Sensorimotor impairment and haptic support in microgravity

Weber, Bernhard; Riecke, Cornelia; Stulp, Freek

doi:10.1007/s00221-020-06024-1

Cited by 13 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…The results of this study suggest that integrated feedback manipulations are a promising countermeasure for sensorimotor decrements observed during microgravity. Similar results were observed in a recent investigation using haptic cues to compensate for sensorimotor impairments in microgravity (Weber et al, 2021). It appears that feedback manipulations may facilitate the successful performance of mission critical tasks, and future work should continue to explore constraints that can facilitate or interfere with bimanual control performance.…”

Section: Retention and Transfersupporting

confidence: 90%

The Influence of Altered-Gravity on Bimanual Coordination: Retention and Transfer

et al. 2022

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Many of the activities associated with spaceflight require individuals to coordinate actions between the limbs (e.g., controlling a rover, landing a spacecraft). However, research investigating the influence of gravity on bimanual coordination has been limited. The current experiment was designed to determine an individual’s ability to adapt to altered-gravity when performing a complex bimanual force coordination task, and to identify constraints that influence coordination dynamics in altered-gravity. A tilt table was used to simulate gravity on Earth [90° head-up tilt (HUT)] and microgravity [6° head-down tilt (HDT)]. Right limb dominant participants (N = 12) were required to produce 1:1 in-phase and 1:2 multi-frequency force patterns. Lissajous information was provided to guide performance. Participants performed 14, 20 s trials at 90° HUT (Earth). Following a 30-min rest period, participants performed, for each coordination pattern, two retention trials (Earth) followed by two transfer trials in simulated microgravity (6° HDT). Results indicated that participants were able to transfer their training performance during the Earth condition to the microgravity condition with no additional training. No differences between gravity conditions for measures associated with timing (interpeak interval ratio, phase angle slope ratio) were observed. However, despite the effective timing of the force pulses, there were differences in measures associated with force production (peak force, STD of peak force mean force). The results of this study suggest that Lissajous displays may help counteract manual control decrements observed during microgravity. Future work should continue to explore constraints that can facilitate or interfere with bimanual control performance in altered-gravity environments.

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Section: Retention and Transfersupporting

confidence: 90%

The Influence of Altered-Gravity on Bimanual Coordination: Retention and Transfer

et al. 2022

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“…Furthermore, as in the earlier studies on aiming and tracking performance (Weber et al, 2021) with position control, it is expected that the sensorimotor impairments in the early phase of adaptation can be mitigated by haptic support in the case of velocity control. With such haptic support provided by the input device, no gravitational forces are simulated (as in Bringoux et al, 2012), but the mechanical properties of the device (such as spring stiffness, viscous damping, and virtual mass) are used to stabilize the required movements.…”

Section: Present Series Of Studiesmentioning

confidence: 80%

“…Since velocity control is generally more cognitively demanding than position control, it is expected that, in contrast to previous studies by the authors (Weber et al, 2021, sensorimotor performance decrements which can be attributed to attentional deficits may also occur at later times of exposition (Manzey et al, 2000). However, these should primarily affect feedforwardcontrolled performance dimensions (e.g., reaction times) rather than feedback-controlled dimensions.…”

Section: Present Series Of Studiesmentioning

confidence: 81%

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Sensorimotor impairments during spaceflight: Trigger mechanisms and haptic assistance

Weber

Stelzer

2022

Front. Neuroergonomics

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In a few years, manned space missions are planned in which the sensorimotor performance of humans will be of outstanding importance. However, research has repeatedly shown that human sensorimotor function can be impaired under conditions of microgravity. One way to compensate for these impairments is haptic feedback provided by the human-machine interface. In the current series of studies, sensorimotor performance was measured in basic aiming and tracking tasks. These tasks had to be performed using a force feedback joystick with different haptic settings (three spring stiffnesses, two dampings, two virtual masses, and no haptics). In two terrestrial studies, we investigated (1) the effects of cognitive load on performance in a dual-task paradigm (N = 10) and (2) which learning effects can be expected in these tasks in a longitudinal study design (N = 20). In the subsequent space study (N = 3 astronauts), the influence of microgravity and haptic settings of the joystick were investigated. For this purpose, three mission sessions after 2, 4, and 6 weeks on board the International Space Station (ISS), as well as terrestrial pre- and post-flight sessions, were conducted. The results of the studies indicated that (1) additional cognitive load led to longer reaction times during aiming and increased tracking error while aiming precision was not affected. (2) Significant learning effects were evident for most measures in the study on time effects. (3) Contrary to the expected learning trend, microgravity impaired the aiming precision performance of all astronauts in the initial phase of adaptation (2 weeks in space). No other significant effects were found. Intriguingly, these performance decrements could be compensated for with low to medium spring stiffness and virtual mass. The general result pattern provides further evidence that distorted proprioception during early adaptation to microgravity conditions is one main mechanism underlying sensorimotor impairment.

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“…Previous research showed degradation of human sensorimotor performance during motion and force application tasks in microgravity (32,20,33). Because of this and other unique conditions of space missions (e.g., high workload), a feasibility study must be conducted under real spaceflight conditions to derive reliable insights and should not simply be simulated in a terrestrial setup.…”

Section: Contributionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring planet geology through force-feedback telemanipulation from orbit

et al. 2022

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Current space exploration roadmaps envision exploring the surface geology of celestial bodies with robots for both scientific research and in situ resource utilization. In such unstructured, poorly lit, complex, and remote environments, automation is not always possible, and some tasks, such as geological sampling, require direct teleoperation aided by force-feedback (FF). The operator would be on an orbiting spacecraft, and poor bandwidth, high latency, and packet loss from orbit to ground mean that safe, stable, and transparent interaction is a substantial technical challenge. For this scenario, a control method was developed that ensures stability at high delay without reduction in speed or loss of positioning accuracy. At the same time, a new level of safety is achieved not only through FF itself but also through an intrinsic property of the approach preventing hard impacts. On the basis of this method, a tele-exploration scenario was simulated in the Analog-1 experiment with an astronaut on the International Space Station (ISS) using a 6–degree-of-freedom (DoF) FF capable haptic input device to control a mobile robot with manipulator on Earth to collect rock samples. The 6-DoF FF telemanipulation from space was performed at a round-trip communication delay constantly between 770 and 850 milliseconds and an average packet loss of 1.27%. This experiment showcases the feasibility of a complete space exploration scenario via haptic telemanipulation under spaceflight conditions. The results underline the benefits of this control method for safe and accurate interactions and of haptic feedback in general.

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Sensorimotor impairment and haptic support in microgravity

Cited by 13 publications

References 38 publications

The Influence of Altered-Gravity on Bimanual Coordination: Retention and Transfer

The Influence of Altered-Gravity on Bimanual Coordination: Retention and Transfer

Sensorimotor impairments during spaceflight: Trigger mechanisms and haptic assistance

Exploring planet geology through force-feedback telemanipulation from orbit

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