Future Astronaut Suits Could Feature Augmented Reality - Nextgov

NASA’s Glenn Research Center successful Ohio is exploring adding augmented world to spacesuits successful an effort to summation astronaut autonomy successful instances of real-time connection challenges betwixt abstraction and Earth.

According to past week’s petition for information, NASA is looking for imaginable sources oregon providers for a spacesuit augmented world show strategy for its Joint Augmented Reality Visual Informatics System, oregon Joint AR, project. As noted successful the request, NASA “aims to recognize a spacesuit compatible AR strategy that is comprised of a display, power and compute subsystems.” 

Future suited unit operations are expected to beryllium much self-reliant due to the fact that “communication clip delays constrain the quality for unit to interact with ngo power enactment from Earth successful a real-time capacity.” The requested AR strategy is simply a imaginable solution to let astronauts to enactment connected missions during extravehicular activity. 

The petition stated that the AR strategy volition supply a caller connection mean betwixt the unit and Earth’s ngo power by adding dynamic ocular cueing, arsenic a abbreviated word benefit. Meanwhile, successful the agelong run, it volition let interplanetary quality exploration by supplementing oregon replacing ngo enactment from Earth to assistance the abstraction unit marque informed decisions. 

Specifically, the petition noted that an important constituent for the occurrence of Joint AR is “to comfortably show accusation to the suited unit subordinate via a minimally intrusive see-through display.” NASA does not privation head-worn near-eye show configurations due to the fact that of cognition and strategy integration challenges. Instead, the bureau is looking for show configurations that are not attached to the user’s head, similar a Heads-Up-Display. But the limitations of the suit forestall accepted HUD designs. However, NASA provided illustration renderings of what this could look like, arsenic good arsenic optical requirements for the AR strategy configuration. 

NASA added that it would similar the Joint AR displays to beryllium full-colored and binocular, but the archetypal procreation of these displays tin beryllium monochrome and monocular. The show elements whitethorn beryllium located wrong the suit helmet bubble oregon extracurricular it, but indispensable beryllium low-profile and minimally invasive to the bubble mold-line to not interfere with unit actions. If these are wrong the bubble, the elements volition request to beryllium capable to beryllium successful a 100% oxygen situation and powered elements successful this situation indispensable code flammability and different information concerns. Additionally, strategy elements volition beryllium taxable to vacuum, dust, radiation and utmost thermal conditions, the RFI stated. 

As noted successful the RFI, the Joint AR show should mitigate vergence-accommodation conflict— which prevents up-close objects from being successful focus. According to NASA, tract tests show that, during suited unit operations, the astronaut volition request accusation to show portion looking astatine objects astatine varying distances—for example, thing successful the distant skyline and past thing up close—so having technologies that tin automatically set and hole this effect is beneficial, peculiarly for usability. NASA added that unit members volition beryllium utilizing the AR strategy periodically for up to 8 hours. 

NASA provided respective questions and areas for respondents to address, specified arsenic however existent AR systems could beryllium modified oregon scaled to conscionable the agency’s requirements, however technologies nether improvement could fulfill these requirements and the feasibility of the request, among different things.

Responses are owed to the NASA contracting serviceman connected March 17, 2023, by 5pm ET.