Improve the collaboration between astronauts and mission control center by using tangible asynchronous LED space-to-earth communication?
HOW MIGHT WE
CHALLENGE
→ Space-to-earth communication is often ineffective caused by time delays and long distances. This often contributes to a risk of reliability and security during spacewalks for tasks as construction or research missions.
→ At the same time crews operating in space requires reliable, secure and efficient communication to be able to perform tasks as well as support from ground personnel in mission control center.
→ Our challenge was to improve collaboration between CAPCOM and astronauts by providing message sorting, clear notifications, message tracking and reminders for scheduled activities using tangible asynchronous LED space communication.
CLIENT: SPECULATIVE DESIGN SOLUTIONS. ROLES: PHYSICAL PRODUCT DESIGN & USER INTERFACES.
DISCOVERY
After the alignment of team, scope and an understanding of the scope we started off with the discovery phase. Mainly focusing on research in the area, an understanding of user painpoints, deep diving into causes for time delays and potential improvement. We summarized our insights within a PACT analysis to get a better understanding of our task.
People
These users are highly educated engineers and scientists who work with advanced technology and are likely familiar with working with various computer systems. The feedback from users includes the ability to sort messages, clear notifications, and reminders for activities.
Activities
Mission control center personnel have many activities, including ensuring crew safety and monitoring mission performance, requiring effective communication channels with the crew. The main activity is for the astronauts to complete a space mission, where CAPCOM needs to communicate with them to guide collaboration in the right direction and be responsible for crew safety during their spacewalk.
Context
Despite the large number of people supporting the mission from Mission Control Centers around the world, including Russia, Japan, the US, and Germany, the high security risk of space missions requires stable communication to be established with the six astronauts on board the spacecraft, who also aim to become as autonomous as possible due to common problems such as long time delays of up to 20 minutes.
Technology
Communication between space and Earth can be done via various means, such as radio signals or computer systems, but they can weaken as the distance from Earth increases, and time delays can be a challenge. Satellites and laser communication are possible solutions under development, and "Playbook Mission Log" is a digital communication system that allows chat, image and video sharing, with varying priority levels and a timeline of activities.
We started to brainstorm around the problem trying to clarify different perspectives to transform them into concepts around time delays, isolation among others.
BRAINSTORMING
LAB & IDEATION
Focusing on brainstorming and testing different hypothesis we could quickly evaluate our ideas to further iterate them using analog sketching before final implementation to the core concept.
WE TESTED THROUGH ANALOG SKETCHING
WE TESTED THROUGH DIGITAL SKETCHING AND CONNECTIONS
WE TESTED THROUGH DIFFERENT MATERIALS
ARDUINO AS AN INTERACTIVE INPUT OF TEST MATERIAL
CORE CONCEPT
As the focus of the project was to increase collaboration by conceptualize the communication between mission control center and astronauts using asynchronous LED lights the concept was categorized into 3 different aspects.
Secure communication system
In this communication system, the mission control center sends information to the astronauts using a series of LED lights that are located in a the space helmet. The lights are asynchronous, meaning they are not synchronized with any particular frequency or rhythm. Instead, they are used to represent different types of information using different colors or patterns.
Clarity
The LED lights can be used to communicate various types of information to the astronauts, such as tasks, planning, and other important messages. For example, a red light could be used to signal an emergency or an urgent message, while a green light could indicate that a task has been completed successfully. Other colors and patterns can be used to communicate different types of messages or information. The LED lights can also be used in combination with other visual cues to help the astronauts understand the message.
Availability & Reliability
LED lights for communication can be seen clearly in low light conditions or even in complete darkness. This is particularly important in space missions, where the lighting conditions can be very different from those on Earth. Additionally, LED lights are very reliable and can be programmed to display specific messages automatically, reducing the risk of human error or miscommunication.
Outcome
Limitations & Feasibility
Space-to-earth communication is complex. There are limitations to LED communication systems. For example, the information that can be conveyed through LED lights is limited compared to voice communication, and it may be more difficult to convey nuances or complex information. Additionally, this system may not be suitable for all types of communication.
This concept is made for exploring new alternatives to communication between astronauts and mission control center. Therefor it resulted in interactive possibilities and aspects to keep in mind for further investigation of communication between space and Earth.
PERSONAL TAKEAWAYS
THE IMPORTANCE OF TESTING IDEAS
The ability to test ideas before implementation is crucial as it helps us identify flaws and weaknesses in the concept, allowing for improvements to be made before investing significant resources into it. Further more, testing ideas is a crucial step in the innovation and development process, helping to ensure that resources are used efficiently and effectively.