Background: The Challenge-submitting organization makes a range of disposable absorbent incontinence garments and pads for children and adults. While disposable hygiene products are more common, reusable absorbent incontinence garments are becoming more available, particularly for light bladder leakage. In addition to sustainability benefits, reusable absorbent garments offer the potential to incorporate smart diagnostic technologies which could inform consumers or health professionals around need to change or even health state of care recipients in ways that could be more difficult to incorporate into disposable variants. Understanding how to incorporate sensor components into a reusable garment will be key to enabling those advanced diagnostic opportunities.

Problem Statement & Goals: We would like the team to develop a reusable light incontinence garment with an integrated wetness sensor with potential to be connected to a remote monitoring system. In particular, we would like to understand the best approaches to integrate the electronic elements for wetness sensing into a reusable garment in a way that is unobtrusive to the wearer, durable enough for washing for throughout the lifetime of the garment, and compatible with manufacturing approaches.

Background: Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs) are a prospective technology for full-body tracking of crew members during exercise on the International Space Station (ISS). Commercial systems provide for small sized, wireless IMUs that are convenient for placing on body segments of interest. It is of interest to contain these IMUs with a body suit (e.g., long sleeve top and long pants) to reduce crew member time for donning upwards of 17 IMUs. However, fabric movement relative to the body is a concern for these types of suits (shifting of IMUs is undesirable as IMUs should ideally remain fixed relative to the object being tracked). Furthermore, options are sometimes unsecure (e.g., IMUs could be easily snagged and come off the suit), or overly-secured to where removal for charging purposes or stowage could be time consuming.

Problem Statement & Goals: Develop a method & prototype to minimize IMU movement relative to body segments, mitigating shifting due to inclusion of a fabric body suit. IMUs should remain secure throughout exercise motions and small bumps against other body segments or hardware. Consider locations of upper arm, lower arm, torso, upper leg, lower leg, and even head, shoes, etc. The solution can be internal, external, or inherent to a body suit. Note: The solution may also omit the use of a body suit if the total crew time of use remains less than if individual straps were used.

Background: As human spaceflight exploration expands to the Moon and Mars, sustainability and logistics reduction becomes more important. If a human mission is in transit to Mars or on the surface, the crew can’t request a replacement or repair. The crew will have to do it. In previous missions there has not been a dedicated soft goods repair capability. There most lightly will be a 3-d printer for solid parts. Soft goods and inflatable modules will also be a part of long duration missions.

Problem Statment & Goals: The problem is that there is no capability to support soft goods repairs for wearable equipment, clothing, exercise equipment, or inflatable modules on long duration missions. The task is to design a portable soft goods kit that can be used to repair or make soft goods as needed. Examples are repairs to exercise equipment soft goods, wearable soft goods repairs, special sound absorbing blanket for unexpected noisy equipment, custom size patches for the inflatable module, and additional soft handholds or exit signs for the inflatable module.

Background: The challenge-submitting organization has created a smart unisex bag/diaper bag designed exclusively to help women and men who struggle every day with normal use of their handbag or diaper bag when attempting to view the contents at a low light level. It integrates today’s wearable technology solutions into a high-end, unique fashion product and leverages the demand for a unique handbag. It is surmised that the bag would also be useful for long-duration space missions, providing a convenient way for astronauts or travellers to easily view the contents of bags in low light-level conditions.

Problem Statement & Goals: Assistance is needed in efficiently integrating the ARDUINO LED light-level and colour change detected by sensors that’s connecting to an App. This App will allow the user to manage the light and turn it on/off. This will enable the user to find the bag and items in the interior of the bag. The bag shall adhere to all ISO and consumer UL safety standards. We also need help with integrating the various electrical/electronic components into the bag to ensure that the system is user-friendly and operates safely. The bag system shall have a battery capable of charging a modern smartphone at least two times.

Background:According of the EVA Tools and Equipment Reference Book, the Cuff Checklist is a set of reference cards which are bound and attached to a wristband. The reference cards are approximately 4” x 5” in size and contain procedures and reference information for performing EVA tasks. The cuff checklist is completely passive and has no battery power. The cuff checklist is worn on the left elbow of the spacesuit.

Problem Statement & Goals: The cuff checklist has been used successfully for over 50 years of NASA spacewalks but without any major changes. It was used during the last Apollo spacewalks but it did not have any lunar dust mitigating features. A goal is to update the cuff checklist with dust mitigating features, such as a dust proof cover and wrist band. Any improvements in handling the checklist cards or other creative features would be a plus.

Background: Inflatable structures are being designed as habitats for future deep space stations. These structures are made of high strength materials that are flexible and packed during launch, then inflated and rigidized in space – much like packing up an air mattress and inflating it when needed.

Problem Statement & Goals: To accommodate crew movement inside an inflatable habitat, we need handrails for the crew to grab onto and move their bodies. Metallic handrails are located all over the ISS both inside and outside, but are made of metal tubes and attached to the metal structures with bolts. For an inflatable, we need a handrail that can be attached to the fabric (likely stitched) and packed with the material during launch. The handrail that you come up with should be fully non-metallic and be able to be packaged or folded into a small space, then opened or deployed before use.

Background: Pressurized space suits can cause fatigue and injury to astronauts during Extravehicular Activity (EVA) or spacewalks as they require significant metabolic expenditure. Space suited motion is different from natural biomechanical movement due to joints bearings and soft goods that limit mobility. Thus, astronauts may experience a variety of musculoskeletal and surface injuries that are caused by impact and contact against the suit during movement. The biomechanics and the suited-related contacts the astronaut experiences during EVA are critical to understanding what factors can lead to injury. While external space suit motion has been well-researched, very little is known about how the astronauts move and interact within the spacesuit. The space suit prevents most traditional evaluation techniques due to clearance and material constraints. Therefore, a wearable sensor system to determine human motion relative to the spacesuit and proximity of the suit to the body during functional tasks is needed. Data collected from this sensor system will be used to better understand repetitive spacesuit-body contacts, biomechanics within the suit, and injury risks.

Problem Statement & Goals: Develop a solution for measuring the motion of a person relative to a spacesuit and the distance between the person and the inside of the spacesuit during dynamic tasks.

Background: When it comes to collecting data on human health and performance, there are a variety of biometrics that can be analyzed such as heart rate, pupillometry, etc. One often underutilized or difficult aspect of human physiology to characterize is breath. Specifically, things such as breathing frequency, tidal volume, topography, nasal/mouth, etc. These biometrics on breath can give us insight into the state of a human’s overall health, autonomic nervous system, metabolic demand, etc.

Problem Statement & Goals: 1) A sensor for reliably detecting key features of breath in different scenarios (e.g., standing, sitting, walking, running) is needed. Potential examples: capacitive stretch sensor, acoustic sensor, cameras, etc. 2) Algorithms for specific sensors are needed for reliably and accurately identifying key features of breath. Any team can target 1), 2), or both. Note: breath data sets generated from an existing sensor can be provided to assist with 2).

Background: Our organization is focused on developing innovative technologies for use in space exploration and research. One challenge we are currently facing is understanding the impact of space suit design on the range of motion (ROM) and overall performance of crew members. To address this challenge, we are seeking a team to develop an initial AI algorithm and sensor stack to provide high-fidelity modeling of a crew member's shoulder girdle in both un-suited and suited environments. This modeling will be used to inquiry into shoulder health, signature movements, and overall performance.

Problem Statement & Goals: The main problem we are trying to solve is understanding the impact of space suit design on the ROM and performance of crew members. Specifically, we want to understand how the range of motion of crew members is impacted by the presence of the space suit joint designs, and how this may vary between different suit designs. We also want to compare the movements of crew members in shirt-sleeve or un-suited scenarios to those in suited scenarios, in order to better classify the impacts of the suit on skill, ROM, and mission success.

Background: Our organization is focused on developing exosuit technology to be used as both an exercise input tool and a human-state monitor. We are seeking to develop a gamified, baseline experience for our portable knee dynamometer (PKD), a leg-based exo-suit that operates like the BioDex dyno, using common XR (VR or AR) HMDs such as Hololens2, Quest, Vive, or Valve. The gamification should be offered up in VR/AR while taking inputs from the PKD and controlling outputs to match the expected user experience. The goal is to identify and monitor performance parameters such as speed, acceleration, jerk, and position of the user's leg as it operates the PKD

Problem Statement & Goals: The problem we are seeking to address is the development of a gamified, baseline experience for our PKD exo-suit that can be used as both an exercise input tool and a human-state monitor. The goal is to create a game that can monitor subtle changes in baseline performance while also providing an engaging and immersive experience for the user.

Background: Under any given operational task, it is common for a user to get overloaded with information if it can only be presented in the audial and visual realm. Alternative display mechanisms, such as those that are haptic, kinesthetic, thermal, or involve electric stimulation (specifically galvanic vestibular stimulation) might increase the effectiveness in which we convey information to users.

Problem Statement & Goals: There is a lack of access to an easily programmable, wireless, wearable display that involves mechanisms that are not audial/visual, for the purpose of human research and technology. Goal 1: Produce a prototype of a wearable display that may use one of the alternative mechanisms mentioned above to convey information to a human user. Goal 2: Provide a software API that would allow engineers to easily program the device for custom signaling to the user in real time.

Background: The Challenge-submitting organization develops, manufactures, and services commercial airplanes, defense products, and space systems for customers in more than 150 countries. As a top U.S. exporter, the company leverages the talents of a global supplier base to advance economic opportunity, sustainability, and community impact. Their diverse team is committed to innovating for the future, leading with sustainability, and cultivating a culture based on the company’s core values of safety, quality, and integrity. Similar to other physically intensive and repetitive environments, manufacturing of aerospace products can be risk prone to workers for musculoskeletal injuries that are ergonomic in nature. To that end, ergonomics sciences and organizations are leveraging the latest technologies and pushing the boundaries to create new capabilities.

Problem Statement & Goals: Physical ergonomics takes into account risk factors such as force/exertion, body posture, risk exposure frequency/repetition and overall risk exposure duration. This particular study looks to evaluate the potential for a hand worn measurement device that can capture either hand grip and/or push force. The collection of this information would then be relayed to a data collection device that ergonomists and safety subject matter experts can review for worker risk.

Background: The Challenge-submitting organization develops, manufactures, and services commercial airplanes, defense products, and space systems for customers in more than 150 countries. As a top U.S. exporter, the company leverages the talents of a global supplier base to advance economic opportunity, sustainability, and community impact. Their diverse team is committed to innovating for the future, leading with sustainability, and cultivating a culture based on the company’s core values of safety, quality, and integrity. Similar to other physically intensive and repetitive environments, manufacturing of aerospace products can be risk prone to workers for musculoskeletal injuries that are ergonomic in nature. To that end, ergonomics sciences and organizations are leveraging the latest technologies and pushing the boundaries to create what may not be available.

Problem Statement & Goals: Physical ergonomics takes into account risk factors such as force/exertion, body posture, risk exposure frequency/repetition and overall risk exposure duration. This particular study looks to evaluate the potential for motion capture measurement of body joint angles of the torso, neck, shoulder, elbow, and wrist using wearable garments. The collection of this information would then be relayed to a data collection device that ergonomists and safety subject matter experts can review for worker risk. This type of garment could potentially be worn by workers in both high risk environments where traditional electronics are limited (e.g., C1D1/C1D2) or in highly occluded environments where cameras might not be able to capture the full view of the body.

Background: Our company has developed wearable medical devices that accelerate muscle strengthening and conditioning by augmenting an individual’s everyday muscle usage with electrical muscle stimulation synchronized to movement. By leveraging everyday activity to actively combat muscle atrophy and inhibition, our devices make physical rehabilitation more accessible, convenient, and effective. The first application of this technology we’ve pursued is quadriceps strengthening for knee conditions.
This technology may be of use to reduce astronaut muscle loss during extended space flight and to reduce astronaut time spent on muscle conditioning or to improve outcomes in the same period of time. Astronauts working in zero gravity for an extended period of time lose significant amounts of muscle mass. As a result, astronauts on long-term missions have to commit two hours a day to exercise to maintain musculature. This represents a massive loss of time and productivity for experts who are scheduled down to six-minute increments.

Problem Statement & Goals: We seek to create wearables with matrices of conductive materials that can be used to selectively stimulate and contract muscle in response to movement. This is accomplished through use of inertial measurement units driving proprietary AI algorithms on limbs to dynamically determine when stimulation is most advantageously applied. One potential next application of this technology has focused on embedding electrodes within a silicone liner enclosing an amputated limb in order to improve limb/socket fit by contracting and toning residual limb musculature.

• Choosing electrode material that passes sufficient current for strong muscle contraction, has adequate flexibility to not impede motion, and doesn’t degrade in the unfriendly environment of skin oil and sweat.
• Choosing a support material to contain the electrodes, such as silicone, that can properly bond with the electrode material
• Routing current to electrodes in such a matrix so that wiring doesn’t pull itself apart, corrode, or otherwise render itself inert due to continual movement in this unfriendly environment

Development of a material solution that can be more readily used to hold electrodes in contact with different muscles will serve as a platform that, when combined with our existing technology, will be used to strengthen and re-educate any muscle on the body in synchrony with user movement.

Background: Xeroderma Pigmentosum is a genetic condition that causes extreme sensitivity to UV light. Individuals with XP must be protected from all UV light at all time. When outdoors during the day, individuals with XP often wear protective headgear that blocks light, including a transparent UV-protective film visor in the front that allows the individual to see. This challenge will address the additional needs of two individuals in the Minneapolis Public School system who have both XP and vision impairment. For these individuals, the protective headgear must protect from UV light without muffling auditory signals, so that they can still navigate effectively. If successful, MPS hopes to be able to produce multiples of this system for their students through their Assistive Technology Center (ATC).

Problem Statement & Goals: Design a wearable system that protects the wearer’s head, neck, and face from UV light, while still maintaining good auditory perception. In collaboration with the user, develop, test, and validate the performance of the wearable system. Further, produce a DIY instruction manual that allows MPS and others to continue to produce the final design.

Challenge not publicly available due to IP concerns. If interested please contact the TCC for more information.