In the early 1980’s, the use of computer-based methods for motor vehicle safety research was limited to large corporations or research institutions with access to mainframe computers. Determined to overcome this restriction, EDC founders Terry D. Day and Randall L. Hargens set out to develop a series of sophisticated tools for the practicing crash reconstructionist. In 1984, EDC revolutionized the vehicle safety industry by introducing the first commercially available crash reconstruction program. A total of five programs were developed and marketed as part of the EDVAP (Engineering Dynamics Vehicle Analysis Package) suite. EDVAP remained the industry standard for more than a decade.

In 1991, after recognizing that 3-dimensional vehicle and occupant simulation was not yet practical, EDC began work on the HVEÔ 3-D simulation environment. The release of HVE, in 1995, once again revolutionized the vehicle safety industry by introducing a sophisticated software tool that could be used by both the vehicle design engineer and the safety researcher.