MRI: Development of a hyper-sensed environmentally controlled wind tunnel

1626424-Riffell这一重大研究仪器奖将支持开发配备多种传感器类型的风洞系统，允许从隧道内的环境进行反馈和控制，从而允许在常规实验室环境中对物理、化学和生物过程进行详细检查。该系统位于华盛顿大学，将推动环境流量控制和感官神经科学方面的关键研究进展，因为这两个领域都有深刻的联系，涉及融合不确定数据，以便在丰富的感官环境中进行实时控制。在许多研究工作中，表征和控制短时间内发生的高度动态过程的能力越来越重要。环境控制的多种传感器信息类型(化学、流动、运动)的集成将推动感觉神经科学的进步--神经系统快速处理信息以影响运动决策仍然是一个基本的悬而未决的问题--以及流动控制和机器人技术的进步。该仪器所实现的工作具有巨大的研究和商业化潜力，从而产生了将多个传感器流集成到有效控制算法中的新技术和新工艺；例如，所获得的知识和经验将影响用于搜索和救援、农业检查和环境监测的机器人和半自动系统。该计划还将对STEM劳动力产生积极影响，支持本科和研究生工程和生物学课程中的额外课程和实验室模块，以及通过向学生提供示范，为工程和神经科学领域的创新机会提供现实世界的范例，从而在K-12水平上支持额外的课程和实验室模块。越来越需要一种技术水平的多传感风洞来研究流体动态传输现象，同时还允许对风洞环境进行实时闭环控制。这样的系统可以为生物启发的研究提供新的见解，比如昆虫拍打飞行时的飞行控制，或者蚊子导航到人类血液宿主的感官基础--同时还可以提供基本流体动力学过程的进展，包括开发风力涡轮机等能量收集设备。目前还没有商业上可用的解决方案来实现环境控制的多模式传感(化学、流动、运动)。超灵敏风洞的独特能力包括：(1)质谱仪和PIV系统的耦合分析，以照亮污染物的反应时间表和湍流传输；(2)PIV的新数据技术和激光开发，以提高现有PIV系统的分析能力；(3)基于自由飞行昆虫的神经和行为反馈创建虚拟环境；以及(4)推进用于能量提取的闭环湍流控制，这将转化为具有无数应用的减阻、增加升力、增强混合和降噪技术。关于该设施的调查结果和结果将通过会议、期刊出版物和新闻机构向研究界传播。

1626424 - RiffellThis Major Research Instrumentation Award will support the development of a wind tunnel system instrumented with multiple sensor types that allow feedback from and control of the environment within the tunnel, thereby allowing detailed examination of physical, chemical, and biological processes in a conventional laboratory environment. Located at the University of Washington, this system will enable critical research advances in environmental flow control and sensory neuroscience, as both fields share deep connections involving the fusion of uncertain data for real-time control in a rich sensory environment. The ability to characterize and control highly dynamic processes that occur over short time are increasingly important in a number of research efforts. The integration of multiple sensor information types (chemical, flow, motion) for environmental control will enable advances in sensory neuroscience - where neural systems rapidly process information to affect motor decisions remains a fundamental open problem - and advances in flow control and robotics. Work enabled by this instrument has significant research and commercialization potential, resulting in novel technology and processes to integrate multiple sensor streams into effective control algorithms; for instance, the acquired knowledge and experience will impact robotics and semiautonomous systems for search and rescue, agricultural inspection, and environmental monitoring. This program will also have positive impact on the STEM workforce by supporting additional course offerings and laboratory modules in undergraduate and graduate engineering and biology courses, as well as at the K-12 level by providing demonstrations to students that provide real-world examples for creative opportunities in engineering and neuroscience. An increasing need exists for a state of the art, multi-sensing wind tunnel to study fluid dynamic transport phenomena while also allowing for real-time closed loop control of the wind tunnel environment. Such a system can provide novel insights into bio-inspired research, such as flight control in flapping insect flight or the sensory basis of mosquito navigation to human blood-hosts - while also providing advances in basic fluid dynamical processes, including development of energy harvesting devices, like wind turbines. Currently no commercially available solution is available that enables multimodal sensing (chemical, flow, motion) for environmental control. The unique capabilities of the hypersensed wind tunnel include: (1) coupled analysis of mass spectrometric and PIV systems to illuminate the reaction timescales and turbulent transport of pollutants; (2) new data techniques and laser development for PIV to improve analysis capabilities of existing PIV systems; (3) creating virtual environments based on neural and behavioral feedback from free-flying insects; and (4) advancing closed-loop turbulence control for energy extraction that will translate to technologies in drag reduction, lift increase, mixing enhancement, and noise reduction with countless applications. The findings and results about and from this facility will be disseminated to the research community through conferences, journal publications and news agencies.