MRI: Track 1 Acquisition of a Large-amplitude 6-DOF Motion Simulator to Advance Multidisciplinary Research and Education

About This Grant

This Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) award supports the acquisition of a state-of-the-art motion simulation platform, the Human-Infrastructure Response Simulator (HIRS), at the University of Colorado Denver HIRS is designed to accurately replicate the wide range of motions and vibrations encountered in natural and human-made environments, such as those caused by waves, wind, earthquakes, vehicles and aircrafts. HIRS features a fully customizable test platform designed to accelerate collaborative research across diverse scientific disciplines throughout the Rocky Mountains Region and the broader United States. Its uniqueness lies in the ability to accommodate large ranges of motion in all directions at high and low frequencies, a feature not typically available in specialized motion systems that are designed for specific tasks (e.g., earthquake shake tables or driving simulators). As such, HIRS will support numerous strategic research initiatives, including developing more efficient 3D-printing technologies; understanding human behavior in non-stationary or hazardous environments; improving the safety of autonomous vehicles; and enhancing multi-hazard resilience of onshore and offshore infrastructure subjected to wind, waves, and seismic events. These research outcomes will be supplemented by unique educational and training opportunities for pre-college, undergraduate, and graduate students, as well as working professionals. The acquisition of HIRS is expected to generate significant societal impacts by fostering public interest and participation in science, technology, engineering, and design. HIRS will provide unique insight into the behavior of humans and structural or mechanical systems under environmental excitations encompassing all six degrees of freedom (DOF), from the material scale to the scale of full structures. With a payload capacity exceeding 1000 kg and supported by six electric actuators, the instrument allows translational up to 1000 mm and rotational excursions up to 50 degrees. This capability will enable novel convergence research, including: (1) examining the impact of full-body vibrations on human motion perception, wellbeing, and cognitive performance within floating environments; (2) understanding dynamic amplification of non-rigid floating bodies excited by breaking waves; (3) developing methods for additive manufacturing on moving vehicles; (4) investigating atmospheric boundary layer interactions with floating offshore wind turbines; (5) creating cyber-physical testbeds to derive probabilistic human behavioral models in difficult-to-replicate scenarios (e.g., earthquake or fire-following-earthquake evacuation); (6) developing human-centered algorithms for remote operation of autonomous or robotic vehicles; (7) quantifying physical or virtual motion sickness susceptibility in humans; and (8) identifying vestibular perception thresholds across multiple DOFs. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.