Tactile Display Technologies as an Enabler for Space Exploration Operations

Tactile displays have demonstrated improved situational awareness (SA) in aerospace research with the potential to improve safety and mission success for space exploration operations. Tactile situation awareness system (TSAS) studies have demonstrated improved pilot and operator SA and performance in both simulated and actual flight-testing, including a study of simulated Space Shuttle guided precision approaches and landings (A/Ls) where 12 US Air Force test pilot subjects each performed 24 precision A/Ls from 50,000 ft Mean Sea Level (MSL) in a realistic medium fidelity, fixed-based Shuttle simulator with partial instrument failures, secondary visual, and arithmetic tasks to increase cognitive workload . A tactile display belt using 24 electro-mechanical tactile transducers (tactors) was worn by all subjects. The control group (n=6) used visual-only information for 16 of 24 trials; the test group (n=6) received tactile guidance cues for all 24 trials. The study results from six objective and subjective measures plus pre-and post-flight surveys showed that tactile displays decreased overall workload, improved SA, counteracted fatigue, and provided superior warning and monitoring capacity for this dynamic, complex spaceflight related task. Performance improvement results were statistically inconclusive, although operator feedback revealed that sensory input was generally intuitive and improved task learning despite degraded system, and environmental conditions. The results implied improvements in overall safety, consistency, reliability, and ease of training and operations for both this specific task and broader general applications. Further, the results suggest that tactile display technologies may be a key integrated systems solution to bolstering the success, reliability, and sustained performance of the critical human element of our national space exploration operations.