Achievement

PI Hollerbach and co-PI Minor have collaborated in the development of a wind display system for the TreadPort virtual environment locomotion interface, which is cumulatively known as the TreadPort Active Wind Tunnel (TPAWT). Computational Fluid Dynamic simulations and experiments with a scaled model test-bed of the system has resulted in a combination of passive and active controls capable of controlling wind speed and angle acting on a user in the environment.

This wind display, combined with an immersive VR space, has training applications in high-value and dangerous areas, such as firefighting, oil development, and military simulation.