FLEXI

Find a way to adapt common gym tools for a reduced gravity environment and design a workout routine that can minimize bone and muscular loss while being fun and easy to use during a long term mission. In doing so consider constraints regarding weight (equipment should weigh less than 500kg) and dimensions. Consider incorporating virtual reality to simulate a jog through an astronaut’s favorite Earth destinations or incorporate gaming to motivate users.

Basically the initial plan was to build an inversed functionality exo skeleton. Instead of aiding the user, it would resist the user's movements.

After a nice discussion with one of the mentors, we came up with the solution to integrate electrodes between the fibres of a G-Suit, and by loading the electrodes with electrical power, the specified zone of the suit will harden to a certain controllable extent.

The resistance of the suit is to be controlled by the companion app attached. The app has 5 user profiles, according to 5 members of a space station. The members are able to log-in by fingerprint authentication. Once the users are logged in, their training statistics are downloaded from their NASA profiles.

Let's take a live example, Doctor Gordon Freeman needs to do his morning training session.

He puts on the suit, grabs the device, logs in using his fingerprint, his data is downloaded to the device.

Dr. Gordon Freeman decides today he wants to start his workout with biceps curls. He selects Biceps in the app, the resistance force he trained with yesterday will be automatically set, electrodes on the suit's sleeve get charged and the sleeve hardens. After a couple of reps, the training companion app notices that it seems his movements are more relaxed, so it proposes a 3% increase in resistance. Dr. Gordon's biceps have gotten stronger,

As Dr. Gordon goes through his muscle workout, the companion app continously receives information from the suit, it learns more about the user and knows what he must improve and how his physical condition is getting better, ever day. It adapts the resistance continuously, resulting in a very effective and personal workout.

In the future, a 3d model of the body can be added, with a real representation of the user's muscles, types of exercises and a visual exercise plan.

As a bonus, Connectivity can be added to the companion app, so our 5 brave astronauts can do a "lifting competition", in space. All the companion apps are set to 50kg/f resistance, everyone does 5 reps of an exercise, then increased, everyone tries 60kg/f, until the last man standing that can do a higher number of reps with a higher resistance force - this adds to the fun factor and kills boredom.

Also, the astronauts can come up with their own games and workouts, as the suit's functionality is completely flexible.

This solution is not just under 500kgs, but under 100kgs, and can be embedded in the existing costumes, so no extra space is required for the workout equipment.

I consider this solution to be a much more modern approach than the current rubber band muscle training sessions, especially because of the adaptability of the companion app to its user, providing the ideal training required for muscle maintainance on a space station.

Thank you for the attention!

I have used the default iOS 9 software development kit and a couple of images off the internet. Other than this, information from our mentors and from a exoskeleton builder have strongly aided me in building this idea and solution.