Researchers at TDMRC Universitas Syiah Kuala have developed a homegrown seismic simulation platform. It may be small in scale today, but the ambition behind it is anything but. Adrian Ulza (left) and Shahibul Mighvar (right) with the SIM-Geumpa uniaxial shaking table prototype at TDMRC, Universitas Syiah Kuala
Banda Aceh, June 08, 2026 – Researchers at the Tsunami and Disaster Mitigation Research Center (TDMRC), Universitas Syiah Kuala (USK), have developed SIM-Geumpa, a uniaxial earthquake shaking table designed and built entirely in-house for laboratory-scale seismic simulation. The name draws from geumpa, the Acehnese word for earthquake. It marks a new milestone in building domestic research capacity for a country that sits atop one of the world’s most seismically active zones.
The prototype, currently under development, is capable of generating three types of ground motion inputs: sinusoidal waves, frequency sweep signals, and earthquake record excitations. These modes allow researchers to subject scaled structural models to a range of dynamic loading scenarios, from controlled harmonic tests to replays of historical seismic events. The table operates along a single axis, with a maximum payload of 1 kg, a peak ground acceleration (PGA) of 1.0 g, a maximum velocity of 125 mm/s, and a displacement range of 50 mm. Development to this stage has been carried out with internal funding from TDMRC.
“This shaking table prototype is still under development, and it may be small in scale today. But the ambition behind it is about self-reliance, about strengthening our understanding of earthquake-resistant structures using tools we built ourselves. We are actively looking for research partners and funding opportunities to continue our R&D.” — Adrian Ulza, Principal Investigator, SIM-Geumpa, TDMRC-USK.
The platform is the result of a collaborative R&D effort led by civil engineering lecturer Ir. Adrian Ulza, S.T., M.Sc. as principal investigator. The mechanical and electrical design, from component selection to physical assembly, was carried out by co-researcher Shahibul Mighvar, S.T., whose hands-on work translated the concept into a functioning prototype.
A key distinguishing feature of SIM-Geumpa is its integrated control interface, which connects the hardware directly to a PC-based UI. This allows operators to configure excitation parameters, monitor real-time response data, and replay recorded ground motions from past earthquakes. The system architecture combines embedded control hardware with a browser-accessible frontend, making the platform accessible for both research applications and educational demonstrations.
(a) Design mockup of the SIM-Geumpa shaking table prototype; (b) the PC-based control and monitoring interface during earthquake record excitation.
The development sits within a broader research thrust at TDMRC aimed at advancing intelligent and instrumented infrastructure, a domain spanning seismic vulnerability analysis, structural health monitoring, and the application of data-driven methods to disaster risk assessment. SIM-Geumpa represents its experimental hardware dimension: a locally conceived, locally built apparatus intended to feed empirical data into those analytical frameworks.
The team is candid about where the prototype currently stands. The hardware has defined limits, the platform is uniaxial, and the path toward multi-directional, higher-payload capabilities depends on sustained research funding. But the researchers frame this not as a constraint but as a starting point. The goal, as Adrian Ulza describes it, is continuous R&D, with each iteration expanding the system’s capacity and broadening its applications.
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