OUR PROJECT
Our FLL “Into Orbit” season’s project - a redesign of a space suit’s helmet. The solutions, described in this project, address all of the most significant problems, related to the space suit’s helmet and make it much more mobile, comfortable also lighter and cheaper.
Considering the current challenges, found in the EMU helmet, we’d like to present some of our solutions:
1. The mobility and field of vision. The majority of of the side panels of the helmet are removed, so the field of vision would be wide enough and comfortable to use. Due the exposure of the majority of the glass, it becomes a lot more fragile and for that reason, the composition of the glass has to be changed as well.
2. Nanocellulose. A layer of nanocellulose is integrated into the see-through part of the helmet. The material’s strength/weight ratio is 8 times that of stainless steel, also, it is able to expand hundreds of times when exposed to water. This way, it could fill up the gap in case the glass cracked, using capsules, filled with distilled water.
3. Switchable glass. A layer of switchable glass is integrated into the see-through part of the helmet. The material is able to change its state using electricity. The visor, if a gold layer is integrated into it, and the notification system would be both replaced by the electronic glass, alike.
4. Lights and cameras. The placement of both the lights and the cameras is changed: the lights are replaced by LED strips, located around the neck, creating a 360 degree lightning; and the cameras, using nanotechnology, are made smaller and located on the lower part of the helmet.
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5. The body temperature control system. The entirety of the body temperature control system is renewed, using technologies such as “Smart fabric”, which works by adjusting its density, according to the temperature of the person wearing it, and “Polar seal”, which uses energy-saving elements, that warm up to the optimal temperature.
