Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) - Abstracts

Phase II

(5-R44-OH008562-03) - A PC Based Virtual Reality Simulation for Forklift Safety Training, Phase II
CHUGH, KEVIN P

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): 6) Project Summary/Abstract The work proposed under this project is the development of a low cost, high fidelity virtual reality forklift safety trainer. There are over 1 million forklifts in operation in the United States, and an estimated 2 million operators (6 million including part time operators). Annually, in this country, there are over 100,000 injuries involving forklifts and every three days someone is killed in a forklift accident. Further, 1 out of every 6 workplace accidents involves a forklift. Forklifts are by far the most dangerous industrial vehicle currently in operation, and the tremendous health and safety impact of their operation is felt by everyone, including operators, floor workers, managers, customers in big box retail, and random passers-by. Experts agree that better safety training is the solution to this alarming rate of injury and fatality. This project aims to deliver a low cost, hands-on, active OSHA-compliant virtual reality safety trainer that allows trainees to operate a virtual forklift in hazardous conditions. The trainer, which employs an inexpensive video game steering wheel and joysticks to accurately simulate the controls of a forklift, is a revolutionary improvement over current training media, which includes video tapes and workbooks, both passive forms of instruction. The broad goal of this project is to reduce the injury and fatality rate in forklift use by reducing the number of accidents. OSHA already requires forklift safety training for all operators, and this goal can be accomplished by giving them a comprehensive, hands-on experience of operating a forklift in hazardous situations, in the same way the military employs flight simulation to train its pilots. The goal will be achieved by employing sophisticated virtual reality and vehicle dynamics algorithms that allow for the scaling of virtual reality technology from expensive supercomputers to commodity office PCs. Tactus has pioneered this effort by taking advantage of the enormous computing and graphics power available on today's average desktop computer, along with the inexpensive video game hardware currently on the market, driven by the video game industry. The result of this project will be a radically improved forklift safety training platform that will be the first ever mass marketed virtual reality based simulation. 7) Project Narrative (Relevance) Safe industrial machine operation affects everyone in the United States, and accidents and injuries are not limited to machine operators. Forklifts, are by far the most dangerous industrial vehicles in use today, due to their high number (over 1 million) and high accident rate (1 in 6 industrial accidents affects a forklift, and there are over 100,000 injuries and 100-200 fatalities each year in the United States due to forklift accidents). Forklifts injure workers, pedestrians, shoppers, delivery people, and even random passers-by (joggers, for example), and their safe operation directly and indirectly constitutes a major public health issue.

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5 R44 CE000180-03 - Validation of Injury Reduction by Bumper Airbags for Heavy Truck Collisions
DREHER, PETER A

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This project strives ultimately to eliminate 90% of the 3,000 deaths and 34,000 injuries each year in the US from heavy truck and bus frontal collisions with cars, SUV's, motorcyclists, bicyclists, and pedestrians. Livvon LLC is developing a bumper airbag system that could achieve this 90% reduction. Phase I of this project used non-linear, dynamic, finite element analysis and computational fluid mechanics to model the airbags in collisions and cross winds. The models were used to explore improvements in the design and optimize it for reducing overall costs. The optimum design produced was large enough to reduce injuries and deaths by 99% each. In Phase ll, Livvon will build the airbag system and test it in the Transportation Research Center Proving Ground Collision Laboratory. The airbag will be mounted on a collision wall, and cars with crash dummies will be towed into it. The airbag will be mounted on an impact trolley and towed into crash dummy pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorcyclists. These results will verify the simulations and may lead to new improvements for further injury reduction. Several rounds of testing and improving are scheduled.

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5 R44 OH007664-03 - Measuring Human Fatigue with the BLT Prototype
LANGLEY, THEODORE D

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Accidents caused by errors and inattention have long plagued industrial society. Many of these accidents are the result of operator fatigue or from health related issues affecting alertness, such as drug side-effects. An effective and practical tool to screen individuals for temporary impairment, before starting work, is vital and urgent. Bowles-Langley Technology, Inc. has developed a computer test to quickly assess an individual's level of fatigue and alertness. The test measures a number of brain performance factors using a computer game- like graphic. Subjects respond by pressing either a YES or a NO button on the tester. Subjects are measured in comparison to their own baseline. This system will screen workers on a daily or periodic basis. Users will include truck drivers, bus drivers, airline pilots, rail workers, air baggage inspectors and maritime workers. Phase I trials showed the software to be sensitive to mild fatigue. The current objective is to increase software stability and to test validity using statistical analysis of experimental results. Tests will be conducted with human subjects at Bowles-Langley Technology's facilities and at the Circadian Technology Sleep Lab. An additional trial will be conducted in a workplace setting with hospital emergency workers. Data will be analyzed using modern Item Response Theory and other statistical methods. The trials will be conducted using the PC platform, but the intended platform is a patented tester suitable for industrial locations. These testers may be quickly deployed and have wide commercial application.

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5 R44 OH007662-03 - A Laser-Based Device for Work Site Stability Assessment
SUN, XIAOQING

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Summary: A laser-based acoustic emission (AE) detection device is proposed for work site structural stability assessment. This new device will take advantage of innovations in laser ultrasonics, artificial intelligence (Al) and advanced acoustic emission technology to provide mine workers with a unique instant, real time stability assessment of immediate rock structures in the working environment, which was not attainable in the past. Nonlinear optical interferometry based on two-wave mixing / photo-induced electromotive force techniques will be used for AE signal detection from rock structures in mine sites. Al criteria will be established by wave pattern recognition to identify unstable areas in mine sites. This research will also result in a unique non-contact monitoring device for acoustic emission/microseismic studies, which will be very useful in many areas of application. The primary objective of the Phase II research is to develop the prototype of the AE detector and test it in real-world mining facilities. The primary objective consists of six specific aims: 1. instrumentation development, 2. pre-field experiment preparation, 3. in-situ data collection, 4. Al criteria development, 5. system integration and in-situ trial, and 6. documentation and reporting. Relevance to Public Health: The innovation will contribute to a reduction the occupational injuries and fatalities caused by roof falls, sidewall crumples, stope collapses, and slope slides, etc., in the mining industry. The research and development addresses the miner's safety and contributes to ensuring the mineworker's right to "safe and healthful working conditions" (Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970).

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