Wearable Sensor Suit System For Quantifying Human-Spacesuit Interactions

One major challenge in designing a spacesuit to safely accommodate its wearer is the inability to study interactions between the wearer and the suit. The current work presents requirements and a preliminary system design for a wearable sensor system capable of observing the dynamics and kinematics of human-spacesuit interaction, as well as characterizing wearer physiological responses and the suit environment during performance of suited tasks. The system will measure contact pressures, joint kinematics, temperature, humidity, and heart rate over most of the wearer's body, and accommodate anthropometries in the range between fifth percentile female to ninety-fifth percentile male in stature. Justifications for each requirement are presented, and applications of the system are discussed.