LUNA INNOVATIONS INCORPORATED — National Aeronautics and Space Administration SBIR Phase I: H12

Description

The vestibular system is the primary biological method by which humans retain balance, spatial orientation, and both fine and gross motor skill coordination. One cause of vestibular alteration is a change to the gravity environment; this is particularly relevant to astronaut populations, who uniquely experience these gravity transitions in the temporal vicinity of atmospheric re-entry. As various issues with astronaut task performance were discovered to be due to vestibular alterations, significant research at NASA has focused on continued study of vestibular alteration, with specific focus on recreating these alterations via Galvanic Vestibular Stimulation (GVS).In response to this need, Luna Innovations and partners propose the Three-Channel Wearable Adaptive Vestibular Stimulator, or 3WAVes. Development of 3WAVeS is enabled by Lunarsquo;s low-power embedded physiological electronics expertise, integration of an existing three-channel GVS stimulation paradigm, and real-world input from SMEs. 3WAVeS is designed as a completely wireless, non-invasive head-worn device that contains all electronics and hardware to perform accurate three-dimensional, head-coupled GVS.Multiple layers of built-in hardware and software safety cutoffs ensure that overcurrent is never applied to the user during stimulation. Kinematic stimulation coupling is provided by an internal inertial measurement unit (IMU), and a simplified user interface allows an operator to monitor and adjust stimulation parameters such as axial sensitivity and velocity coupling, as well as observing, recording, and exporting of stimulation data. Bidirectional communication between the user interface and the device is afforded by secure wireless communications protocol. The headsetrsquo;s compact, wireless, and self-contained form factor allows it to be used in a wide range of training environments. Additionally, a rechargeable battery permits un-recharged runtimes of 8+ hours.