Space Suit Glove Pressure Garment Metacarpal Joint and Robotic Hand Analysis

Spacesuit glove pressure garments have been a design challenge for NASA since the inception of spacesuits. The human hand demands a complex range of motions, a close fit, an ease of movement, and a lack of bulk that is at odds with the engineering and durability requirements of an inflated safety garment. While precision motions of the fingers are relatively well met by NASA's current I.L.C./Phase VI gloves, the torque required for more gross power grips such as translating along bars or grasping tools is significant. This torque comes not from the individual fingers or phalange-phalange joints, but at the joint between the fingers and the palm, or the metacarpal-phalangeal joint. In addition, this motion is difficult to precisely measure. The human hand is capable of omni-directional multifaceted movements that are challenging to mimic robotically. In addition, the presence of a human wearer makes the measurement impossible to repeat accurately, but it is required to adequately reproduce the movements of the glove. FFD in collaboration with The Polytechnic Institute of New York University (NYU-Poly) propose to develop a glove pattering specific to the bending of the metacarpal-phalangeal joint, and a robotic instrument suitable to measure this torque. This will lead to even more functional glove pressure garments, and to a more refined way of measuring them.

Highly functional spacesuit gloves have a potential market outside NASA in commercial high altitude and space flight. As commercial space flight becomes more common, the market for affordable and effective pressure garments will surely increase. The pressure garment glove is perhaps the most critical element of the suit, in terms of motion requirements and effects. FFD is currently marketing itself to the leaders of the commercial space flight industry, including Virgin Galactic and Space X.

Highly functional pressure garment gloves have always been and remain a coveted and marketable product for NASA. Pressure garment gloves directly effect an astronaut's performance in space. In recent years, with NASA's "wall of EVAs" necessary for ISS assembly, we have seen the critical role gloves play in the big picture of spacewalking. Because of the very high cost of EVAs, and their inevitability, investments in more functional spacesuit glove technology have significant payoffs. As astronauts are able to use their hands better in spacewalks, so will they become more efficient and reliable workers. FFD hopes to work with current NASA contractors such as ILC Dover to merge and develop useful new glove technologies.

This is early/mid-stage (TRL 4) — the most realistic path in is NASA SBIR/STTR, which funds small businesses and research institutions to develop technology aligned with NASA's needs (equity-free, phased funding). Check whether a current SBIR/STTR solicitation topic overlaps with this project's technology area, or contact the project directly (above) to ask.

None of these are guaranteed paths for this specific project — TechPort itself doesn't have an "apply" button. Reaching out to the contact(s) above with a specific question is usually the fastest way to find out what's actually open.