Babcock has been awarded a £750,000 contract by University
College London (UCL) to expand and upgrade a key component of the
university's Pedestrian Accessibility & Movement Environment
Laboratory (PAMELA), as part of an Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council Funded Project.
PAMELA, an adjustable platform of paving surfaces combined with
cutting-edge lighting and sound technology, provides valuable
insights into how pedestrians interact with their environment for
academic, industrial and public sector research, and was hailed as
a world first in 2006.
At present the 80 square metre artificial pavement of square and
triangular paving slabs is supported by 260 mechanical legs, and
includes 21 passive and 36 movable modules which can be adjusted in
terms of height, incline, surface material, colour, texture, and
layout to simulate numerous pavement environments and research
hazards encountered by pedestrians.
Babcock was originally awarded a contract to design and supply
the fully articulated square and triangular modules in 2004, having
put forward an engineered design that would meet the performance
requirements at minimised cost, and incorporated a number of key
strengths. Notably, Babcock's design overcame a number of
significant engineering challenges including the provision of
natural and torsional rigidity to achieve the correct 'feel' of
what was intended to represent a solid pavement on the movable
modules.
The modules are controlled by a central computer, enabling them
to be set to a predetermined topography. The original scope of
supply included all power and communication cabling, the computer
hardware and software and a number of auxiliary items such as a
wheelchair lift for disabled access to the facility, a pallet truck
for moving modules around the facility, access stairways, and a
significant number of parapet units to prevent the facility users
falling from the platform.
Babcock's design innovation and control system knowledge, and
the cost-effectiveness of its value engineered solution, were key
to successfully delivering the original contract, and the company's
Integrated Technology team has now been contracted to increase the
number of movable platform modules, and design, develop and test an
updated control and power system. This is required to meet the
considerable, growing demand for the facility from a range of UK
and overseas establishments.
As a result of the upgrades to be delivered by Babcock under the
new contract, the number of movable modules will be increased from
36 to 58, providing full articulation capability over the entire
area. The new units are to be supplied to the original design
standard, requiring careful manufacture, assembly, and test.
Further, the modules are to be wirelessly controlled (reducing
layout set up times and providing enhanced module positional and
performance feedback) involving significant revision of the control
system to operate on a WiFi network basis and incorporate the new
features. Achievement of a reliable WiFi network in the PAMELA
environment is a particular challenge. Babcock's solution will be
designed and demonstrated to UCL prior to production manufacture of
the electronic control boxes, which will then be fitted to each new
and existing module. Ultimately, successful delivery of the
contract will involve the demonstration at the PAMELA facility of a
range of UCL specified topography set ups, utilising all 58 modules
and demonstrating the functionality of the new features.
Babcock Integrated Technology project manager Mark Francis
comments: "This contract and its predecessor are excellent examples
of Babcock's ability to conceive innovative, cost-effective
solutions in unusual environments. We have also been able to draw
on our wealth of experience in control system design and
development (much of it acquired through our long involvement in
defence systems technology) to provide this unique equipment. We
hope to continue to support UCL in their ongoing and future cutting
edge research programmes."
The project will take 12 months to complete, with the platform
extension and new control system due to be delivered and
demonstrated to UCL in July 2011.