The GERT suit allows design students to personally experience the impairments of senior adults, such as vision, hearing mobility, tactile sensation, hand and finger flexibility and grip strength. This simulation helps strengthen empathetic understanding of the decreased physical capabilities of senior adults, which may then be translated to real-world problems and solutions. It is also utilized in visual merchandising and product development courses to foster empathy and responsiveness in design innovation among young learners. Students experiment with components of the suit (special goggles, hearing protection, cervical collar, weight vest, elbow wraps, wrist weight cuffs, special gloves, knee wraps and ankle weight cuffs and eye disease simulation glasses) in retail simulations that command auditory, tactile, vision, mobility and reach capabilities.

Our eight-camera motion capture system combined with a wireless electromyography (EMG) system is used to quantify human motion and muscle activity. Students use this technology to study different motion, including gait in older individuals, sitting posture in police officers, dance movements in ballet dancers and reaching and bending issues in store environments. This technology also allows researchers to simulate real-world scenarios and test new designs in a lab setting. For instance, design of new smart garments can be tested for mobility related issues as individuals wear and move in these garments.