Use-focused design review of European Enhanced Exploration Exercise Device.

The following project was carried out by Katrine Rav in connection with a bachelor thesis written at University of Southern Denmark in collaboration with Danish Aerospace Company. The project period was 1/2/2019 to 1/8/2019. The university supervisors were Anders Stengaard Sørensen and Jakob Lindberg Nielsen. The project report contains confidential information and is therefore not publicly available. The following sections presents the project description ("projektbeskrivelse) and the abstract.

Projektbeskrivelse

TITEL: Use-focused design review of European Enhanced Exploration Exercise Device

FORMÅL: At udføre en brugs-fokuseret gennemgang af E4Ds design med henblik på at identificere brugsproblemer, bestemme deres årsag og udarbejde forslag til re-design. Brugsproblemer er defineret som problemer oplevet af brugeren under brug af udstyret i et realistisk brugsscenarie.

BAGGRUND: E4D er et træningsredskab udviklet til brug af astronauter i microgravity. E4D (European Enhanced Exploration Exercise Device) er en multifunktionel, modulær træningsplatform der kan konfigureres til cykel-, ro-, resistiv wire- og rebtræks-træning. E4D er et komplekst træningsredskab udviklet af Danish Aerospace Company. Hidtil har projektet fokuseret på udvikling af de mekaniske-, elektriske- og software-relevante aspekter. Den første funktionelle prototype er nu samlet, hvilket muliggør afprøvning af designet i praksis.

INDHOLD:

- Problemidentifikation: At identificere brugsproblemer under forskellige brugsscenarier.

- Problemanalyse: At analysere brugsproblemer med det formål at finde sammenhænge mellem brugsproblemer og udformningen af komponenter der indgår i E4Ds brugerinteraktionsflade

- Problemudvælgelse: At udvælge problematiske komponenter der skal re-designes i dette projekt

- Løsningsudvikling: At udvikle designforslag til de udvalgte komponenter, på baggrund af en krav-analyse og -specifikation

FORVENTET LÆRING:

- At identificere brugsproblemer under brug af velfærdsteknologisk udstyr (E4D)

- At foretage en analyse af et komplekst problem (sammenhænge mellem brugsproblemer og udformning af E4Ds komponenter)

- At afgrænse et komplekst problem (udvælge komponenter til re-design)

- At udarbejde udviklingsforslag til eksisterende teknologi

Abstract

Danish Aerospace Company (DAC) is currently developing the European Enhanced Exploration Exercise Device (E4D), which is a device designed for use by astronauts to exercise in 0 g.

The following review is a use-focused design review (UFDR), which purpose is to identify and address use problems (UP) before the E4D design is finalized. In this project UPs are defined as problems experienced by the user during the intended use scenario. In the case of the E4D, it means problems experienced by the user, while exercising with the E4D in 0 g.

The project was divided into two phases. To reflect this the report has been divided into two main parts: part I: Experiments and part II: Use-focused design review of European Enhanced Explora-tion Exercise Device.

Part I focus on the experiments performed to provide data for the UFDR. The purpose of the ex-periments was to create a realistic simulation of exercising with E4D in 0 g. Because the E4D was unavailable, an E4D analog was used. The experiments used the suspension method of simulating 0 g, in which an upwards force (unloading force) was exerted on the subject to counteract the downwards force of gravity. The suspension method was implemented using two different set-ups.

The first experiment provided the unloading force by suspending the subject in a rope, which was threaded through two pulleys and down to a counterweight of the same mass as the subject. In theory this would result in an unloading force of equal magnitude to gravity, thereby simulating 0 g. The setup failed to simulate 0 g for the following reasons: static friction in the pulley system resulted in non-constant unloading force; inertia of the counterweights meant that to achieve the same downwards acceleration as in 0 g, double the force had to be applied; non-vertical unloading forces resulted in horizontal forces and single point unloading resulted in torque being applied to the upper body, making it rotate in a way it would not in 0 g.

The second experiment provided the unloading force by suspending the subject from a modified ceiling lift called Robotrainer Gravity (RTG). This setup simulated 0 g to a satisfying degree and data from this experiment was used in the UFDR.

Part II of the report focus on the UFDR. The purpose of the UFDR was to identify and analyze UPs and then develop suggestions for redesign. The UFDR was based on three data sources: 1) the Ro-botrainer-unloading and E4D analog tests, 2) the ARGOS-unloading and E4D tests and 3) the E4D Exercise catalog. Since the findings of the UFDR are confidential, they will not be presented.