Vibrotactile-Based Operational Guidance System for Space Science Experiments

On-orbit astronauts and scientists on the ground need to cooperate closely, to complete space science experiments efficiently. However, for the increasingly diverse space science experiments, scientists are unable to train astronauts on the ground about the details of each experiment. The traditiona...

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Main Authors: Yi Wang, Ge Yu, Guan-Yang Liu, Chao Huang, Yu-Hang Wang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-09-01
Series:Actuators
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0825/10/9/229
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spelling doaj-418480f1ac2d4a66b8a7259da9eb1af02021-09-25T23:32:49ZengMDPI AGActuators2076-08252021-09-011022922910.3390/act10090229Vibrotactile-Based Operational Guidance System for Space Science ExperimentsYi Wang0Ge Yu1Guan-Yang Liu2Chao Huang3Yu-Hang Wang4Robotics Institute, Beihang University, Beijing 102206, ChinaKey Laboratory of Space Utilization, Technology and Engineering Center for Space Utilization Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 102206, ChinaRobotics Institute, Beihang University, Beijing 102206, ChinaRobotics Institute, Beihang University, Beijing 102206, ChinaRobotics Institute, Beihang University, Beijing 102206, ChinaOn-orbit astronauts and scientists on the ground need to cooperate closely, to complete space science experiments efficiently. However, for the increasingly diverse space science experiments, scientists are unable to train astronauts on the ground about the details of each experiment. The traditional interaction of visual and auditory channels is not enough for scientists to directly guide astronauts to experimentalize. An intuitive and transparent interaction interface between scientists and astronauts has to be built to meet the requirements of space science experiments. Therefore, this paper proposed a vibrotactile guidance system for cooperation between scientists and astronauts. We utilized Kinect V2 sensors to track the movements of the participants of space science experiments, process data in the virtual experimental environment developed by Unity 3D, and provide astronauts with different guidance instructions using the wearable vibrotactile device. Compared with other schemes using only visual and auditory channels, our approach provides more direct and more efficient guidance information that astronauts perceive is what they need to perform different tasks. Three virtual space science experiment tasks verified the feasibility of the vibrotactile operational guidance system. Participants were able to complete the experimental task with a short period of training, and the experimental results show that the method has an application prospect.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0825/10/9/229remote sciencetactile feedbackhaptic guidancewearable
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Yi Wang
Ge Yu
Guan-Yang Liu
Chao Huang
Yu-Hang Wang
spellingShingle Yi Wang
Ge Yu
Guan-Yang Liu
Chao Huang
Yu-Hang Wang
Vibrotactile-Based Operational Guidance System for Space Science Experiments
Actuators
remote science
tactile feedback
haptic guidance
wearable
author_facet Yi Wang
Ge Yu
Guan-Yang Liu
Chao Huang
Yu-Hang Wang
author_sort Yi Wang
title Vibrotactile-Based Operational Guidance System for Space Science Experiments
title_short Vibrotactile-Based Operational Guidance System for Space Science Experiments
title_full Vibrotactile-Based Operational Guidance System for Space Science Experiments
title_fullStr Vibrotactile-Based Operational Guidance System for Space Science Experiments
title_full_unstemmed Vibrotactile-Based Operational Guidance System for Space Science Experiments
title_sort vibrotactile-based operational guidance system for space science experiments
publisher MDPI AG
series Actuators
issn 2076-0825
publishDate 2021-09-01
description On-orbit astronauts and scientists on the ground need to cooperate closely, to complete space science experiments efficiently. However, for the increasingly diverse space science experiments, scientists are unable to train astronauts on the ground about the details of each experiment. The traditional interaction of visual and auditory channels is not enough for scientists to directly guide astronauts to experimentalize. An intuitive and transparent interaction interface between scientists and astronauts has to be built to meet the requirements of space science experiments. Therefore, this paper proposed a vibrotactile guidance system for cooperation between scientists and astronauts. We utilized Kinect V2 sensors to track the movements of the participants of space science experiments, process data in the virtual experimental environment developed by Unity 3D, and provide astronauts with different guidance instructions using the wearable vibrotactile device. Compared with other schemes using only visual and auditory channels, our approach provides more direct and more efficient guidance information that astronauts perceive is what they need to perform different tasks. Three virtual space science experiment tasks verified the feasibility of the vibrotactile operational guidance system. Participants were able to complete the experimental task with a short period of training, and the experimental results show that the method has an application prospect.
topic remote science
tactile feedback
haptic guidance
wearable
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0825/10/9/229
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