Feeling Through Spacesuits: Application of Space-Resilient E-Textiles to Enable Haptic Feedback on Pressurized Extravehicular Suits

Extravehicular activity (EVA) spacesuits frequently remain bulky and pressurized, which impedes astronauts' ability to engage with the proximate environment and with fellow astronauts. In this project, a concept prototype for a sensate skin intended for the exterior of an EVA suit is manufactured using commercially available electronic fabric sensors. This prototype is then shown to discriminate between surfaces relevant to space explorers (metallic objects, rocky surfaces, and spacesuit gloves), implying that each surface can be translated into a unique sensory experience. Specifically, haptic actuators flush against the astronaut's biological skin can transduce sensory data from the external environment through the pressurized suit, allowing the astronaut to feel touch input right through the spacesuit. The key contribution of this work is to introduce a plausible application area for space-resilient electronic textiles using commercial off-the-shelf fabric sensors for demonstration.