Operationally Relevant Behavior Assessment Using the Robotic On-Board Trainer for Research (ROBoT-r)

Area of Science:

• Human Factors Engineering
• Spaceflight Physiology
• Robotics in Space

Background:

• Spaceflight poses significant challenges to astronaut physical, physiological, and mental well-being.
• Maintaining astronaut operational performance is critical for mission success.
• Existing cognitive tests for spaceflight lack sufficient operational relevance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and characterize the Robotic On-Board Trainer for Research (ROBoT-r) system.
• To create an operationally relevant tool for assessing astronaut human performance.
• To bridge the gap between traditional cognitive tests and real-world spaceflight tasks.

Main Methods:

• The ROBoT-r system was developed, based on the existing Robotic On-Board Trainer (ROBoT).
• The system simulates dual hand-controller (6 degrees of freedom) tasks for grappling in a time-limited setting.
• Characterization testing involved 14 astronaut-like volunteers over 16 sessions each.

Main Results:

• The ROBoT-r system (v6.2) supports H-II Transfer Vehicle track-and-capture operations in a detailed 3D physics-enabled model.
• The system collects 38 variables at 20 Hz, provides quantitative feedback, and supports configurable task initialization.
• Detailed performance characterization data was collected for future experimental planning.

Conclusions:

• ROBoT-r enables detailed and quantitative assessment of human performance in operationally relevant scenarios.
• This system can provide insights into operational performance during spaceflight.
• ROBoT-r facilitates comparison with traditional cognitive tests to understand the interplay between cognitive abilities and operational performance.