Over the last century, technology has slowly encroached into every aspect of our lives. It's in our pockets, on our wrists and we encounter it everywhere we go. Besides rapid changes that have affected how we consume media, there are many other large scale technological innovations, some happening right here in the Iowa City area, including the Virtual Soldier Project, the National Driving Simulator and robot-assisted surgery.

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.

A University of Iowa project is seeking to develop software to predict when Marines will be injured and what strength and conditioning exercises they need to do to avoid getting hurt, said Karim Abdel-Malek, a professor at the university's college of engineering.

A computer simulation program that measures equipment weight, distribution and effects on body mechanics and performance is being given to the Marine Corps.

Modern-day warfighters face heavy—literally—odds on the battlefield, as they often carry more than 100 pounds of gear, including body armor, weapons and night-vision technology. Such loads can slow them down, reduce agility and result in fatigue, joint sprains or long-term ailments like arthritis or chronic back problems.

Marine Corps Times recently recognized the major contributions made by the Virtual Soldier Research Project (VSR) at the UI Center for Computer-Aided Design (CCAD) to create GruntSim™, a body mechanics simulator.