SPACE — The sky is no longer the limit, but flying in space remains more dangerous. When leaving the surface or land, astronauts lose many clues to orient themselves, and spatial disorientation can be fatal.
Astronauts usually require intensive training to avoid getting lost. But scientists have now discovered devices that can vibrate to provide orientation cues.
The suits could significantly increase the effectiveness of astronaut training, making space flights safer.
“Long-term spaceflight will cause a lot of physiological and psychological stress, which will make astronauts very vulnerable to spatial disorientation,” said Dr Vivekanand P Vimal from Brandeis University in the United States. He is the lead author of an article in Frontiers in Physiology about the device.
“When experiencing disorientation, an astronaut can no longer rely on their own internal sensors, which they have previously relied on,” he said.
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Researchers used sensory switching and a multi-axis rotation device to test astronaut vibrotactors in space flight simulations. This makes the senses that astronauts usually rely on useless.
It was then tested how the vibrotactor could correct the ‘lost’ cues the participants received from their vestibular system. So, can test participants be trained to trust these signals?
The total number of participants recruited was 30 people. 10 of them received rotational balance training, 10 received a vibrotactor, and the remaining 10 received both. All participants were shown a video of the rotation device and told how it worked.
The device moves like an inverted pendulum until it reaches the crash limit, except that the device is stabilized by a person sitting on the device who controls it with a joystick.
Additional training includes tasks to disengage from their vestibular senses, and relying on a vibrotactor rather than natural gravity cues. A number of the tasks involve searching for hidden non-vertical balance points. This means that participants should ignore the urge to align themselves into an upright position and focus on the vibrotactor.
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All participants were given blindfolds, earplugs, and white noise to listen to. Those with vibrotactors had four devices strapped to each arm, which buzzed as they moved away from their balance point. Each participant took part in 40 trials, aimed at keeping the rotation device as close to the balance point as possible.
During half of the experiments, the rotation device was operated in the vertical roll plane. This is considered an Earth analogy because participants can use natural gravitational cues for orientation. In the second half, the test was considered as an analogue of space flight, i.e
rotational devices operate in a horizontal roll plane where such gravitational signals can no longer be of assistance.
After each trial was completed, participants were asked to rate how disoriented they felt and how much they trusted the vibrotactor. Scientists measured success by looking at how often they fell and how well they controlled their balance.
2023-11-03 20:42:00
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