Publication
Exoskeleton based microgravity simulation for astronaut training
Mathias Trampler; Marc Tabie; Julia Habenischt; Elsa Andrea Kirchner
In: MDPI Engineering Proceedings (E-ISSN 2673-4591). EASN International Conference on Innovation in Aviation & Space towards Sustainability Today & Tomorrow (EASN-2025), 15th, October 14-17, Madrid, Spain, MDPI, 2026.
Abstract
Performance of fine motor tasks during the initial phase of space missions is often compromised by the adaptation to microgravity. Since traditional Earth-based training methods are limited and struggle to replicate these conditions without strict time constraints, we propose the training of fine motor tasks with simulated microgravity on earth using an upper limb active exoskeleton. With a model-based control approach, we create a state of microgravity for both arms. To enable realistic microgravity simulation, a suitable model of the human arm is needed. We developed a method to identify the parameters of an arm model by leveraging the computational graph of the inverse dynamics algorithm and utilizing gradient descent to minimize the discrepancy between model and reality. Preliminary data from parabolic flights show that subjects trained with our exoskeleton achieved higher accuracy in a fine motor task during their first exposure to real microgravity compared to untrained subjects.
Projects
- NoGravEx - NoGravEx - No Gravity Exoskeleton. Exoskelett basiertes Trainingssystem
- GraviMoKo - GraviMoKo - Influence of gravitational changes on cognition and motor skills; Sub project: Demonstrator for testing new drives for the usage in exoskeletons and EMG study in the field of force estimation; Sub project: Drive demonstrator
- MikroBeM - Auswirkung von simulierter und realer Mikrogravitation auf die Bewegungskinematik des (un)trainierten Menschen