09/12: Initial idea

How can we design for human habitation in extreme environments, to ensure that people can not just survive, but thrive?

Introducing "Emergent", a wearable human snail habitat that can provide emergency shelter for nomads in distress, aka something that Emerges during Emergencies! The ambition is to create a working prototype that can work just as well in space as on earth, for application to both astronauts in physical duress during gravity transition emergencies in space flight, and disaster refugees on earth experiencing both climate and man-made emergencies such as flooding, earthquakes, emergency plane landings, and geo-political conflicts.

09/17: Brainstorming session

To further flesh out the concept and to plan out the prototyping process, I considered areas of the human body to focus on, as well as discrete mechanisms to test out.

I chose to isolate specific areas of the body to focus on, to address elements of comfort and safety unique to that body part. For example, the abdominal area contains most of our vital organs, so it could be worthwhile designing for a vest that could expand like a portable airbag/lifejacket/kevlar vest. Another example is the cranial area, where most of our sensory organs are (vision, sound, smell), and so in addition to designing a protective helmet, paraphernalia addressing sensory issues like visually-induced motion sickness during physical turbulence, could be interesting as well!

For physical mechanisms to test out, I considered two main categories: transformation mechanisms, and deployment mechanisms. The former will entail physical forms like accordion folds and flexible grids that can allow a pliable fabric to expand and contract. The latter will involve self-sufficient (i.e. non battery operated, so no inflatables for now...) tensile methods such as springs or elastic bands.

09/26: Scope refinement

Identified 2 potential discrete phases to test: an on-off switch for self-deployment by an informed user (e.g. an astronaut), and a sensor-based switch for automatic deployment by a layperson. The former can be entirely mechanical and not require any microcontroller. The latter could be explored as part of this course - starting with potentially using an infra-red based sensor and an RP2040 chip within a XIAO board, which I simulated for last week's class and can work on for future classes on electronic hardware. Considering how noisy it would be onboard a parabolic flight (the envisioned testing environment for the final project), I elected to prioritize working with light-based sensors over sound-based ones.

10/03: Prior art

In consultation with Dr Cody Paige (Director, MIT Space Exploration Initiative), I learnt that in-situ shelters are currently the industry standard for shielding astronauts from space radiation during solar storms, which does not allow for astronauts to freely move about to repair things. Current radiation shielding wearables on the market also largely focus on the abdominal region, i.e. a vest, with protection for the cranial region noticeably missing.

I thus decided to focus on designing a helmet. Relevant prior art include inflatable helmets and foldable bike helmets, but what would be interesting to try to create would be to design for rapid deployment that works with gravity transitions outside of Earth's gravity.

10/15: Designing electronics for the project

Designed a first PCB with the intent of connecting a small microcontroller (SEEED XIAO RP2040) to a motion sensor and a motor of some sort to trigger the expansion of a convertible helmet from a compressed state to an expanded state. See more on my page on Electronics production.

10/23: Exploring input devices for motion sensing

Considered 3 DOF and 6 DOF motion sensors but ultimately selected the use of a 9 degree-of-freedom (DOF) Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), after consulting Dr Paige on the optimal sensor type for deployment in microgravity. Specifically picked the Adafruit BNO085 as the input device for sensing motion. See more on my page on Input Devices.

10/29: Prototyping the physical form of the helmet

Explored various foldable structures of pliable materials held in tension to design the transformation mechanism of my convertible helmet. Tested various folding techniques (miura fold, glide reflection, polyhedral cylinder) to arrive at a suitable form.

Opted for the polyhedral fold as it most naturally mimics the contours of a round head. Tested out a small-scale mock up to try out the tensile transformation, then modified the folding angles and number of modules to achieve a full-scale shape that resembles a helmet.

11/03: Exploring output devices to trigger the convertible helmet's expansion

Consulted several TAs (Anthony, Quentin, Sean) across 2 classes (once again, TA office hours are truly the backbone of spiral development fabrication projects!) on how best to connect my electronics set-up to the physical transformation component of my convertible helmet. Considered the merits of different types of motors, and how the desired spring-release motion could be actuated. Abandoned ideas include using a tendon/ pulley attached to a motor to pull on the folded structure - too slow. Ideas that will continue to be explored include: using a 'tent-pole' on either end of the helmet close to the ears to spring-load the helmet, so that a smaller servo motor could be used; as a back-up and alternative brute force approach, a chonky servo could be used; using a solenoid (linear motion; disadvantage: not in HTMAA class inventory so will need to get my own out-of-pocket; advantage: smaller than the Miuzei servos available in the class inventory) to trigger the release of the helmet. See more on my page on Output Devices.

11/09: Brainstorming paper-to-fabric prototype development

Ideas: 2-layer fabric comprising of interfacing material ironed onto rip-stop nylon fabric, possibly using the Zund machine. Currently pending wisdom from folding pattern and Zund machine maestro, TA Alfonso.

11/14: Mid-term review

System diagram

Task list

1. Physical components
   1. Obtain ripstop nylon fabric
   2. Refine folding pattern for better fit on a rounder head
   3. Prep laser cutting files for interfacing material
   4. Lasercut interfacing
   5. Iron interfacing onto fabric and fold
   6. Consult TA Alfonso and get training on the Zund machine
   7. Explore ways to score fold patterns onto interfacing (lasercut/ zund)
   8. Obtain tensile components (springs; tent-pole like sticks that can flex and redound; brainstorm others)
   9. Test tensile components on fabric
   10. Fabricate and assemble at-scale fabric prototype
2. Electronic components
   1. Refine PCB design to accommodate 3-pin connector for servo motor pin connections
   2. Remill 3rd PCB and solder connectors on
   3. Reference precedent data of fall motions on gyroscopic input, compare with readings on my BNO085 IMU for similar motions
   4. Write and refine code linking input (yaw/roll/pitch + acceleration data) to moving the servo motor
   5. Upload code onto servo motor and refine thresholds in code until desired triggering output motion is attained
3. Integration
   1. Connect servo to tensile trigger and test release, and decide whether to use small servo (if secondary tensile forces are enough) or to use chonky servo (to brute force the test release)
   2. Design an enclosure for the PCB+microcontroller+IMU+servo electronics bundle
   3. Fabricate and assemble the enclosure. Refine and refabricate if there are fit issues.
   4. Project documentation - video editing for 1-minute video, summary slide

Schedule

• 11/20: Design and laser-cut folding pattern onto interfacing (tasks 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4); redesign+mill+solder 3rd PCB (tasks 2.1, 2.2, 2.3); remind TA Alfonso on consultation again (task 1.6); obtain tensile components (task 1.8); Review precedent fall data for gyroscopes (task 2.3)
• 11/27: Iron interfacing onto fabric and fold (task 1.5); Test tensile components (task 1.9); Refine code (task 2.4)
• 12/04: Wildcard week; try out Zund machine (task 1.6), attach servo to helmet and test (task 3.1), fabricate enclosure (tasks 3.2, 3.3)
• 12/11: Troubleshooting, documentation (tasks 3.3 and 3.4)
• 12/17: Project presentation

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