Human-Structural Dynamics Interfaces Using Augmented Reality

This chapter summarizes the work investigating the capability of interfacing human control of vibrations with a new interface between vibrations and humans. The area of interest is structural dynamics, especially in experimentation and structural health monitoring (SHM) methods. The researchers developed a new interface to enable that the inspector maintain awareness of test structures while observing sensor data and inputting control on real time. Sensor data does not collect other contextual information of critical value to the operator during the experiment, therefore the human needs to observe the experiment in person to better assess the actual behavior of the structure as well as to identify the quality of the test. The researchers developed a new augmented reality (AR) interface in the laboratory that can also be utilized in the field that shares the information of dynamics with the operators on real time and further investigated the effect of this interface in the controlling abilities of humans with and without this interface. The results include time domain and frequency domain comparisons, as well as future laboratory applications including sensor deployment and augmented robotic control.