Utilizing IT Capabilities for Remote Participation in Testing of Walls at NEES@Minnesota

Researchers from the University of Minnesota (UMN), Iowa State University and the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez and a consulting engineer from the Nakaki Bashaw Group, Inc. in California have undertaken a collaborative PreNEESR project since 2004. This project focuses on analytical and experimental efforts to investigate the behavior of nonrectangular structural walls subjected to multi-directional loading. The experimental component of the study utilizes the NEES Multi-Axial Subassemblage Testing (MAST) system at Minnesota (NEES@Minnesota). To date, large-scale testing of a T-shaped concrete wall and three rectangular walls has been completed. In each test, a variety of telepresence tools, including those developed and supported by the NEES Cyberinfrastructure Center were used to enable effective collaboration between the researchers at the test site at NEES@Minnesota and those at the remote locations. The author of this paper was on sabbatical leave at the University of Auckland in New Zealand during testing of two rectangular walls. Consequently, the telepresence capabilities of NZNEES@Auckland together with the NEESit tools were used to continue the research project without compromising the real-time collaboration between researchers during the tests. The wall tests conducted to date at NEES@Minnesota were the first NEES experiments to extensively use the telepresence tools and experience the benefits of real time capabilities to advance the simulation models. Consequently, these tests served as a testbed for various telepresence tools. While the benefits of real-time collaboration were realized satisfactorily in the experiments, improvements to the capabilities of telepresence tools were identified and recommended to NEESit. This paper provides a researcher's experience in remotely participating in seismic tests, including the ability to interact with both people and equipment and manipulate test data in real time, and describes how different telepresence technologies were used in the project as well as some recommendations made towards improving capabilities of telepresence tools to enhance real-time research collaboration.