Industrial Art and Design has transformed a burned out storefront on Minneapolis' northeast side into an veritable idea foundry. With a philosophy and portfolio developed through years of academic, professional and personal experimentation, fabrication and old fashioned tinkering, IAD has a uniquely holistic perspective on tap for any challenge.
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MAST Project
The Multi-Axial Subassemblage Testing (MAST) Laboratory, located on the Minneapolis campus of the University of Minnesota, is part of the Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES). This nationwide network of facilities provides next-generation experimental research equipment used to advance earthquake engineering research and education.
The MAST lab was designed to perform large-scale testing and simulations on the integrity of structures subjected to earthquakes, wind, and other extreme loadings. In order to monitor and record their experiments, the MAST lab contracted IAD to design and build a set of 4 Telepresence towers.
The towers were constructed with one 12' and two 6' sections to allow height adjustment from 12' to 24' tall. Each tower was equipped with two independent carriages whose height could be controlled remotely from the control room (and eventually from the Internet). Each carriage was designed to carry 40 lbs of video and still cameras, microphones, and lighting to record experiments in progress. The lab desired compact towers whose footprint would not exceed 24" and would have minimal movement with the carriages at full height.