Perception-Based Engineering Lab - Ray W. Herrick Laboratories - Purdue University

The world's first Perception-Based Engineering lab.

Perception-Based Engineering (PBE) researchers study people's perceptions of stimuli, their influence on satisfaction, comfort, annoyance and performance -- and the relationship between those outcomes and the system, design, and operational parameters. PBE faculty at Purdue work on projects related to touch interfaces, sound and vibration quality, image quality and depth perception, display design and graphics optimization, effects of noise on performance, and human-computer interaction.

The Perception-Based Engineering Lab is uniquely designed to accommodate this work:

• 43' by 28' chamber, with adjacent observational control room
• 22' tall ceilings
• TEAM 6 degree-of-freedom shaker, which can be covered when not in use
• Fine control of lighting, temperature (55°F-85°F), and humidity (20% to 80%)
• Acoustic treatments offer a sound-isolated environment
• Windows can be darkened or opened for natural light
• Re-configurable as several small isolated rooms or one larger room

Flying high

The PBE Lab is also versatile enough to accommodate all sorts of experiments, from indoor air quality to acoustics.  For example, it is equipped with infrared cameras to conduct human motion-capture studies, or experiments with autonomous copters or robots.