Contact: Phil Hearn
STARKVILLE, Miss.--Mississippi State engineers are helping test computer-generated animation techniques the U.S. Army hopes will simulate real soldiers performing tasks in real time.
The university's Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems recently was awarded a $500,000 contract to develop methods for testing and validating digital human models created at the University of Iowa as part of the Virtual Soldier Research program.
A division of the Bagley College of Engineering, CAVS was subcontracted by Iowa to conduct the testing because of CAVS' leading-edge research in human ergonomics, human factors and product design/development.
"This coincides with the ongoing research we are pursuing in the area of ergonomics, product development and work-place safety," said Zach Rowland, the project's principle investigator at CAVS.
Four MSU graduate students and one undergraduate in the fields of industrial engineering and cognitive science also are participating in the research project.
Ergonomics and human factors are fields of science that study the interactions between humans and the environment in which they operate, and are concerned with safety and efficiency in the performance of tasks, Rowland explained.
The validation process requires the ability to accurately record the performance of human subjects in given tasks and compare them to the motions predicted by the computer models.
Since the process requires the correlation of a large number of points of the body and models, Rowland said human motion capture systems provide the most efficient means to deal with all of the data required.
"The use of our human motion capture systems and other advanced technologies for measuring human motion will be crucial in the execution of this project," he said.
The University of Iowa College of Engineering's VSR program has received nearly
$4 million from the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Command Center over the past two years for work on human modeling and simulation.
An independent research group within the U.I. Center for Computer Aided Design is using gaming and entertainment animation techniques to simulate real soldiers--a new generation of digital human models based on realistic human anatomy, biomechanics, physics, and artificial intelligence in real time.
Experts say the work has the potential to save time and money in testing and evaluating products, equipment, vehicles, and armaments before they are manufactured--thereby eliminating expensive, real-world prototypes.
Gary McFadyen, a CAVS assistant research professor, said the MSU research center is developing test procedures and using motion capture to ensure the virtual soldier simulation model does what it is supposed to do.
"We will certify that the model mimics human behavior with the same commands that are given to the model and to the test subjects," he said.
CAVS research associate John McGinley said the digital models give feedback as to how a soldier would perform in a certain situation, such as replacing a 90-pound vehicle battery.
"In addition to the physical aspects of simulation, we are now incorporating situational awareness and taking into consideration cognitive factors such as mental fatigue and stress," he said.
CAVS was created by the Legislature in 2001 to provide research and development of solutions for regional automotive manufacturers. Director Rand German oversees research and educational activity that extends into three major thrust areas: alternative power systems; computational manufacturing and design; and human and systems engineering.
NEWS EDITORS/DIRECTORS: For more information, contact Bob Kirkland at (662) 325-1454 or Kirkland@cavs.msstate.edu.