A Web-based tutorial and tele-operation system for earthquake engineering education

We describe a system for the demonstration, explanation, and control of a laboratory setup comprising a scale-model of a building affixed to a "shaker-table" that simulates earthquakes. Senior design class students are creating a system to control the shaker-table. The signal generator controlling the table's translation is interfaced to a Web page, allowing the user to easily select different ground motion patterns. The building's reactions exhibit various modes of vibration. A 3D graphics model of the building is also shown on the Web page using VRML. This model is animated using Java programs so that it also exhibits the vibration modes of the real building. A set of associated Web pages provide a tutorial for the structural and earthquake engineering concepts that can be demonstrated with the shaker-table scale building in creative combination with the computer graphics models.