Custom hexapod robot platform for a mobile machine simulator

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The research program is focused on reducing work related musculoskeletal injuries. The most commonly diagnosed workplace injury class in Canada today, the benefit cost paid by the Workplace, Safety and Insurance Board to Ontario injured workers in 2007 was just over 4.9 billion dollars with back and neck ailments accounting for just under 29% of lost time claims. Covering a broad spectrum ranging from relatively basic to commercializable applied work, the program involves two primary research lines: whole-body vibration (WBV) understanding and reduction in industrial mobile machine operators, and joystick operator biomechanics. Initial work resulted in the most comprehensive description to date of muscular loading and input force requirements for hydraulic actuation joysticks. As a result of understanding the physical and biomechanical demands of joystick operation, Oliver's group developed the world's first dynamic armrest which both rotates and translates to match natural arm pendulation thus minimizing the potential to develop a neck or shoulder repetitive strain injury. In the vibration research line, Oliver and her colleagues have made major contributions to the characterization of 6 degree of freedom (DOF) WBV and vehicle vibration. The group has published widely in this area and they have amassed one of the most diverse catalogs in the world of off-road vehicle vibration field profiles. The purpose of this proposal is to develop instrumentation which will "merge" the vibration and joystick biomechanics research lines by developing a simulator which uses field based vibration profiles to drive a hexapod platform robot while an operator manipulates joystick controllers. Ultimately, the simulator will incorporate visual as well as haptic feedback such as would be seen and felt in an operating machine and it will allow simultaneous investigations of combinations of biomechanical, physiological, and psychophysical basic and applied research questions under realistic operating conditions.