. Nurulakmar Abu Husain from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), supported by funding from ASEAN NCAP and UTM, coordinated by (Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS). The innovation marks a significant milestone in the region’s commitment to protecting children from in-vehicle heatstroke and unattended child incidents, one of the most critical safety issues across Southeast Asia. The initiative directly supports the ASEAN NCAP 2026-2030 Roadmap, which mandates the integration of CPD technologies in all new vehicles sold throughout the region.

The ASEAN CPD Dummy seated in a child restraint system during in-vehicle testing.

The CPD Dummy represents a significant milestone in the region’s commitment to protecting children from in-vehicle heatstroke and unattended child incidents, one of the most critical child safety issues in Southeast Asia. The innovation directly supports the upcoming ASEAN NCAP 2026-2030 Roadmap, which mandates the integration of CPD technologies in all new vehicles sold across the region.

Unlike conventional static test mannequins, the ASEAN CPD Dummy simulates the physiology and movement of a real infant up to 2 years old. It integrates three embedded systems (i.e., respiratory, thermal and motion) that mimic natural breathing, body temperature and subtle movements. Through a wireless control interface and mobile app, engineers can adjust breathing rates, body temperature, and even simulate states ranging from calm sleep to distress. The dummy’s lifelike functionality enables consistent, repeatable testing of CPD sensors, including radar, ultrasonic, infrared, and UWB technologies, without the ethical or safety concerns associated with testing on real children.

The ASEAN CPD Dummy underwent a rigorous three-phase validation process to ensure scientific credibility and regional relevance. Its anthropometric and functional fidelity was first verified to match the dimensions and structure of a real infant. This was followed by physiological benchmarking, where breathing and motion signatures were compared against real infant data (ages 6–36 months) captured using mmWave radar. The final in-vehicle field testing, conducted at the MIROS Provisional CRASE Crash Centre (PC3) Laboratory in Melaka, demonstrated 100% detection accuracy under optimal sensor configurations, confirming the dummy’s biofidelity and readiness for standardized ASEAN-wide testing.

UTM research team showcasing the ASEAN CPD Dummy during its official launch.

The research also highlights the vital contributions of Assoc. Prof. Ir. Ts. Dr. Mohd Khairi Abu Husain, who led the commercialization efforts, ensuring the innovation’s scalability and practical deployment, and Assoc. Prof. Ir. Ts. Dr. Noor Irza Mohd Zaki together with Miss Siti Mahirah Che Husin, who led the prototype development and validation, translating complex design concepts into a functional and tested real-world system. Developed under UTM leadership, the project brought together a multidisciplinary team of engineers, data scientists, and clinicians from UTM and ACTS Smart Solutions Sdn. Bhd., with technical collaboration from the China Automotive Engineering Research Institute (CAERI).

The ASEAN CPD Dummy is now recognized as the region’s first standardized CPD detection subject, aligning with ASEAN NCAP’s vision for child occupant protection. It will be used to support CPD testing and certification, ensuring that manufacturers’ detection systems are both accurate and responsive under real-world conditions. Beyond regulation, the dummy’s development symbolizes ASEAN’s leadership in ethical testing innovation, combining advanced engineering with human-centered design. This project is a joint initiative led by the UTM and ASEAN NCAP, in collaboration with CAERI and ACTS Smart Solutions. The project forms part of ASEAN NCAP’s ongoing mission to advance vehicle safety standards, focusing on child occupant protection and intelligent in-vehicle safety systems.