What Does the Project Do?

The Microgravity Wellness Retreat is a VR game designed to help astronauts maintain their physical, mental, and emotional well-being during long-duration space missions. The game simulates natural environments (e.g., hiking, yoga, bouldering) in microgravity, providing personalized activities and real-time health tracking. The primary goal is to reduce stress, prevent muscle atrophy, and promote holistic and personalized health in the absence of Earth’s natural conditions. (Presentation Slides)

How Does It Work?

VR Environment:
- The game transports astronauts into immersive, naturalistic environments like mountains or forests.
- They engage in activities like yoga, bouldering, and photography, adapted for microgravity.
Health Tracking:
- The game integrates NASA’s pre-existing biometric sensors (e.g., SpO2, heart rate, respiratory rate, muscle mass, bone density).
- Uses OpenPose for real-time posture correction and movement analysis during activities like yoga.
AI Integration:
- An AI-driven Multi-Task Learning (MTL) model predicts fatigue, stress, and provides personalized activity recommendations based on collected health data.

Key Benefits:

Physical Health: Prevents muscle atrophy and bone loss through resistance-based activities (yoga, bouldering).
Mental Health: Reduces stress, anxiety, and cognitive decline via mindfulness and VR immersion in nature.
Real-Time Health Monitoring: Tracks vital health metrics in real-time to guide astronauts in selecting appropriate activities.

What Do We Hope to Achieve?

Goal: Improve astronaut health by creating an interactive, personalized wellness solution that adapts to the unique challenges of microgravity.
Long-Term Vision: Enhance the well-being of astronauts on long-duration missions (e.g., Mars), fostering physical resilience and mental clarity.

Tools, Coding Languages, Hardware, and Software:

Game Engine: Unreal Engine for immersive 3D environments and VR integration. C++, Blueprinting, Blender, Substance Painter, and Substance Designer.
Health Monitoring: NASA’s previously developed Bio-Monitor Health Sensors (SpO2, heart rate, etc.)
AI Model: Python with Keras/TensorFlow for the Multi-Task Learning (MTL) Deep Neural Network.
Pose Tracking: OpenPose for body movement and posture analysis.
Development Tools: SciPy, NumPy, Matplotlib for data processing and visualization.
Hardware: VR headsets (Oculus Rift/Meta Quest), NASA's pre-existing biometric tracking devices, and specialized resistant bands for astronauts.

Next Steps:

Pilot Study:
- Conduct a pilot study with astronauts or participants in microgravity simulation environments to gather feedback on the game’s impact on physical and mental health.
Expand Activity Choices:
- Integrate more physical and mental health activities, such as meditation, resistance training, Tai Chi, rock stacking, foraging, archery, and kayaking to offer a broader range of wellness options.
Refine AI Models:
- Enhance the AI-driven health monitoring by collecting more data and improving the accuracy of fatigue and stress level predictions.
Integration with existing Sensors:
- Start integrating biometric sensors to capture mentioned health metrics; consider additional health metrics like sleep patterns or hydration levels.
Testing in Actual Microgravity:
- Test the system in a real microgravity environment (e.g., during space missions or on parabolic flights/ human research project sites) to validate its effectiveness.
Partnership with Space Agencies:
- Collaborate with space agencies like NASA or ESA for further testing and deployment during long-duration missions.

2024 NASA Space Apps Challenge

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