Technology born out of military-funded research in the University of Iowa’s Virtual Soldier Research Program (VSR) soon may be used in schools, hospitals, stores, and other places to improve safety.

After 15 years of work, digital avatars are finally maturing to a place where researchers can “design a human” to test protective equipment for military personnel, University of Iowa researchers said Wednesday.

The need for better-fitting body armor and PPE not just for soldiers, but for women and smaller-stature men in a variety of dangerous fields was the focus of the first annual Iowa Virtual Human Summit.

Virtual event on Aug. 12 to examine how a ‘digital twin’ can reduce injuries through better designed female body armor.

The University of Iowa Technology Institute (ITI) and its physics-based virtual human model Santos are integral to a new initiative to harness modeling and simulation technology to better predict and analyze soldier performance, according to an article published by the U.S. Army this month.