Better safety through collaboration at Toyota research center

The gathered journalists cover their ears as a loud hydraulic ram begins to load and a warning alarm sounds. Less than a minute later… FOOSH… BAM! A 9.9-pound model of a human head is launched into the front-end structure of a test vehicle, deforming the hood and sending the head bouncing to the ground.

The violence of the moment, which is part of pedestrian safety research, is a stark reminder of the seriousness of all the testing that happens at Toyota's North American Research and Development Headquarters in York Township, Michigan. The $187-million (in 2007 dollars) facility includes 180,000 sq.ft. of research and testing space.