Additional Modules for PAMELA to Enhance Research Efficiency (AMPERE)
Lead Research Organisation:
University College London
Department Name: Civil Environmental and Geomatic Eng
Abstract
AMPERE adds 15 square (i.e. configurable in a single plane) and 11 triangle (configurable in two planes) additional active modules to the PAMELA facility. These are exactly the same as the original motorised modules and have two major benefits: (1) they reduce the time taken for major adjustments and reconficurations from several hours to a few minutes resulting in an increase in availability for research and (2) they allow more comprehensive experimental setups to be incorporated in a single layout. The additional modules require updates to the existing control software, new cables and power/control distribution units in order to ensure that the whole platform can be controlled using the same system and interface as used for the original modules. Four of the square modules (configurable in a single plane) will be fitted with 4 force plates each so that ground resistance forces can be incorporated in the facility. PAMELA is a very complex interdisciplinary facility and the AMPERE enhancements increase the desirability of the facility to other researchers. First, the importance of increasing the availability of PAMELA for researchers in all fields of interest has already been demonstrated in gene therapy by the Institute of Ophthalmology (IoO), where the controlled conditions and monitoring capability of PAMELA have meant that research results have been reached much more quickly and at a much deeper level than would have been possible without a controlled pedestrian environment - PAMELA has allowed before and after testing in an objective, quantifiable and repeatable way whereas the previous methods would have involved just eye tests and subjective interviews to reveal the effects of the intervention. In addition the timescale (pre-Intervention testing in October 2006, Intervention Therapy in spring 2007, post-Intervention testing in February 2008, publication of results in the New England Journal of Medicine in early 2008) shows a clear reduction of time from laboratrory to publication and, more importantly, the potential for faster delievery of the outcomes of basic research to those people who will ultimately benefit - in this case, people with low vision.Secondly, the new modules enable PAMELA to incorporate more complex layouts, thus reducing the need to split experiments to accommodate different features. This makes it much easier for the participants as they need to make fewer visits to the facility and for the researchers because their experiments can be carried out much more quickly. This helps to increase the availability of the facility for all researchers as well as increasing the sophistication of the layouts.Thirdly, the introduction of modules with force plates means that for the first time it will be possible to measure ground resistance forces in complex environments such as longitudinal and lateral slopes and steps so that issues such as the biomechanics of wheelchair propulsion (especially by assistants), balance of older people, understanding of agility and so on can be included in research into pedestrian interactions with the environment.The demand for access to PAMELA is such that it is becoming difficult to fit all requests into a suitable timescale. AMPERE will make a significant difference to the available capacity by increasing it by more than 50% and thus ensure that lack of availability does not hold up the major research advances that can be supported by the facility as demonstrated by the IoO work.AMPERE also includes an AccessGrid node facility. This will enable researchers to communicate with the facility from all over the world when designing and running experiments and will make dissemination from the facility much easier and more comprehensive.
People |
ORCID iD |
Nick Tyler (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
Adhitya S
(2017)
Musical Cities
Adhitya S
(2016)
Small things with big impact in urban infrastructure design
in International Journal of Complexity in Applied Science and Technology
Aung MSH
(2016)
The Automatic Detection of Chronic Pain-Related Expression: Requirements, Challenges and the Multimodal EmoPain Dataset.
in IEEE transactions on affective computing
Carton A
(2016)
O2-12-02: Effects of Dementia-Related Visual Impairment on Route Following in Posterior Cortical Atrophy and Typical Alzheimer's Disease
in Alzheimer's & Dementia
Cheng T
(2016)
Effect of environmental factors on how older pedestrians detect an upcoming step
in Lighting Research & Technology
Holloway C
(2015)
Time and force required for attendants boarding wheelchair users onto aircraft
in International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics
Karekla X
(2012)
Reduced dwell times resulting from train-platform improvements: the costs and benefits of improving passenger accessibility to metro trains
in Transportation Planning and Technology
Karekla X
(2016)
Gait and balance of moving bus passengers.
McCarthy I
(2016)
Mobility in the built environment: Age-related changes in gait characteristics when walking on complex terrain
in Healthy Aging Research
Mindell J
(2011)
Synergies between low-carbon and healthy transport policies
in Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Transport
Title | Sound Map |
Description | This is a Sound Map produced by Sara Adhitya and presented on Regent Street, London. The artwork was a stylised version of the London Underground Map, with points indicated where sounds of that locality could be generated. This was used by a group of contemporary dancers to create a ballet based on the concurrence of sounds generated by their own movement. This engaged with the general public and we had around 300,000 visitors to the event. |
Type Of Art | Performance (Music, Dance, Drama, etc) |
Year Produced | 2016 |
Impact | This event is included in a forthcoming book by Sara Adhitya (Musical Cities), due to be published in 2017 |
Description | Interdisciplinary connectivity |
Exploitation Route | Consideration of interdisciplinary findings |
Sectors | Transport |
Description | Industry contacted with potential collaboration ideas. Awaiting response |
First Year Of Impact | 2015 |
Sector | Transport |
Impact Types | Societal |
Description | Grant |
Amount | £131,150 (GBP) |
Organisation | Action Medical Research |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2012 |
End | 12/2014 |
Description | UK Co-laboratorium for Research on Infrastructure and Cities (UKCRIC) Person Environment Activity Research Laboratory (PEARL) |
Amount | £125,000,000 (GBP) |
Funding ID | EP/P018629/1 |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2017 |
End | 03/2018 |
Description | UKCRIC - Person Environment Activity Research Laboratory |
Amount | £5,000,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | University College London |
Department | Faculty of Engineering Sciences |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2017 |
End | 03/2022 |
Description | UKCRIC Person Environment Activity research Laboratory (PEARL) |
Amount | £5,000,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | University College London |
Department | Faculty of Engineering Sciences |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2017 |
End | 03/2018 |
Description | PEARL in the community |
Organisation | London Borough of Barking and Dagenham Council |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
PI Contribution | We provide the expertise on accessibility and scientific measurement of capabilities for urban design |
Collaborator Contribution | They provide contacts and involvement in a steering group, site for demonstrations and further research |
Impact | This is still underway. At the moment this has moved into site identification for a future engagement activity, relationship-building with New York City, Greater Manchester and others |
Start Year | 2017 |
Description | Renewable energy and transport design in Xi'an |
Organisation | Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology |
Country | China |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | We provide the modelling for estimation of impacts of modal shift |
Collaborator Contribution | They provide the renewable energy data related to domestic and industrial buildings |
Impact | None yet |
Start Year | 2017 |
Description | Barking Riverside Healthy New Town |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | A series of public engagement events to show how walking could be made easier for older people and others by changing the footway surfaces |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | CPD visit by the Local Government Disabled Access Group |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | We were asked to provide a n=hands on CPD event to discuss the possibilities and practicalities of designing accessible urban environments. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
Description | Talk in Chile |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Distinguished inaugural lecture for the new MSC in city planning in the School of Architecture and Urbanism, Ponitificia Universidad Catolica Chile |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |