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Floor Plans to Future Plans: 3D Modeling Cabins

Floor Plans to Future Plans: 3D Modeling Cabins

Initial floor plan provided by Professor Nathan Niemi

Nathan Niemi—associate professor for Earth & Environmental Science— approached the 3D lab with a series of floor-plans he had designed in Adobe Illustrator. Nathan and his colleagues (who research neotectonics and structural geology) are working on cabins to be built at their field station in Teton County, Wyoming. The current cabins at their field station are small, and new cabins would provide the opportunity for more student researchers to work the area. Nathan’s group wanted to show alumni and possible donors the plans for the cabins so they can pledge financial support to the project. Nathan was curious about how he could translate his floor plans into a more complete model of the architecture.

Working with Nathan and his colleagues, the Duderstadt Center was able to take his floor plans and create splines (lines used in 3D modeling) in 3D Studio Max. Using these splines, accurate 3D models of the cabins were created to scale. These models were then shown to several people in Nathan’s group, at which point Teton County noticed the slope of the cabin’s roof would not meet building codes for snow load in that region. By viewing their models in 3D, the group was able to revise and review their plans to accommodate these restrictions. These plans are currently being shown to investors and others interested in the project.

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Hybrid Force-Active Structures and Visualization

Hybrid Force-Active Structures and Visualization

Tom Bessai demonstrates using a Microscribe

Tom Bessai is a Canadian architect currently teaching at the University of Michigan Taubman College of Architecture & Urban Planning. This past year Tom has been on sabbatical working with Sean Alquist to research hybrid force-active structures—or structures that work under the force of tension. Much like a bungee cord, these structures have two forms: slack and taught. Sean and Tom have been researching material options and constraints for these structures, experimenting with rope, mesh, nylon, and elastic in various forms.

While these structures borrow from techniques seen in gridshell structures, they are entirely new in that they actuate material as well as the geometry of their design. These structures are first designed in computer-aided design (CAD) software and then are physically built. After building the scale models, Tom uses a Microscribe to plot the vertices of the model in 3D space. These points then appear in Rhino, creating a CAD model based off of the actual, physical structure. Tom can then compare his built model to his simulated model. Comparing the measurements of both structures identifies the relationship between the tension of the structure and the material used. By taking these measurements, the properties of the material can be more specifically defined, allowing for larger and smaller structures to be more accurately designed.

These structures are not only complex and beautiful; Tom imagines they could have a practical application as well. Hybrid force-active structures could be used to control architectural acoustics, create intimate or open environments, or define interior and exterior spaces.

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Using Motion Capture To Test Robot Movement

Using Motion Capture To Test Robot Movement

Student analyzing movement of his group’s robot

At the end of every year, seniors in the College of Engineering are working hard to finish their capstone design projects. These projects are guided by a professor but built entirely by students. Keteki Saoji, a mechanical engineer focusing on manufacturing, took inspiration from Professor Revzen who studies legged locomotion in both insects and robots. Earlier in the year Professor Revzen published the results of experiments with tripping cockroaches which indicated that insects can use their body mechanics and momentum to stabilize their motions, rather than relying on their nervous system interpreting their environment and sending electrical messages to the muscles. The study predicts that robots which similarly lack feedback can be designed to be remarkably stable while running.

Saoji and her three teammates took on the challenge of creating a robot that would maintain such stability on very rough terrains. They worked with a hexapedal robot designed at the University of Pennsylvania that was shown to follow the same mechanically stabilizing dynamics as cockroaches. The team had to design new legs with sensors allowing the robot to detect when its feet hit the ground. The changes in motion introduced by sensing were so subtle that they needed special equipment to see the change. Using the Duderstadt Center’s eight-camera Motion Capture system, the team was able to track the intricacies of how the robot moved when sensory information is used and when it is not used. They took the data collected from the Motion Capture session to track how the robot moved with their mechanical and programming revisions, establishing that ground contact sensing allows robot motions to adapt more effectively to rougher ground.

A student’s robot covered in sensors.
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Generative Components and Genetic Algorithms

Generative Components and Genetic Algorithms

Genetic algorithms aim to mimic natural selection in the design process. A set of parameters or “genes” characterize a “species” of artifact. Individuals within the species express different values for those genes. A fitness function evaluates each individual’s health. The algorithm works by assigning random gene values for several individuals, evaluating them, discarding the weakest ones, breeding the strongest ones by interchanging genes, and repeating for successive generations. Genetic algorithms sometimes yield surprising designs that a strictly deductive deterministic design process might not discover.

This project uses Bentley Generative Components to script parametric designs for several classes of structures, including folded plates, branching columns, and geodesic domes. Bentley STAAD structural analysis serves as the fitness function.

Monica Ponce de Leon (Dean of Architecture and Urban and Regional Planning) is the principal investigator. Peter von Bülow (Associate Professor of Architecture) develops the genetic algorithms. Ted Hall worked with recent Architecture graduates Jason Dembski and Kevin Deng to script the structures and visualize them at full scale 3D in the MIDEN.