Falls Laboratory

The Falls Lab houses a motion-platform for studying balance control. This platform is 7 m x 3 m and is made up of 8 large force plates (a 4 X 2 grid of 1.5m X 1.5m force plates). It will allow unpredictable balance disturbances to be applied in a well-controlled and safe manner while subjects engage in various tasks. The platform will be used to study compensatory reactions to unexpected perturbations created by platform movements in the horizontal plane. These movements can be random or can be triggered by an event (e.g. a force plate or motion system event). The platform is capable of high accelerations and velocities with total displacements of up to 2m in the horizontal plane. The motion path can be linear in any direction or can be comprised of combinations of different X and Y motions during gait, stance and seated postures. This lab will accommodate studies that do not need the full 6 degree of freedom capabilities of the CEAL motion simulator and which may benefit from the longer walking distances, greater availability and lower cost of operation.