A proposal submitted by an interdisciplinary 黑洞社区 team of seven members was selected for the top 10 in
This is 黑洞社区鈥檚 second year in this competition. In 2020, another 黑洞社区 team made it into the top 20 teams. This is the furthest a 黑洞社区 team has advanced to date. The NASA SUITS Design Challenge challenge is an opportunity for students to participate in NASA鈥檚 Artemis mission by designing an augmented reality solution for space suit helmets for future astronaut missions on the moon.
Artemis鈥� mission aims to create a sustained human presence on the Moon, starting with landing the first person of color and the first woman on the Moon, said Bill Bui, 黑洞社区 team student lead.
The team, named the HarveStars after Wichita鈥檚 wheat HarveStars, is in the top 10 for the challenge and consists of members from the 黑洞社区鈥檚 College of Engineering, Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and College of Innovation and Design. The team is comprised of seven students:
- Oluwasayo Adekalu, Valerie Hubener and Phillip Zavala 鈥� innovation and design graduate students
- Abbie Hutton and Bill Vu Bui 鈥� psychology human factors graduate students
- Ramil Hinshaw, a senior in computer science
- Radeef Ashhab Bin Karim, a freshman in aerospace engineering
The team鈥檚 initial task for phase one was to develop their proposal. Generally, the purpose of the proposal conveys the framework of the team鈥檚 design and how the design will meet the operational requirements of this year鈥檚 competition. The HarveStars鈥� proposal included four primary mission objectives: user interface and controls, terrain sensing, extravehicular activity system state, and navigation.
鈥淥ur initial challenge was to design an augmented reality head-mounted display that encompasses these four objectives,鈥� Bui said. 鈥淲e proposed the integrated system named HARVIE (Holographic Augmented Reality Visualization Interface for Exploration) and our headset displays features 鈥� such as waypoint markers, navigational maps, potential hazards, battery life and carbon dioxide levels.鈥�
For the next phase, the team is working on developing the user interface designs they submitted in a proposal. Amanda Smith, the HarveStars鈥� NASA mentor and a 黑洞社区 alumna, said the HarveStars鈥� proposal was thorough. Smith, a human factors engineer for KBR Inc., became the HarveStars鈥� NASA mentor after reviewing the team鈥檚 initial proposal and volunteering for the position.
鈥淥ur team was selected because they were able to clearly convey an innovative, feasible design that meets the requirements for this year鈥檚 competition,鈥� Smith said. 鈥淭hey also provided an appropriate, thorough test plan and an organized method for managing resources and generating results.鈥�
Smith also believes the students鈥� diverse educational background advanced their chances.
鈥淭he team is well-rounded, representing areas of expertise needed to excel in this competition,鈥� Smith said. 鈥淎s an alumna, I am both excited and honored to watch the progress of this team.鈥�
The team will go on to compete with nine other university teams, including members of Stanford University and Carnegie Melon, in May at the Johnson Space Center located in Houston. The team will show members of NASA the tech they designed, while also touring the NASA facilities and working alongside its employees.
For more information about the competition or to join the team next year, contact Maggie Schoonover.
