Uninhabited test city

• US 9,361,810 B2
• Filed: 03/30/2012
• Issued: 06/07/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/30/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Pegasus Global Strategic Solutions LLC (Pegasus Global Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Pegasus Global Strategic Solutions LLC (Pegasus Global Holdings, Inc.)
• Inventors: Brumley, Robert H., Brumley, Robert H. III, Reedy, Michael J., Brumley, Fletcher W., Warner, Charles
• Primary Examiner(s): Shah, Kamini S
• Assistant Examiner(s): PIERRE LOUIS, ANDRE
• Application Number:
  US13/436,531
• Publication Number:
  US 20130255405A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,530 Days
• Field of Search: 703/1
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01M 99/008 by doing functionality tests
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 37/00 Details not covered by any other group of this subclass
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 25/04 of buildings

Abstract

A full scale uninhabited test facility is configured for building modular man made structures, evaluating modular man made structures, evaluating use of modular man made structures, and/or for other purposes. The structures may be located in a user configurable simulated environment. One or more structures may be configured to simulate use by inhabitants in a simulated environment. After testing, the constructed structure(s) may remain where built in the simulated environment(s) until such time as another user may reconfigure the environments or structures. As additional structures are built and/or modified, new and old structures may operate side by side, generating opportunity, for example, to test new and/or different technology on the same structures.

Claims

1. A full scale uninhabited test facility configured for building, and evaluating man made structures, the test facility comprising:

user configurable uninhabited environments configured to;

simulate settings in which man made infrastructure and structures are built; and

simulate use of man made infrastructure and structures in the simulated settings;

the user configurable environments comprising;

an urban environment configured to simulate infrastructure and structures in a city;

a suburban environment configured to simulate infrastructure and structures around a city; and

a rural environment configured to simulate infrastructure and structures in non urban or suburban areas; and

an underground monitoring facility configured to facilitate monitoring the infrastructure and structures including simulated use of the infrastructure and structures in the urban environment, the suburban environment, and the rural environment without interrupting a simulation,

wherein monitoring comprises;

uploading input information for the simulation, the input information indicating;

fictional weather conditions;

a time of day;

a geographic location;

a number of people interacting with the infrastructure and structures in the urban, suburban, and rural environments; and

biographical information about the people interacting with the infrastructure and structures in the urban, suburban, and rural environments;

monitoring facility wide control parameters, the facility wide control parameters comprising a mechanical load, an electrical load, a temperature, a humidity, power use, and water use; and

monitoring stochastically calculated structure specific component control parameters, wherein components of a structure comprise a heater, an air conditioner, household appliances, sinks, showers, faucets, toilets, electronic devices, lighting, windows, and fans.

2. The test facility of claim 1, wherein the structures in the urban environment comprise:

an urban structure density, wherein structure density is the combined interior square footage of structures per given land area.

3. The test facility of claim 2, wherein a suburban structure density is lower than the urban structure density.

4. The test facility of claim 3, wherein a rural structure density is lower than the suburban structure density.

5. The test facility of claim 4, wherein structure density varies geographically across the urban, suburban, and/rural environments.

6. The test facility of claim 1, wherein the structures in the urban, suburban, and rural environments comprise:

structure dimensional variation, wherein structure height, width, and/or depth vary from one structure to the next.

7. The test facility of claim 6, wherein the structures in the urban environment comprise one or more of:

one or more low rise structures, wherein a low rise structure is no more than four stories tall;

or

one or more high rise structures, wherein a high rise structure is more than four stories tall.

8. The test facility of claim 6, wherein the structures in the suburban and/rural environments comprise one or more low rise structures, wherein a low rise structure comprises a structure no more than four stories tall.

9. The test facility of claim 1, wherein infrastructure in the urban environment comprises transportation infrastructure, wherein the transportation infrastructure comprises;

a subway system, wherein the subway system comprises underground railway tracks and above ground/underground passenger loading/unloading stations accessible from street level for passenger transportation to different locations in the urban environment; and

an automotive transportation network, wherein the automotive transportation network comprises;

a road network, wherein the road network comprises one or more of roads, intersections, automated traffic guidance, stop signs, parking spaces, or traffic cameras; and

a highway network, wherein the highway network comprises one or more of above ground multi lane roadways, underground multi lane roadways, highway on ramps, highway on ramp metering lights, highway off ramps, toll plazas, or highway to highway transition ramps.

10. The test facility of claim 1, wherein infrastructure in the suburban environment comprises transportation infrastructure, wherein the transportation infrastructure comprises:

an automotive transportation network, wherein the automotive transportation network comprises;

a road network, wherein the road network comprises one or more of roads, intersections, automated traffic guidance, stop signs, parking spaces, or traffic cameras; and

a highway network, wherein the highway network comprises one or more of above ground multi lane roadways, underground multi lane roadways, highway on ramps, highway on ramp metering lights, highway off ramps, toll plazas, automated traffic guidance, or highway to highway transition ramps.

11. The test facility of claim 10, wherein the automotive transportation network in the suburban environment is less dense than an automotive transportation network in the urban environment, and wherein automotive transportation network density comprises one or more of number of roads per given land area, number of lanes per road, number of highways per given land area, number of lanes per highway, number of road intersections per given land area, number of highway intersections per land area, number of parking spaces per land area, or amount of automated traffic guidance per given land area.

12. The test facility of claim 1, wherein the infrastructure in the rural environment comprises transportation infrastructure, wherein the transportation infrastructure comprises:

an automotive transportation network, wherein the automotive transportation network comprises one or more of paved roads, dirt roads, intersections, parking spaces or automated traffic guidance.

13. The test facility of claim 12, wherein the automotive transportation network in the rural environment is less dense than an automotive transportation network in the suburban environment, and wherein automotive transportation network density comprises one or more of number of roads per given land area, number of lanes per road, number of highways per given land area, number of lanes per highway, number of road intersections per given land area, number of highway intersections per land area, number of parking spaces per land area, or amount of automated traffic guidance per given land area.

14. The test facility of claim 1, wherein the infrastructure in rural areas comprises:

one or more open land tracts, wherein an open land tract comprises;

an open area of land between man made structures; and

one or more of farmland, land for grazing cattle, or undeveloped land containing no man made structures.

15. The test facility of claim 1, wherein the structures in the urban environment comprise cultural venues, wherein the cultural venues comprise one or more of a museum, a stadium, a zoo, or a concert venue.

16. The test facility of claim 1, wherein the infrastructure in the urban and/suburban environments comprises a park, and wherein the park comprises one or more of an open grass field, trees, a pool, a playground, or a gymnasium.

17. The test facility of claim 1, wherein the infrastructure in the urban, suburban, and/rural environments simulates a typical aggregate electromagnetic environment.

18. The test facility of claim 1, wherein the underground monitoring facility comprises an interconnected series of rooms housing monitoring equipment, and/or passageways with above ground access points distributed throughout the environments of the test facility, such that a user located in the underground monitoring facility monitors the infrastructure and structures in the environments and the simulated use of the infrastructure and structures without interrupting a simulation via the monitoring equipment.

19. The test facility of claim 1, wherein the underground monitoring facility is accessible from above ground via one or more access points configured so as not interrupt a simulation during use of the access point.

20. The test facility of claim 1, wherein the underground monitoring facility is configured to communicate with the infrastructure and structures in the environments, and outside the test facility wirelessly or via wires.

21. The test facility of claim 1, wherein the underground monitoring facility comprises three or more of a room, a tunnel, a hallway, an office, a conference room, a laboratory facility, a computing facility, or telecommunications infrastructure.

22. The test facility of claim 1, wherein the underground monitoring facility is expandable to match expansion of the infrastructure and structures in the environments.