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NASA NTRS2014

Transfer-of-Training Research at NASA Ames Research Center

In this presentation, I will first give an overview of some of the research being performed at the Human Systems Integration Division of NASAs Ames Research Center. In the second part of the presentation, I will discuss two studies that investigate the effects of simulator motion on pilot transfer of training. In a study funded by the Federal Aviation Administration, task performance is used to investigate the effects of motion on the training of 4 challenging tasks in a transport category aircraft. In addition, the effectiveness of recently proposed objective motion cueing criteria for training simulators are evaluated. The second study, part of the NASA Aeronautics Research Program, focuses on optimizing simulator motion for maximum transfer of stall recovery training and utilizes a cybernetic approach to measure transfer of training.

Zaal, Peter M. T.↗

NASA NTRS2014

Detect and Avoid Timeline

This brief presentation provides a timeline for the steps taken by an unmanned aerial system (UAS) pilot when maneuvering to avoid a conflicting aircraft. This talk also provides time estimates for each step in the timeline utilizing 'measured response' data from previous Human Systems Integration Division simulation research.

Fern, Lisa↗

NASA NTRS2019

Air Vehicle Factors Affecting Occupant Health, Comfort, and Productivity

Urban Air Mobility (UAM) vehicles will need to meet the safety and comfort expectations of passengers and crews. However, existing Federal Aviation Administration airworthiness standards for airplanes and rotorcraft are unlikely to adequately address these needs. Some insight into this issue may be gained from research into NASA's approach to human-systems integration standards and guidelines that promote astronaut health, safety, and performance, since both space and UAM vehicles must consider factors such as occupant motion sickness, vibration, and sound levels. Building upon knowledge garnered from the experience of NASA, the U.S. Department of Defense, and other international organizations, this presentation will elucidate: 1) how UAM-induced flight factors can impact occupant comfort, productivity, as well as safety; and 2) how government and industry standards could be developed or revised to help assure passenger acceptance of revolutionary Vertical Take Off and Landing aircraft technologies.

Adelstein, Bernard D.↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Elevated CO2 Could Undermine an Exploration Crew's Ability to Independently Respond to Unanticipated, Time- and Safety-Critical Anomalies

Safety and mission critical anomalies are inevitable on NASA exploration missions. Delays and interruptions in communication with Earth-experts drives the requirement that crew resolve some time- and safety-critical anomalies on their own. The HRP, HFBP, Human-System Integration Architecture (HSIA) risk refers to the possibility that, during communication blackouts and thus the absence of vast ground expertise, a small crew may not be able to independently respond to unanticipated, time-critical malfunctions or to detect safety critical procedure errors.

carbon dioxide↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

IMPACT User Experience

NASA Human Research Project (HRP) and Exploration Medical Capabilities (ExMC) team identified a need to implement a human-centered design approach for a computational tool that performs detailed trade space analysis and research prioritization, known as Informing Mission Planning via Analysis of Complex Tradespaces (IMPACT). IMPACT processes numerous parameters such as space vehicle design, mission objectives, evacuation capability, medical events, and mission constraint, including but not limited to; duration, mass, volume, equipment, and medical capability, each with complex and interconnected relationships. The ability for users to navigate through these complexities and provide an intuitive report is critical to aiding stakeholders in the decision-making process of future missions. In this presentation we will discuss how the IMPACT team has applied human-centered design strategies to improve system usability by modelling human-system integration (i.e., task analysis) with the MagicDraw SysML modelling application and performing A/B testing of user interface prototypes.

S Ozbek↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Crew Performance Support System to Aid in Anomaly Resolution: Concept of Operations

As missions progress into deep space, communication delays and disruptions will disenable the crew’s reliance on Earth experts. There are also limitations in the amount of data that can be downlinked to the ground. It is prudent to assume that critical, complex vehicle or habitat sub-systems will malfunction at a time when a lunar or Mars’ crew cannot rely on the Earth-Support team to detect, diagnose and resolve the problem and it is impractical to expect a small crew to step-in with the same level of expertise as 50+ authorities. The crew will need novel processes and advanced technological support to independently identify and resolve safety- and time-critical anomalies. That a self-reliant crew is unable to respond appropriately to time-critical anomalies is a significant risk to crew safety and mission success. This risk is driven by several factors; novel and unanticipated anomalies would not have been trained pre-flight, the crew could forget their pre-flight training or spaceflight stressors could impair the crew’s problem-solving ability. At last year’s IWS, Beard reported that a single spaceflight stressor (elevated CO2) could undermine the crew’s ability to independently respond to emergencies. Concept of Operations (ConOps) provide a common view of future system functions to all stakeholders. For the current project, a ConOps was developed that describes the operational processes, practices and capabilities needed by a crew of astronauts on deep space missions to autonomously respond to anticipated and unanticipated anomalies. It is crucial to recognize that, as of August 2018 existing technologies are unable to effectively support crew anomaly response to unanticipated events. “Intelligent technology” has not reached a maturity level that permits generalizing a solution to novel situations. For example, to train intelligent technology requires volumes of data that do not exist. The complexities involved in a manned mission to Mars cannot be compared to sending rovers to Mars using scripted software. This ConOps proposes a Crew Performance Support System (CPSS) that will push NASA and its industry partners toward what will be required for a safe and successful manned mission to Mars. Anomaly resolution during a deep space mission will take place within a dynamic, or changing, context. The figure to the left shows five broad contextual variables: the organizational culture, mission context, system characteristics, team characteristics and individual characteristics. The yellow arrow indicates that spaceflight and task-related stressors can affect system, team and individual crewmember characteristics and therefore anomaly response potential. The figure depicts a protective umbrella of Human-System Integration (HSI) principles that should be instituted during CPSS development including a balanced workload, shared situation awareness and building an appropriate level of trust in the automation. The figure also depicts two interrelated and cooperative components, an HSI Data System and other Enabling Capabilities will be required to support crew anomaly response and Earth-Support situation awareness. As we journey from ISS to Gateway to Mars, multiple, simultaneous and integrated research and development efforts (i.e., support systems co-evolution) must be implemented to meet the problem-solving challenges a self-reliant crew will face on a Mars’ mission. The crossovers between the capabilities are just as important as the discrete capabilities themselves. As the capabilities mature, the lines between the support subdomains will blur and an integrated system will emerge. The ConOps summarizes current knowledge about how highly trained people solve anomalies in safety- and time-critical situations, describes a group of capabilities that could help to reduce the extant risk and documents requirements levied on additional systems that provides critical inputs to the CPSS. Scenarios are used to promote a shared understanding of processes, practices and technological goals needed for safe and productive manned missions beyond LEO.

HSIA risk↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Spacesuit and Mobility Performance Changes

The complex interactions between the human body and spacesuit lead to changes inmovement patterns and mobility performancesof the wearer. In general, factors including the geometric properties, such as shape and size, mechanical properties of the suit, and pressurization of the suit are known to be associated with altered movement patterns as compared to an unsuited human.However, their relative contributions have not been explicitly quantified from the mobility performance perspectives. The goal of this study wasthus to assessthe effects fromthe different types of mobility constraintconditions, namely by wearing either a 3D printed hard upper torso (HUT) assembly orfully pressurized spacesuit. The outcome was also compared against the unsuited motions. For this study, an xEMU (exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit) suitwas considered, which is the next generation spacesuit developed by NASA. In each test condition, the subject was asked to move the arm and hand as prescribedfor different task types, and the corresponding body segment locations were recordedusing a 3D motion capture system. The following three tasks were performedand analyzed: 1) Outward one-handed reaches:the subject in a standing pose made sweeping motions with the extended right arm from the extreme end-to-end positions, including side-to-side at different elevations and top-to-bottom at different azimuths. 2) Outward two-handed reaches:similarto the previous task, howeverthe subject kept the hands together during the motions in order to assessthe areas that can be reached by both hands. 3) Inward one-handed reaches:the subject made right-hand reach motions to the surface of the HUT.The hand traces collected from each task were modeled by a template shape parametrically deformed with a radial basis function. This process enabled foran abstraction of the hand traces into a smooth surface envelope representing the maximally reachable area of the test subject, of which the shapes and sizes were compared across the different test conditions. The preliminary analysis has shown that theoverall size of reachenvelopes decreases in a pressurized suit compared to 3D printed mockup HUT and unsuited conditions. The specific shape of the envelopes, which were determined by the reachable and unreachable zones, alsovary with the testconditions, and the differences werepronounced with the inward reaches to the HUT surface. The latter observation ispotentially relatedto the increased demandfor shoulder and elbow flexions.Overcomingthe resistance from the pressurizedsoft goods and mechanical constraints of the shoulder assemblywas seen to be associated with the difference in motion patterns between the suited and unsuited conditions. Overall, the information quantified from this study is expected to provide structured metrics for spacesuit mobility, which can improve design optimization and human-system integration.

K Han Kim↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Psychoacoustic Measures for UAM noise in the Context of Ambient Sound

The noise component of future aircraft and operations from Urban Air Mobility (UAM) vehicles is widely recognized as a challenge to community acceptance. NASA’s RVLT (Revolutionary Vertical Lift Technology) program is currently supporting research in the area of human response and psychoacoustics in an effort to augment current metrics for traditional aircraft. This talk will review current work at NASA Ames’ Human Systems Integration Division to evaluate detection, annoyance, and acceptability of UAM sound, in the context of expected ambient sound conditions.

aircraft noise disturbance↗

NASA NTRS2023

X-57 Cockpit Interface Control Document (ICD-CEPT-006)

The Cockpit Interface Control Document defines the hardware interfaces between the X-57 cockpit and subsystems. It provides locational and operational information in support of ground and flight operations with details on controls and displays that include Modes of Operation, Start-Up and Shut- Down Sequence diagrams and captures the current state of the MOD II Avionics Power Architecture. There is also preliminary information of the MOD III and MOD IV configurations. Microsoft PowerPoint was chosen for the document as early development required frequent meetings with multiple customers including aircraft operators (pilots), ground operations, support contractors and power, instrumentation, and human systems integration engineers and PowerPoint enabled presentations that could be quickly modified based on customer and developer interaction. One of the driving requirements for the cockpit design was to keep the left side panel as close the stock Tecnam panel as possible to reduce the failure risk of flight critical indicators. The original annunciator panel in the left side panel was modified to alert the pilot to failures in critical X-57 subsystems and an operator audio alert capability was added for these subsystems. Power-Up switches for the aircraft low voltage 13.8 VDC systems are located at the bottom of the left side panel and center panel, the same location as the stock Tecnam 13.8 VDC switches. The switches for energizing the high voltage system were located in the overhead panel to reduce the risk of inadvertently energizing the high voltage system during the low voltage power-up sequence. The Cruise Motor ARM switches were also located in the overhead panel and correspond to the same location as the stock Tecnam ignition switches. The stock Tecnam throttle levers and prop pitch levers were retained for the X-57. The throttle levers were renamed torque levers since they controlled the commanded torque to the cruise motors. The prop pitch levers provide a commanded RPM signal to an electronic prop pitch controller. X-57 specific displays, located in the right-side panel, are driven by dedicated sensors that monitor right and left side cruise motor RPM, right and left high voltage “Traction Bus” A and B (voltage, current and power) and the Avionics Bus DC converters (A and B) voltage and current. An X-57 Multi-Function Display (MFD) located in the center panel displays CAN Bus parameters. CAN Bus architecture is not certified for flight so these displays could not be used for safety critical information but were designed to be used for test point information only.

Laura Kushner↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

NASA MSFC Use of Physical Mockups in Virtual Reality

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

HSI↗

NASA NTRS2024

Anthropometric Measurement Procedures at the Anthropometry and Biomechanics Facility

The Anthropometry and Biomechanics Facility (ABF) at NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) is the centralized source of anthropometry data at NASA for use in requirement development, engineering design, and verification of human-system integrations such as spacesuits and vehicles. To ensure the collection of consistent, accurate, and valid anthropometry data, ABF has defined anthropometric measurements and anatomical landmarks which are generally based on the Anthropometric Survey for US Army Personnel (ANSUR), but with additional measurements which have been uniquely designed for spacesuit and hardware accommodation purposes. Unlike ANSUR, NASA anthropometry measurements primarily rely on 3D body scanning, a method which allows for explicitly defining the process of collecting measurements and the quality control methods used to ensure measurement reliability. In addition to ABF’s anthropometry measurement definitions and procedures, this presentation will also compare specifics of different measurement techniques ABF uses, for example, laser scanning versus manual measurement methods (e.g., tape measure or anthropometer-based), and the benefits and considerations of each method. The evolution of ABF’s measurement process will also be addressed, as new spaceflight programs have been introduced which have required unique measurements and the need to capture body shape changes over time was identified to be critical for spacesuit fit in some instances.

Garima Gupta↗

NASA NTRS2024

Population Accommodation for NASA Spacesuit and Hardware

The goal of this work is to review the population accommodation principles and methodologies NASA Johnson Space Center has developed for the spacesuit, vehicle hardware, and habitats. NASA has defined the target population characteristics in the Human-System Integration Requirements based on the US Army Anthropometric Survey (ANSUR) database. However, the data was screened to select the cases of 30-50 year old subjects, given the historical characteristics of the crew. Further, accommodation ranges were defined for critical body measurements, as NASA aims to accommodate 1st percentile female to 99th percentile male of the crew-like population. The historical truncation thresholds of 5-95th percentiles were not used. This ensured that the accommodation range was not limited and accounted for the current astronaut population. A simulation study also showed that less than 68% of the population may have remained after multiple measurement truncations due to the anthropometry covariance patterns if the narrower range was retained. The ranges were also adjusted for long-term trends of body shape changes as predicted by the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Overall, the requirements were deemed critical to ensure the fit and accommodation of the new suit and space hardware. The requirements have specifically defined boundary cases for verifications and validations, of which the details have proven useful as standards across the different space programs. The specific use and benefits will be further discussed through case studies at the presentation.

Han Kim↗

NASA NTRS2024

Anthropometric Measurement Procedures at the Anthropometry and Biomechanics Facility

Garima Gupta↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

3D Scanning System to Assess Gravity-Dependent Body Shape Changes

The human body shows unique morphological changes when exposed to different gravity conditions, including muscle atrophy, fluid shift, and spinal elongation. Such changes need to be incorporated for human-system integration in the vehicle habitat, garment, and spacesuit designs, as inaccurate body measurements can result in suboptimal crew protection that can potentially decrease injury tolerance. However, measurement tools have not been available for accurate assessments of body shape changes. This work aimed to develop a prototype 3-D body scanning system with the configuration and performance optimized for in-flight crewmember body scanning. A scan hardware system was developed using Intel RealSense commercial off-the-shelf 3D sensors. The sensor parameters were iteratively optimized and tested to obtain the performance level needed for body scanning. A scan booth structure was fabricated, with the overall size 4 x 4 x 8 feet. The specific number of sensors and mounting positions were determined by iterative simulations, which indicated that 16 cameras can capture 94% and 96% of body surface area from the 1st percentile female and 99th percentile male crew population subject. The mounted sensors were linked through a mix of USB-C and USB-3 cables and operated for data acquisition from a Linux laptop computer. A software prototype was developed using Python and Tkinter graphical user interface toolkit. A calibration procedure was also built using a panel of QR codes. A computer vision tool detected and decoded the unique ID and pattern locations of the QR codes. The calibration information determined the position and orientation of the 3D sensors with respect to each other. The scanner performance was assessed using a set of 3D printed custom manikins. The manikin size and shape were derived from the previous ISS study, which measured the crewmembers’ anthropometry changes across the different flight phases. The average anthropometric measurements at the pre-flight and flight day 15 were sampled and projected onto the 1st percentile female and 99th percentile male body shapes. Another pair of manikins were also 3D printed to simulate the neutral body posture, estimated from ISS microgravity environments. A preliminary analysis assessed the performance of the newly developed scanner against the reference scanner, which has been used at the NASA JSC for crew and test subject anthropometry. Although the new scanner data showed several artifacts and missing geometries in the occluded body areas such as armpits and crotch, overall shape matched with the reference scan. When the manikin surface coordinates were compared, a root mean square error of 1.3 cm was observed from the manikin torso segment. Linear measurements including the stature, knee height and circumference measurements at the chest and calf showed differences from the reference scan measurements, ranging between 0.3 and 0.9 cm. Overall, this work demonstrated a development framework for an in-flight scanner with design and operation optimized for crewmember body scanning. Further improvement can potentially provide previously unavailable anthropometric data from different gravitational environments, including 0-g, 1/6-g, and 1-g. Such data can improve suit fit, habitat design, exercise efficacy quantification and sizing of orthostatic intolerance garments.

K H Kim↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Assessment of the State of Communication Delay Research in Preparation for Missions Beyond Low Earth Orbit

NASA’s mission-operations paradigm, established during Project Mercury and minimally evolving through the Apollo Program, Space Shuttle Program, and ISS missions, has primarily depended on real-time support from a ground team of experts. This ground team has served as the safety net for crewed spaceflight missions over the past 60 years, managing the combined state of the mission, vehicle, and crew. However, this operational paradigm, which has seen little change in its Human-Systems Integration Architecture (HSIA), will face challenges during long-duration exploration missions beyond low Earth orbit. Lunar missions may experience one-way communication latencies ranging from 3 to 14 seconds, while Mars missions will encounter up to a 44-minute round-trip latency at a maximum distance from Earth. Communication delays negatively impact the behavioral health and performance of individuals and crews operating across the multi-team space-to-ground system. Previous research indicates that increased isolation and the challenges posed by delayed communication lead to heightened stress, frustration, adverse behavioral symptoms, and reduced individual performance. NASA has investigated the nature and effectiveness of managing this shift in complex operations since early 2000, but additional research is necessary to assess the issues associated with communication latencies and identify effective countermeasures. This work aimed to examine the evidence from 20 years of research on comm delays. We systematically reviewed the past 20 years of communication delay literature, focusing on how this research aligns with relevant, high-priority needs in the HSIA, Team, and BMed Risks. This type of panoramic review has not been done since 2013; a current, aggregated picture of what has been studied and how is needed to inform additional studies and mitigation development. Additional perspectives were gained from interviews with the research participants, operations experts, and communication delay researchers. Results from this effort will help characterize the risk posed by communication latency for upcoming Artemis missions and point toward potential mitigations. The final results will be presented. For the literature review, we formed a search term seed set drawing from languages used in two papers representative of the previous state of knowledge and supplemented it with additional search terms. We conducted literature searches on Google Scholar, PubMed, and Web of Science and searched NASA project archives for output from NASA-sponsored research. This search yielded 150 papers, of which 48 were relevant. SME interviews provided perspective on key communication delay issues and concerns and what is being worked on to mitigate those issues. Preliminary results of the literature review have been presented. Final results to be presented include the results of the literature review and findings from the interviews.

literature review↗

NASA NTRS1994

NASA's Man-Systems Integration Standards: A Human Factors Engineering Standard for Everyone in the Nineties

During the second half of the 1980s, a document was created by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to aid in the application of good human factors engineering and human interface practices to the design and development of hardware and systems for use in all United States manned space flight programs. This comprehensive document, known as NASA-STD-3000, the Man-Systems Integration Standards (MSIS), attempts to address, from a human factors engineering/human interface standpoint, all of the various types of equipment with which manned space flight crew members must deal. Basically, all of the human interface situations addressed in the MSIS are present in terrestrially based systems also. The premise of this paper is that, starting with this already created standard, comprehensive documents addressing human factors engineering and human interface concerns could be developed to aid in the design of almost any type of equipment or system which humans interface with in any terrestrial environment. Utilizing the systems and processes currently in place in the MSIS Development Facility at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX, any number of MSIS volumes addressing the human factors / human interface needs of any terrestrially based (or, for that matter, airborne) system could be created.

Cletis R. Booher↗

NASA NTRS1984

Avionics/crew station integration

The U.S. Navy has been encouraging advanced development concepts aimed at increasing the aircraft instrumentation performance for multi-platform applications of 1990's weapons systems. The three areas covered by the Navy's research and development effort are: System Integration, Technology, and Human Factors. The System Integration objectives are to produce a system architecture easily adaptable to many platforms. Technology objectives are to determine the state of the art for displays, electronics, and controls. The Human Factors objectives are to determine the proper human-machine interfaces so that the ultimate crew station will be capable of providing the pilot with the proper display and controls performance to satisfy the diverse requirements of a fighter, attack, ASW, fixed-wing, rotary-wing, and V/STOL platforms in both a one-man crew or two-man crew matrix. All data/control interface among units of this crew station and other platform subsystems will be via digital data buses and video multiplex buses. No individual discrete signal, data, or control lines will be needed. This paper discusses the six interfaces necessary to ensure the optimum development of this crew station, the predicted platform mission improvements, and the requisite life-cycle cost considerations. This concept will serve as a basis for planning the integration of the necessary hardware and software features in current and future weapons systems.

Mulley, W. G.↗

NASA NTRS1983

A study on airborne integrated display system and human information processing

The cognitive behavior of pilots was examined in an experiment involving mock ups of an eight display electronic attitude direction indicator for an airborne integrated display. Displays were presented in digital, analog digital, and analog format to experienced pilots. Two tests were run, one involving the speed of memorization in a single exposure and the other comprising two five second exposures spaced 30 sec apart. Errors increased with the speed of memorization. Generally, the analog information was assimilated faster than the digital data, with regard to the response speed. Information processing was quantified as 25 bits for the first five second exposure and 15 bits during the second.

Mizumoto, K.↗