VR Simulation System for EVA Astronaut Training

Abstract

The objective of this research is to develop a VR simulation system for EVA astronaut training. The key techniques relating to VR training system are studied, which include astronaut body motion tracking, hand motion tracking, hand force feedback, and space scene construction. The human-computer interaction with both visual and force feedback are carried out in the system. The force feedback of hand operating enhances the astronaut realistic feeling in training. A case study on training astronauts for space walking and load retrieve has been conducted and the experimental results demonstrate effectiveness and usability of the system. I. Introduction owadays, the manned spaceflight project is constantly improved that astronauts will be confronted with more and more spaceflight mission. EVA (Extravehicular Activity) is one of the basic technologies for manned spaceflight mission. In EVA astronauts will be faced with various space operations so that they need to get adequate training on the ground to master perfect manipulative skills of working in space. Astronaut training methods therefore play an important role for space mission preparation and should be extended and improved. N Virtual reality technology as a training method has advantages of digitization, reusability, safety and being able to go through the limitations of physical environments that it has already become an effective means for astronaut training on the ground. Since 1980’s, the researches of virtual reality techniques used in astronaut training have been conducted in NASA, ESA and Canada and accomplished outstanding achievements. In previous researches the human-computer interaction mainly focused on visual feedback rather than force feedback. In this paper we developed a VR Simulation System in which both visual and force feedback is provided to astronaut to make training more realistic. The paper firstly describes the framework of the VR simulation system for EVA astronaut training. Then give the implementation in detail of body motion tracking, hand motion tracking, hand force feedback, and construction of virtual space scene. A case study on training astronauts for space walking and load retrieve is conducted at last to validate the system performance and usability. The experimental results demonstrate that the VR simulation system given in this research can be directly used to train astronaut for EVA preparation.