Bracing with muscle

Testing on a building in Tokyo, Japan, reveals that an active protection system designed by Andrei M. Reinhorn and T.T. Soong, at the State University of New York at Buffalo, was successful at controlling both forced and natural vibrations during testing, plus during three earthquakes ranging from 4.9 to 5.6. This 'smart' bracing system, designed with tube braces and hydraulic servo-controlled actuators between the bracing, managed the dissipation of energy by feeling building movement and reacting through hydraulic and electronic feedback to counteract the movement.
Slender structures such as tall buildings and long span structures such as bridges are prone to excessive lateral sways that can lead to structural damage and even collapse during earthquakes [...]