Uninhabited Test City

• US 20130255405A1
• Filed: 03/30/2012
• Published: 10/03/2013
• 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
• Granted Patent: US 9,361,810 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 73/865.6
• 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/or evaluating man made structures, the test facility comprising:

user configurable uninhabited environments configured to;

simulate settings in which man made structures are built; and

simulate use of man made structures in the simulated settings;

the user configurable environments comprising;

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

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

a rural environment configured to simulate infrastructure and man made structures in non urban or suburban areas.

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

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

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

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

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

6. The test facility of claim 1, wherein the man made structures 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 man made 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/or 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 9, wherein the automotive transportation network in the suburban environment is less dense than the 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 infrastructure in rural areas 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 11, wherein the automotive transportation network in the rural environment is less dense than the 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 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 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/or 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/or rural environments simulates a typical aggregate electromagnetic environment.

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

reconfigurable man made structures built to simulate use by inhabitants; and

a processor configured to;

obtain input information, the input information comprising one or more of ambient conditions, fictional weather conditions, time of day, geographic location, the people and/or entity interacting with the structure(s), the size of entity and/or the number of people interacting with the structure(s), or biographical information about the people interacting with the structure(s); and

regulate one or more facility wide control parameters responsive to the input information, the regulated facility wide control parameters comprising one or more of mechanical load, electrical load, temperature, humidity, power use, or water use.

19. The test facility of claim 18 wherein one or more reconfigurable man made structures built to simulate use by inhabitants comprises one or more of a home, an office building, and apartment building, a street, a highway, or a bridge.

20. The test facility of claim 18 wherein the processor stochastically calculates structure specific component control parameters based on the input information and controls the components of a structure based on the stochastic calculation.

21. The test facility of claim 18 wherein components of a structure comprise one or more of a heater, an air conditioner, household appliances, sinks, showers, faucets, toilets, electronic devices, lighting, windows, or fans.

22. The test facility of claim 18, further comprising one or more sensors configured to generate output signals conveying information related to:

ambient conditions in and/or around man made structures, wherein ambient conditions comprise one or more of temperature, humidity, pressure, air quality, wind velocity, or light level;

facility wide control parameters;

structure component control parameters, wherein structure component control parameters control components in a structure comprising one or more of a heater, an air conditioner, household appliances, sinks, showers, faucets, toilets, electronic devices, lighting, windows, or fans; and

structure performance, wherein information related to structure performance comprises response to simulated use, and wherein response to simulated use comprises one or more of energy use, energy use efficiency, heat lost to the environment, heat gained from the environment, structure wear and tear over time, response to electrical load, response to temperature load, or response to mechanical load.

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

user configurable uninhabited environments configured;

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

to simulate use of man made 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 allow monitoring of the simulated environments and/or the simulated use of man made structures without interrupting a simulation.

24. The test facility of claim 23, wherein the underground monitoring facility comprises an interconnected series of rooms and/or passageways with above ground access points distributed throughout the simulated environments and/or man made structures of the test facility.

25. The test facility of claim 23, 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.

26. The test facility of claim 23, wherein the underground monitoring facility is configured to communicate with the simulated environments, the man made structures, and/or outside the test facility wirelessly or via wires.

27. The test facility of claim 23, wherein the underground monitoring facility comprises one or more of a room, a tunnel, a hallway, an office, a conference room, a laboratory facility, a computing facility, telecommunications infrastructure, or a parking garage.

28. The test facility of claim 23, wherein the underground monitoring facility is expandable to match expansion of the simulated environments and/or man made structures.

29. The test facility of claim 23, wherein monitoring of the simulated environments and/or the monitoring of the simulated use of man made structures comprises one or more of:

uploading and/or monitoring input information, the input information comprising one or more of fictional weather conditions, time of day, geographic location, the people and/or entity interacting with the structure(s), the size of entity and/or the number of people interacting with the structure(s), or biographical information about the people interacting with the structure(s);

monitoring facility wide control parameters, the regulated facility wide control parameters comprising one or more of mechanical load, electrical load, temperature, humidity, power use, or water use;

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

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

reconfigurable modular structures configured for one or more of connection to future construction and/or future testing, wherein modularity comprises;

ports external to a structure configured for one or more of connecting/ disconnecting telecommunication and/or sensory equipment to the structure, connecting/ disconnecting power to the structure, connecting/disconnecting water to the structure, monitoring one or more one or more parameters related to evaluation of a structure;

mechanical connection points configured for one or more of future construction additions to the structure; and

pre-installation of utilities in undeveloped areas of the test facility, wherein pre-installed utilities comprise one or more of water, power, or electricity.

31. The test facility of claim 30 wherein building materials used to build the man made structures comprise one or more of brick, stone, stucco, concrete, re-enforced concrete, paint, wood, metal, siding, shingles, glass, polymers, or insulation.