Not yet reviewed by Pith; the record is open.

In the context of developing new vehicle concepts, especially autonomous vehicles with novel seating arrangements and occupant activities, predicting occupant motion can be a tool for ensuring safety and comfort. In this study, a data-driven surrogate contact model integrated into an optimal control framework to predict human occupant behavior during driving maneuvers is presented. High-fidelity finite element simulations are utilized to generate a dataset of interaction forces and moments for various human body configurations and velocities. To automate the generation of training data, an active learning approach is introduced, which iteratively queries the high-fidelity finite element simulation for an additional dataset. The feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method are demonstrated through a case study of a head interaction with an automotive headrest, showing promising results in accurately replicating contact forces and moments while reducing manual effort.