Running Experimental Research of a Cable-Driven Astronaut on-Orbit Physical Exercise Equipment

Machines

Lixun Zhang¹  Feng Xue¹  Yupeng Zou²  Lailu Li³  Bing Wang³  Da Song⁴ 

[1] College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin 150001, China;College of Mechanical and Electronic Engineering, China University of Petroleum, Qingdao 266580, China;National Key Laboratory of Science and Technology on Advanced Composites in Special Environments, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150080, China;School of Mechanical Engineering, Northeast Electric Power University, Jilin 132012, China;

关键词: cable-driven;    astronaut;    physical exercise;    microgravity;    force control;    running;   

DOI  :  10.3390/machines10050377

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Manned spaceflight has already become an important approach to space science exploration, while long-term exposure to the microgravity environment will lead to severe health problems for astronauts, including bone loss, muscle atrophy, and cardiovascular function decline. In order to mitigate or eliminate those negative influences, this paper presents a cable-driven exercise equipment that can be applied in a microgravity environment to render multi-functional on-orbit physical exercise modes for astronauts. First, the structure of cable module and the configuration of the equipment were proposed. Second, a two-level controller was provided, including the cable tension distribution algorithm and tension controller of the cable module. A safety protection strategy was proposed to ensure the safety of the astronaut. Furthermore, simulation and running experiment studies of the equipment were conducted, the results demonstrate that the load force of the equipment could achieve a high-level accuracy, and the exercise status of the astronaut could be monitored and protected in the meantime. Therefore, physical exercises could be carried out by the assistance of the equipment to keep astronauts in good shape on-orbit.

【 授权许可】

Unknown