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

该主要研究仪器奖将支持风洞系统的开发，该风洞系统配备多种传感器类型，允许从隧道内的环境反馈和控制，从而允许在传统实验室环境中详细检查物理、化学和生物过程。该系统位于华盛顿大学，将使环境流量控制和感觉神经科学的关键研究取得进展，因为这两个领域都有很深的联系，涉及在丰富的感觉环境中融合不确定数据进行实时控制。表征和控制在短时间内发生的高度动态过程的能力在许多研究工作中越来越重要。环境控制中多种传感器信息类型（化学、流、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开放性问题——以及流控制和机器人技术的进步。该仪器支持的工作具有重大的研究和商业化潜力，从而产生将多个传感器流集成到有效控制算法中的新技术和工艺；例如，获得的知识和经验将影响搜索和救援、农业检查和环境监测的机器人和半自主系统。该项目还将对STEM劳动力产生积极影响，为本科生和研究生的工程和生物学课程提供额外的课程和实验室模块，并在K-12阶段为学生提供示范，为工程和神经科学领域的创新机会提供现实世界的例子。人们越来越需要先进的多传感器风洞来研究流体动力输运现象，同时也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，例如拍打昆虫飞行的飞行控制或蚊子导航到人类血液宿主的感官基础，同时也为基本流体动力学过程提供进步，包括开发能量收集设备，如风力涡轮机。目前还没有商业上可用的解决方案，可以实现环境控制的多模态传感（化学，流动，运动）。超传感风洞的独特能力包括：(1)质谱和PIV系统的耦合分析，以阐明污染物的反应时间尺度和湍流输运；(2)开发新的PIV数据技术和激光，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造虚拟环境；(4)推进用于能源提取的闭环湍流控制，这将转化为减少阻力、增加升力、增强混合和降低噪音的技术，并有无数的应用。关于这一设施的发现和结果将通过会议、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.