05 November 2023 , 16:37
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A new wearable device designed for astronauts could stop them getting lost in space.
The contraception works with the use of vibrotactile sensors, which vibrate to give signals relating to certain locations while travelling in space.
It was set up with the aim of minimising risks linked with disorientation during spaceflight. Spatial disorientation has deadly consequences for astronauts, because when they leave the earth's surface humans lose several cues needed for orientation, and astronauts can lose their sense of direction entirely.
Typically astronauts need intensive training to prevent this from happening, but scientists hope the new device can ensure space travel is safer. Dr Vivekanand Vimal of Brandeis University, Massachusetts, United States said: “Long duration spaceflight will cause many physiological and psychological stressors which will make astronauts very susceptible to spatial disorientation.
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Typically astronauts need extensive training to prevent them from getting lost in space (Getty Images)“When disoriented, an astronaut will no longer be able to rely on their own internal sensors which they have depended on for their whole lives.” Researchers discovered the sensor by using sensory deprivation and a multi-axis rotation device to try out vibrotactors in simulated spaceflight, so that senses participants would typically rely on were not usable.
Thirty participants were recruited and ten received training to balance in the rotation, ten received the vibrotactors and the remaining ten received both. All participants were gifted a blindfold, earplugs and white noise to listen to.
Those wearing vibrotractors has four strapped to each arm and they would buzz when they moved further from the balance point. Each participant took part in forty trials, trying to keep the rotation device as close to the balance point as possible.
The majority of participants reported that they trusted the device, as well as performing better than those who only received training. The training-only group crashed more often, moved around the balance point more and accidentally destabilised themselves frequently.
With trials continuing, the group who received both training and vibrotractors performed best. Dr Vimal said: “A pilot’s cognitive trust in this external device will most likely not be enough. Instead, the trust has to be at a deeper, almost sub-cognitive, level. To achieve this, specialised training will be required.”
After extra testing with the sensors, developers have show there are potential further applications for use in spaceflight, from helping astronauts land safely on the planet's surface to supporting them as they move beyond a vehicle in space.