Astronaut Maneuvering-Unit Voice Controller

Abstract

An experimental voice controller to be used in conjunction with an astronaut maneuvering unit has been developed by RCA Advanced Technology under the sponsorship of the Air Force Aero Propulsion Laboratory and the Air Force Avionics Laboratory. The voice controller will permit the spaceman to move about freely outside his space capsule merely by speaking commands into his helmet microphone. The experimental unit recognizes 13 command words in continuous speech, in real time, including such combinations as “roll right” and “pitch up.” The command vocabulary was chosen so that no two words differ only by a single phoneme. This was done to ensure that confusion between command words would not occur and so that the equipment could be simplified to the point where it could be built small enough to be included in the backpack of the astronaut. The experimental model is about the size of a suitcase, weighs 25 lb, and consumes 46 W. However, the experimental unit incorporates design principles necessary to construct a space unit that is less than 100 in.3 in volume, weighs less than 5 lb, and consumes less than 10 W.