Vivekanand Pandey Vimal, a researcher at Brandeis, was awarded a grant from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to study the effects of disorientation in pilots and astronauts in space, according to a Boston Herald article. Vimal’s work specifically looks at the overall health and performance of individuals operating aircraft carriers.
Vimal’s work with the grant funding will begin late next month, according to the article. His work will be focused on creating a connection between humans and the machines they are operating. He is looking in this area in order to “help astronauts maintain control during the split second when they don’t even know which way is up,” according to the article.
Vimal’s proposal for the grant was one of 58 other research proposals, according to the article. Vimal originally began theorizing about vibration technology more than a decade ago, while working as a teacher at Waltham High School, according to the article.
Disorientation during flight has led to fatalities of many pilots and astronauts in space, according to the article, due to a loss of control of the aircraft they are operating. Vimal’s research would be centered on finding solutions to their disorientation.
“The vibration technology could help those pilots, and could also be used in rehabilitation settings to assist people with medical conditions that affect their balance,” according to the Herald article.
In his work, Vimal will look into how the use of vibrational signals, sent through devices attached to the pilot’s skin, can aid when the pilot begins to veer off course by drifting, tilting or losing control, according to the article. The vibrations would indicate to the pilot how to stay on track and prevent disorientation.
In the study, one group of participants will be asked to train with the vibrotactile devices and will then be observed in a multi-axis rotation system. This is to observe whether a relationship is built between the machine and the human, according to the article. While the other group will not receive training in using the device before being asked to use the multi-axis rotation system with the vibrotactile device.
Vimal’s prediction for his experiment is that those who receive training with the vibrotactile devices will perform better than those who did not. If his hypothesis is proven through his experiment, the implications could potentially be implemented in future NASA missions in space including voyages to the moon and Mars, according to the article.
Vimal has worked at Brandeis for 10 years at a lab that is funded by the Translational Research Institute for Space Health, according to the article.
