Apurva Varia floats in zero gravity. Credit: Steve Boxall / ZERO-G
Light Notification System
APURVA VARIA, MISSION: ASTROACCESS
The goal of the light notification system is to inform a deaf person when a plane is beginning to enter a parabola because the deaf person cannot hear an announcement. In fact, the plane itself is noisy so people had a hard time listening to the Flight Director’s announcements. With the light notification system, when the Flight Director announces that the plane is beginning to enter a microgravity mode, the Flight Director presses a green button on a remote control that controls the light system via a bluetooth, turning the light to green. I see the green light that alerts me to be ready for weightlessness. After a few moments, the Flight Director announces that the plane is entering hypergravity mode and presses a blue button. I see the blue light and immediately get down to the floor of the plane. In future, one hopes for an advanced light notification system to better inform deaf people for situational awareness during spaceflight.
When the flight was entering the hypergravity mode, I was too busy with another experiment and didn’t recognize the blue light. The consequence was I had to fall hard on the floor. I think it is important to have a secondary device (haptics) that vibrates on me at the same time when the light turns to a different color.
I found myself to be more adaptable than on my first zero-g first flight because I was able to control my movements better during the second flight. This allowed me to see the light notification system with greater ease.
Next Steps
I hope to work with Zero Gravity to integrate the light notification system in their planes. I also hope to work with commercial space station partners to incorporate the light notification system for customers who can benefit from the visual cues for situational awareness.
Project Contributors
Apurva Varia, Justin Baldi, Anna Volker