Resources
LAB FACILITIES
3D Scanner
HPNE Lab has an Einscan HX 3D scanner which is used to scan an object for reverse engineering and measuring. The LED light scanning allows rapid 3D scanning. Laser scanning, which is less sensitive to light, gives a better result with reflective and dark color surface, and its accuracy can go up to 0.04mm. The processing speed of EinScan HX under Rapid Scan Mode is up to 1,200,000 points/sec, and multiple lines under Laser Scan Mode makes scanning of most objects in minutes for revere engineering, CAD/CAM, 3D printing, etc.
ExoSkeletons
An exoskeleton is an external structural mechanism with joints corresponding to those of human body used for mechanical power transformation. There are three different kinds of exoskeletons in the lab: SuitX, Levitate and Eksobionic. They are wearable exoskeletons engineered to improve upper extremity musculoskeletal health for workers who engage in repetitive motion. These three exoseletons are occupational exoskeletons popularly used in industrial workplaces as well as for people experiencing paralysis and mobility issues after a brain injury, stroke, or spinal cord injury.
SuitX
Levitate
Ekso bionic
Electromyography (EMG) System
The Delsys TrignoTM Wireless EMG system (Delsys Inc., Natick, Massachusetts, USA) is used to measure neuromuscular activity while a participant performs different modes of functional tasks. The system comes with three different sensor types—Trigno Avanti sensors for large-size muscles, Trigno quattro sensors for small-size muscles at hand, neck, and shoulder regions, and Trigno Galileo sensor for both small- and large-size muscle groups—to measure neuromuscular activity. The system uses EMGworks® software to record and stream EMG data digitally, NeuroMap Suite software to analyze neural firing activity, and Trigno full triggering module to further expand integration options for additional measurement technologies such as EEG, Motion Capture system, and Biodex isoinertial dynamometer.
Electroencephalogram (EEG) System
The Mobita wearable 32-channel biopotential system (Biopac Systems Inc., Goleta, California, USA) can record up to 32 channels of high-fidelity wireless EEG data using water electrodes. The system equips with AcqKnowledge® data acquisition and analysis software, which can both record and analyze EEG signal in real-time for a variety of research applications, such as neuro-rehabilitation, fatigue and stress evaluation, conventional and VR-based driving, smart material handling task, human-computer interaction, virtual reality training, and so on.
Virtual Reality (VR) System
Primary components of the HTC Vive Pro Eye (HTC Corporation, New Taipei, Taiwan and Valve Corporation, Bellevue, Washington, USA) virtual reality system are a head-mounted display (HMD), two base stations, two controllers and a link box. The system has dual AMOLED 3.5” diagonal HMD of 2880 x 1600 pixels resolution with a 90 Hz refresh rate and 110° field of view for a fully immersive experience. The system contains SteamVR™ tracking software and equips with gyroscope, proximity, interpupillary distance, and eye-tracking sensors. It can output timestamp, gaze origin, gaze direction, pupil position, pupil size and eye openness data at a frequency of 120 Hz. Our VR system can be integrated with other technologies like driving simulator, EEG, EMG, Phantom Omni haptics, and motion capture system and can provide the opportunity for multimodal data collection in a realistic simulation for a wide variety of research options—flight and vehicular training, medical research, military training, smart material handling, rehabilitation, and space research.
Dynamic Strength Measurement System
The Biodex System 4 Pro (Biodex Medical Systems, Shirley, New York, USA) consists of a dynamometer, a positioning chair for test subjects, a computer with integrated Biodex Advantage software, and an accessory cart containing different attachments: ankle, right Knee, left Knee, wrist, elbow, leg, limb support, shoulder, seat support, and calibration weight attachments. This dynamometer system can provide a wide range of normative data—such as force, torque, reaction time, range of motion, strength, and work fatigue percentage, from pediatric through adults, ages 5 - 83. The system can be used for performance enhancement for sports and military personnel, in addition to neurorehabilitation of persons with movement disorders, neurological pathologies, or general deconditioning.
Optical Motion Capture System
The motion capture system (Motion Analysis Corporation, Rohnert Park, California, USA) consists of 10 Eagle digital cameras, two power hubs, two 16-channel ethernet switches, and the Cortex software to acquire human kinematics data. Each camera has a resolution of 1.3 million pixels with selectable resolution-framerate combinations. The framerate is 500 fps at 1280 x 1024 full resolution, 1000 fps at 1280 x 512, and 2000 fps at 1280 x 256. The system can be used in tandem with other technologies like EEG, EMG, VR, driving simulator, instrumented treadmill, force plates, and dynamometer.
Driving Simulator System
The custom-built driving simulator system primarily comprises of DOFReality Motion Simulator Platform P3 (DOFReality Inc., Pustomyty, Ukraine), SPARCO R600 driving seat (Sparco S.p.A, Volpiano, Turin, Italy), Thrustmaster TX RW leather steering wheel with pedals, handbrake, and shifter (Thrustmaster Inc., Hillsboro, Oregon, USA), and Buttkicker Bass Shaker (The Guitammer Company, Westerville, Ohio). We can conduct two modes of driving simulations—using (1) conventional monitors and (3) immersive virtual reality system. The driving simulator can be integrated with other technologies such as EEG, EMG, motion capture, and eye tracking system. Furthermore, by integrating this system with our VR system, various virtual driving scenarios can be simulated, such as, construction vehicles, forklifts, police vehicles, healthcare, truck, public transportation, and so on.
Force Plates
Bertec force plates (Bertec Corporation, Columbus, Ohio, USA) are 400 mm in width, 600 mm in length, and 75 mm in height, and each of them has a load capacity of 5000N ,10000N, and 20000N. The force plates can be used in various experimental setup—such as rehabilitation, sports biomechanics, manual material handling, and military training research—to measure ground reaction forces.
Haptic Device
The Phantom Omni (3D Systems, Rock Hill, South Carolina, USA) is a portable haptic device with six Degrees of Freedom (DoF). The workspace of the Phantom Omni is 16 cm x 12 cm x 7 cm (W x H x D) and can provide force feedback up to 3.3 N in 3 DoF. It can be used to enhance scientific or medical simulations, increase productivity with interactive training, skills assessment, robotic control, machine interface design, rehabilitation, etc.
Strength Evaluation System
The Jackson Strength Evaluation System (Lafayette Instrument Company, Lafayette, Indiana, USA) consists of a wooden lifting platform, a control unit, and a load cell. The load cell has a capacity of up to 1000 lbs. This system is mainly used for performing isometric test, such as arm lift, shoulder lift, torso pull, and torso lift. The system can be used for preemployment testing, physical therapy and rehabilitation, evaluating and training athletes, and evaluating physical fitness.
Eye-tracking system
The Pupil Core (Pupil Labs, Berlin, Germany) binocular eye-tracking system consists of a wearable headset, two eye-tracking cameras, and one world camera. The world camera has three frequency-resolution combinations: 30 Hz at 1080p, 60 Hz at 720p, and 120 Hz at 480p. It also has two lenses: one wide angle lens (with approximately 100° diagonal FOV) and one narrow angle lens (with approximately 60° diagonal FOV). Each of the eye-tracking cameras operate at 200 Hz frequency at 192x192px resolution. The system can output normalized 2D gaze position, 3D gaze rays, 3D gaze points, relative and absolute pupil diameter, 2D and 3D pupil position, and other user data. Furthermore, it also outputs raw video from the world and eye cameras. This data can be streamed and recorded in real-time over local WiFi, and can be used for post-hoc visualization and analysis