A reduced-gravity simulator for physically simulating human walking in microgravity or reduced-gravity environment

Astronauts must go through extensive training of their tasks in a simulated microgravity or reduced-gravity environment before they can perform the same tasks in space. Scientists and engineers also need simulated reduced-gravity facilities to study human performance and factors in space. This paper presents a novel design and prototype test of a multi-DOF reduced-gravity simulator which can be used for training astronauts and studying human factors in zero or partial gravity environment. Designed based on the passive static balancing technology, the simulator can passively compensate the gravity force applied to a human to any level from 0 to 100% at all the configurations within its workspace. Therefore, a person attached to the simulator can biomechanically feel like he/she were in a real reduced-gravity environment while doing a physical activity such as walking or jumping. A prototype of the simulator was developed to study the feasibility and dynamic performance of the system. The prototype study demonstrated the reduced-gravity simulation capability of the system. It also revealed some interesting findings which motivate further research in the future.