Unusual Attitudes Demand Unusual Solutions
At the 2007 I/ITSEC (Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation Education Conference) imagine our surprise the first time we laid eye on the "Vestimumax." This was a device that sure seemed like it had one inclination above all else... to shake a pilot up in ways that were rarely equaled by any aircraft. A first time exhibitor at I/ITSEC, its manufacturer, Ultrathera Technologies, was showing off its brainchild, the Vestimumax -- a "computer controlled multi-axis rotating trainer capable of producing quantifiable vestibular stimuli." In other words, it was a whirling dervish of a machine designed to turn a pilot every which way in order to evaluate their sensitivity or acclimate them to the rigors of aggressive maneuvering... especially for those flying front line fighters in air combat maneuvering.
The inventor of the Vestimumax is Kevin Maher... who, after some encouragement from initial military forays (including guidance from the Air Force Academy), decided that the device had the potential to help pilots in a number of ways... to evaluate their suitability for the rigors of flight, to help line flyers stay prepared for aggressive flight regimes and lower the accident rate for those who maintained their abilities (in part) with the help of devices like his... and help those who had had some problems in the past, ease past the issues that were plaguing them and "toughen" their tolerances for such maneuvering.
It was a pressing personal challenge that led Maher to develop the highly maneuverable capabilities of Vestimumax. He had originally invented it for his daughter, stricken with cerebral palsy. Her condition had saddled the child with "significant sensory integration disorder"... for which medical experts had actually 'prescribed a number of spins and rolls' on the floor for the little girl. Maher noted that doing this by themselves (without external aid) was difficult to maintain and wasn't the most comfortable process for his little girl... But, since he was an engineer, he "knew there had to be a better way." For this reason Vestimumax was born... but it was after an association with the US Air Force academy that he decided that other applications were possible.
Maher hypothesized that Vestimumax could be used to set benchmarks and evaluate/quantify responses to the maneuvering/physical stimuli and when properly combined with the right evaluation tools, that the device had the chance to offer a new set of tools to those selecting flyers for new generations of future airplanes.
Evaluation turned out to be just the tip of the iceberg, as research showed that regular "exercise" in the Vestimumax seemed to offer the possibility of allowing for reductions in motion sickness and spatial disorientation and even increasing one's tolerance to such upsets. He saw such results in his own daughter... who was somewhat sensitive to the maneuverability of the device at first but within a few months he found that he "could not rotate it fast enough for her -- and she was having fun."
Maher has founded a new company, Ultrathera, to promote new aeronautical uses for the Vestimumax. With potential utility in pilot training duties, as well as evaluation and rehabilitation, the future of the Vestimumax program would seem to be a solid one. We're intrigued as to the future of this concept and intend to follow along... we'll do our best to keep you updated.
FMI: www.ultrathera.com
Copyright 2008, Aero-News network, Inc., ALL Rights Reserved
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178 Seconds to live - Spatial Disorientationby tehkick21,020 views
hah, i've been in teh prototype, and it was awesome... and yeah... he does say stimuli and quantify alot...
fireisredish 4 years ago
If he says "stimuli" or "quantify: one more time....
:)
hubbardr1 4 years ago