human-systems engineering area...industrial and systems engineering some example projects (1) vr for...

Edward P. Fitts Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering


Human-Systems Engineering AreaFull-time ISE Faculty:

Karen Chen, Asst. Prof.

(UW-Madison)

David Kaber, Prof.

(Texas Tech)

CS Nam, Assoc. Prof.

(Virginia Tech)

Xu Xu, Asst. Prof.

(Wolfpack!)

Adjunct ISE Faculty:

Nancy Currie, Assoc.

(UT Houston)

Manida Swangnetr, Asst.

(Wolfpack!)

Ergonomics Center Staff:

Tim McGlothlin, Director

Jeff Hoyle, Ergonomics Services

Gary Downey, Senior Ergonomist

Mohini Dutt, Senior Ergonomist

Mirtha Perazza, Senior Ergonomist

Heather White, Senior Ergonomist


Research Labs and Directions

• Virtual Reality Applications Lab (Chen)

– Non-gaming tools for human performance assessment and accelerating healthcare

• Brain-Computer Interfaces Lab (Nam)

– Non-contact interfaces for communication, control and learning

• Biomechanical Analysis Lab (Xu)

– Occupational risk factor identification and workplace injury reduction

• Cognitive Engineering Lab (Kaber)

– Systems design for human information processing


Some Example Projects

(1) VR for Rehabilitation:

- Motivating chronic pain

patients to do more!

- Inflating control-display

ratios (1.25:1) to cause

perceived motions to

under-predict actual

movement

- Promotes range of

movement

- Accelerates pain

recovery with impact

for broad population.

(2) BCI for Locked-in:

- Using electro-

encephalogram

systems for precise

diagnosis of conscious

vs. vegetative states.

- Harnessing central

brain activation patterns

(non-nerve and non-

muscular) to facilitate

communication and

control via computer

technology

- Identifying new

methods for efficient

brain stimulation

(3) Biomechanical Models

to Prevent Low-back Pain

- Overexertion injuries are

#1 cause of disability and

compensation (~$15B/yr.)

- Lifting is major risk factor

- Need portable, quick and

accurate method for

modeling spinal forces

- Developing new sparse

sensor approach for

kinematic monitoring

- Validating force prediction

models in industry tasks 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 80

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

time (s)

L5/S

1 jo

int

mom

ent

(Nm

)

AB

CD

(4) Human High Performance

Multitasking:

- Focus on extreme physical

demand occupations with

concurrent cognitive load

- Assessing decrement in

cognitive function under

extreme physical load

- Identification of ”optimal”

sensory channels for

commanding (visual, audio,

haptic, combo)


• ECNC + HSE Area Labs = World-class Ergonomics Research Resource!

– ECNC international reputation attracts corporate clients with real problems!

– Labs provide research instrumentation + student and faculty teams for high performance projects

– “Triple threat” of outcomes:• Top-quality results for clients

• Applied research experience for students

• Journal publications for faculty

Ergonomics Center of North Carolina (ECNC)

• One-of-a-kind center across ISE departments:

– Conducts applied ergonomics research– optimize human-machine systems design; maximize human-centric product designs

– Provides ergonomics consulting services – cost-effective ways to reduce workplace injuries

– Provides training – customized to professional and students and focused on methods and applications of ergonomics

“Ergonomics Program Development &

Implementation” ($60K; 2009)

“Design, Prototyping and Validation of

an Exercise Regimen Guide for Worker

Preparation for Gas Cylinder Handling ”

($30K; 2015)

“Riding Lawn Equipment Ergonomic

Evaluation” ($30K; 2017)


Pending Major Instrumentation• New full-motion driving simulator

(collaboration of ITRE+ORIED+ISE+PSY)

• Will facilitate substantial FHWA, NAS-TRB & NCDOT research projects along with student theses/dissertations

• Also EB Oval “showpiece”!

• New Computer Automatic Virtual Environment (CAVE)

• Focus will be on assessing alternative methods for accelerating healthcare

CAVE


Current and Pending Support• NASA (Ames - IRG): Identification of Research Issues in Workload-based Design of Teleoperator

Supervisory Control Interfaces (Kaber; $150K, funded)

• NCDOT: Message Delivery Design for Manual and Fully Automated Driving (Feng, Kaber; $241K, pending)

• NIOSH T42: North Carolina Education and Research Center: Occupational Safety & Ergonomics Program (Kaber, Nam; $710K, funded)

• NIOSH: Biomechanical Implications of the Full Duty Belt Used by Police Officers (Xu, Kaber; $10K, funded)

• NIOSH T42: Occupational Safety and Ergonomics Program through the North Carolina Occupational Safety and Health Education and Research Center (Kaber, Chen, Nam, Xu; $1.05M, pending)

• NIOSH R01: A Cost-effective Postural Training Paradigm for Musculoskeletal Health Using Computer Vision and Virtual Reality (Chen, Xu; $817K, pending)

• NSF: A Hybrid Brain-Computer Interface for Behaviorally Non-Responsive Patients (Nam, Krusienski; $499K, funded)

• NSF: Advancing a Situated Neuroscience of Emotion (Linquist, Nam; $418K, funded)

• NSF CHS: Small: Next-Generation UAV Workstation Design: Usability Features, Workload Modeling and Measurement, and Error Prevention (Kaber, Chen, Nam, Xu; $499K; pending)

• NSF CHS: Small: Integration of augmented reality and biomechanical modeling for rehabilitation delivery (Chen, Xu; $499K, pending)

• NSF CHS: Small: Collaborative Research: Making Science Concepts Visible Through Two-Handed 1:N Haptic Communication (Nam, Ferris; $299K, pending)

• NSF NRI: FND: COLLAB: Exploring the Benefits and Neurological Concomitants of Intent-based Transparency: An Integrated Human-Robot Interaction Model (Nam, Lyons; $459K, pending)


Current Partners• Within COE:

– BME (H. Huang); CCEE (W. Rasdorf) + ITRE (C. Cunningham, N. Rouphail); ECE (M. Wu)

• NC State Colleges:– CHASS (Feng, PSY); Design (E. Polyak);

Science (Bloomfield, ST); Textiles (J. Jur)

• Other universities: – ODU (D. Krusienski, EC&BME)

– Oregon State (J. Adams; ECE)

– UNC (K. Linquist, Psych)

– Texas A&M (T. Ferris, ISE)

• Government agencies:– AFOSR (J. Lyons)

– NASA Ames (T. Fong, IRG; B. Gore, B. Hooey, HSID)

• Corporations (through ECNC):– John Deere

– Liberty Mutual

– Lockhead Martin

– Newport News Shipbuilding

– Praxair

human-systems engineering area...industrial and systems engineering some example projects (1) vr for...

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