The VSimulators team is pleased to support a new initiative aimed at enhancing the design of pedestrian structures, like footbridges, by focusing on factors that impact user comfort. While modern construction materials are strong and lightweight, they can lead to vibrations that make walking uncomfortable. Notable instances, such as the Millennium Bridge in London and the Passerelle Léopold-Sédar-Senghor in Paris, highlight this issue.
Current design guidelines often overlook critical comfort factors, including vibration intensity, frequency, posture, exposure duration, and walking pace.
Led by the University of Warwick, the SENSATION (pedeStrian’s EvaluatioN of Structural vibrATION) project seeks to address these gaps. Researchers are using the cutting-edge University of Exeter’s VSimulators facility, including the motion platform and biomedical measuring devices, along with a pedestrian footbridge at Warwick, to gather data on how vibrations affect people. Participants will be surveyed, and the project will incorporate direct observations and personal experiences to ensure a comprehensive understanding.
The project is funded by the Horizon Europe MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship – UK Guarantee scheme and is headed by Professor Stana Zivanovic at the University of Warwick.
Professor Zivanovic said: “While we have made progress in understanding human movement and its impact on vibrations, accurately predicting how people respond to these vibrations remains a challenge. The SENSATION project aims to improve pedestrian structure design by considering all these factors for the first time. Our findings will help create designs that prioritise comfort and well-being for pedestrians.
Collaboration is key for success of this multi-disciplinary project. SENSATION brings together my expertise in human interaction with structural vibration, expertise in human biodynamics by Dr Rajesh Govindan who is the Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellow on the project, and the human movement control and coordination expertise by Dr Genevieve Williams. Our experimental work is possible thanks to the excellent technical support in the state-of-the-art VSimulators facility.”
She added: “We would like to thank Horizon Europe and the UK Guarantee Scheme for making this project possible.”
For more information about the project, please visit the UKRI site at https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=EP%2FY027817%2F1