"Virtual legs" help train first responders and spinal injury patients
"Virtual legs" help train first responders and spinal i ... (Added: July 14, 2009)
A University of Utah invention simulates walking and running in any environment while you see, smell and hear everything that surrounds you. (more)Published: July 14, 2009
A University of Utah invention simulates walking and running in any environment while you see, smell and hear everything that surrounds you.
It's the work of university mechanical and computer engineers.
Inside a makeshift plywood room computers are interfaced with a robotic arm and harness, a unique wind tunnel, a six-by-10 foot treadmill and a three-sided screen take you any place you need to go.
"Here you don't even think about where you are stepping. You're totally focused on the environment and the experience you are having," explains Dr. John Hollerback.
Emergency responders could soon use the simulator training to get a feel for like walking, running and side-stepping while monitoring the movement of toxic particles.
Aromas will eventually simulate all kinds of smells.
The uniquely-designed wind tunnel creates complex wind patterns that carry aromas moving in any direction or intensity, depending on where the user moves.
"We can actually change the wind angle in almost a hundred and eighty degree direction. This is the first time someone has built something like this," Hollerback says.
The robotic arm pushes and pulls to simulate uneven terrain.
Victims of spinal cord injury going through rehab could also use the machine to experience what it's like out in the real environment, feeling sensations and knowing how the legs are performing.
Coordination training for rescuers, psychological studies, even learning how to walk on Mars; you name the place, this device will take you there.
So far, the National Science Foundation has invested $1.1 million in the project over the past five years.
Neuroworx, a nonprofit clinic that specializes in rehabilitation for spinal cord injured patients, has already expressed a keen interest in the Utah invention.
Negotiations are also underway with another corporation which prefers to remain anonymous.
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