Virtual reality combined with an exoskeleton

The number of space travellers is expected to significantly increase in the next few decades. However, current tools for astronauts are not well-adapted to the needs of mass training for microgravity environments.

The EXOSUIT project from Space Applications Services describes a training system that requires a low level of supervision while also allowing high flexibility, scalability, customization, safety and immersion. It is based on an upper-body exoskeleton and a Virtual Reality (VR) environment that work seamlessly to replicate the movements of the trainees while also allowing force feedback.

With this bilateral communication, the movements of the trainees are replicated in the virtual world in real time, and the users can feel the forces involved in different activities such as grabbing, pushing, pulling, drilling or even feeling the constraints of a spacesuit.

Read more about Extended Reality (XR) at ESA