Quanser Expertise Attracts Advanced Motion Research Projects

As part of his latest experimental research, Professor Venkat Krovi, Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at SUNY Buffalo, was looking to develop a prototype of a 6 DOF motion platform. This platform would move over a fixed base and be interconnected by several legs.

To ensure the smoothest possible working relationship and achieve their goals in a timely, cost-efficient manner, Dr. Krovi and his team at the Automation, Robotics and Mechatronics (ARM) Lab engaged Quanser, a world leader in the design and manufacture of real-time control systems.

Dr. Krovi’s confidence in Quanser was based on experience. He’d worked with Quanser’s engineers before as one of the first users of our brand new High Definition Haptic Device HD2.

From the very beginning, the ARM Lab and Quanser spoke the same language. To generate the mathematical basis for the motion platform project, Dr. Krovi‘s team used Maplesoft's MapleSim mathematical modeling software. Maplesoft is a Quanser development partner, and Quanser’s expertise with MapleSim modeling contributed significantly to the speed and effectiveness of the collaborative process.

Equally important to Dr. Krovi was the fact that Quanser management and engineers fully understood his world. As he put it, “The process became very easy when working with Quanser’s team - from engineering through management, everyone was very cooperative.”

He also found that they could devise solutions in a relatively short timeframe. “We were able to quickly nail down the specifications and proceed through various stages of the design cycle which paved the way to the project and its timely completion.”

The entire process - from concept to working prototype - only took two months, less time than normal in a university setting. This allowed Dr. Krovi’s grad students to remain closely involved throughout. The final product ­ the 6 DOF motion platform Quanser developed with the ARM Lab ­is known as the Hexapod, and it is a key part of Quanser’s Mechatronics Controls Collection.

Quanser's Hexapod is a six degrees of freedom motion platform suitable for research in areas such as earthquake simulation, flight simulation and vibration studies.

Like all Quanser devices, the Hexapod is multi-faceted and designed to work in conjunction with other tools to accomplish a wide range of research goals. Currently, at SUNY Buffalo, the Quanser Hexapod is being used in conjunction with the Quanser Haptic Device HD2 to further needle insertion research by helping design a surgical training simulator for biopsy procedures.

- Note: the Hexapod is no longer available for purchase in North America, Europe, Japan and Taiwan. -