Gait experiment using ARGOS (Active Response Gravity Offload System) in NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)

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  Visit to NASA’s JSC for experiments of walking under low-gravity environment (Keisuke Araki, graduate student of Science and Engineering, on May 2, 2018)

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  Inside of the ARGOS laboratory

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  Whole view of the ARGOS

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  ARGOS treadmill

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  Examinee putting on a harness for weight offloading experiment

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  Examinee wearing a harness for weight offloading experiment (back)

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  Examinee wearing a harness for weight offloading experiment (side)

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  Examinee pulled upward for weight offloading experiment

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  Examinee walking on a treadmill under low-gravity simulated environment using ARGOS

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  Inside of the ARGOS laboratory (experimental product of a robot arm of the ISS)

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  Inside of the ARGOS laboratory (Robonaut2, a robot for space work)

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  KIBO, the Japanese experiment module of the ISS, situated in the ARGOS laboratory for experiment training

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  Inside of the Soyuz spacecraft situated in the ARGOS laboratory

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  Various types of space suits for extravehicular activity and Robonaut2, situated in the ARGOS laboratory

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  3D motion simulator for training, situated in the ARGOS laboratory

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  3D scanning device of human body (Examinee: Keisuke Araki)

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  3D scanning device of human body (scan result)

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  Experimental device to analyze motion range of upper arms when wearing a space suit (Examinee: Akihito Ito, Associate Professor of the Faculty of Science and Engineering, Doshisha University)

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  Experimental device to analyze motion range of upper arms when wearing a space suit (Examinee: Akihito Ito, Associate Professor of the Faculty of Science and Engineering, Doshisha University)

OVERVIEW

• The Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, is developing the Active Response Gravity Offload System (ARGOS) to simulate reduced gravity environments, such as Lunar, Martian, and microgravity, using a large scale, full motion robotic system.
  • ARGOS supplies continuous offload of a portion of a person’s (or dynamic object’s) weight during dynamic motions such as walking, running, and jumping.
  • ARGOS follows the person’s (or object’s) motion in the horizontal and vertical directions to maintain a vertical offload force.
  • Rotational motion is accommodated by the ARGOS/payload interface mechanism.
  • A fully realized ARGOS facility will be capable of supporting surface operation studies, suit and vehicle requirements development, suit and vehicle design evaluation, and training with both suited and shirt-sleeved participants.
  • Such a facility will be capable of offloading the weight of rovers and robots for testing in simulated reduced gravity environments.
• ARGOS technology is intended to support testing, development, and training for future missions to Near Earth Asteroids, Micro-gravity environments, the Moon, Mars, or any other destination.
• The project philosophy has been to design, fabricate, test, and then improve.
  • The knowledge gained from this iterative approach has matured the project designs and requirements.
• The current steel structure was built to accommodate movement in all three directions of motion (one vertical and two horizontal).
  • Dimensions are 41’ x 24’ x 25’ tall.