Equipment and Facilities

The lab is equipped with a Vicon motion capture system with 12 SV cameras and a Motion Analysis system.  The lab also houses a six-degree-of-freedom man-rated Moog-FCS motion platform. 

The Motion Analysis system features a four-megapixel-resolution with a latency of only 1-2 frames. It is a real-time-specific system with Eagle-4 digital cameras that can collect at up to 500 Hz with a shutter speed ranging from 0-2000 µs. The focal length can be adjusted from 18-52 mm.

The lab's Moog-FCS motion platform aids in the study of whole-body vibration (WBV). Chronic WBV exposure, as expected in large military, construction, and agriculture vehicles, has been associated with neck and back pain and injury. The 3DBMRL is collaborating with industry on a long-term project to study human response to WBV with the objective of modifying the working environment and avoiding possible human pain or injury. In the first stage of this project, experiments have been conducted on human subjects under WBV scenarios. The resulting data are used to drive a computer human model, through which various joint torques and stresses on the lumbar area of the spine and the neck region can be found. The MOOG-FCS motion platform in the 3DBMRL can also be used to construct to-scale models of vehicles and cabs to study the placement of foot and hand brakes, seat belts, and glove boxes with force and displacement measures. The resulting kinematics and kinetics is applicable in minimizing the risk of pain and injury resulting from in-vehicle design.

Sophisticated models for biomechanics and animation applications are available for the whole body and the hand. Visual3D software is used to analyze and share data with collaborators for various testing scenarios.  Visual3D data (collected from human subjects) can be used in human validation studies and to enhance simulation capabilities.