Nasa

Role

• UX Researcher

• Product Designer

Timeline

• 12 Weeks

Team

• 3 NASA aeronautical engineers

• 1 UX Mentor

• UX Student

First Exploration

This first exploration received the name of Pebble study

1. We each placed pebbles in our socks, then over the course of an hour, we watched the sensations we felt.

2. The objective was to make notes on the kinds of observations we would expect to find in a survey, and then use those notes to reverse-engineer a survey using our findings.

3. familiarized ourselves with the impact that an obtrusive fit had on our experience.

Using the proper wording was essential to identifying the type of pain the participant was experiencing, as we also learned from chronic pain assessment questionnaires from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. in addition to the significance of the questions' formulation.

We also added our own pain references, such as getting poked and stepping on LEGO, and found Wong-Baker's faces Pain Rating Scale to be helpful because it is simpler for people to relate to.

Subsequent Exploration

Then, how can discomfort be assessed? We were able to create the best conditions for testing discomfort by modifying socks with buttons that were uncomfortable enough to report. We also mocked up the space boot with an oversized winter boot and used straps on the outside that allowed us to tighten it to each person’s foot.

Findings

We discovered from testing our current survey that while people struggle to identify injury sites precisely, they can identify the rank and shape of pressure. We also discovered that, compared to standing or walking, people typically find it harder to pull up on the foot bar and stand on their toes.

Our solution must be safe to use and capable of determining the location and intensity of the pressure. Additionally, it should be undetectable by the user, take less than ten minutes to use, and be evaluated. Last but not least, it will be vulnerable to stretching brought on by putting on and taking off the space suit, as well as from contact with other space suit parts.

We discovered this technique of using conductive thread with neoprene after conducting numerous tests with conductive fabric and velostat. We then tested a small sensor to see if it would work. Here is a demonstration of a 2x2 grid of these fabric sensors coupled with LEDs that glow brighter where pressure is being applied.

We created a garment for the dorsum of the foot after testing this approach and finding it to be effective. The final sensor garment, as seen in the images, has an array of 15 sensor outputs that are connected by fabric ribbon cables to threads that extend up to the calf in two layers of neoprene.

Here is a picture of the sensor and the conductive thread inside. The thread's path inside the neoprene is marked by the chalk lines. Neoprene is made of two layers of fabric connected by a spacer. We were able to sew between the two layers of neoprene, which insulates the conductive thread.

The conductive thread loops that the fabric ribbon cables terminated in could be plugged into with conventional male headers and wires to connect them to the arduino boards. We then hooked female headers into these loops. We added an insulating material in between the leads because of their close proximity in order to prevent interference.

We cut the side of the boot to make it simpler to put on and take off the boot while the sensor is attached. To achieve a more adjustable fit, we later sewed velcro to the cut sides. Then, to create the discomfort required to test our survey and sensor, we sewed buttons onto pieces of velcro that we can arrange inside the boot as needed.

In order to gather data on fit while moving, we then gave participants 6 tasks to complete, including standing, walking on uneven ground, climbing steps, pulling up on a foot bar, standing on their toes, and squatting.

The idea was to create terrain that looked like Mars' surface.

We timed when each participant completed the aforementioned tasks in order to analyze the data. For instance, from seconds 0 to 8 would involve walking, from seconds 8 to 16 would involve climbing stairs, and so on. We would then connect the point in those tasks when the sensors tested the most pressure.