Specialists of RSC Energia Flight-Space Center received patents for inventions that will allow to control the cosmonaut actions and readiness for performing flight missions.

The system in the experimental verification phase in the future will enable to determine precisely the cosmonaut location inside the station, his body orientation, position of the head and even the cosmonaut view direction. The purpose of the development is to increase the effectiveness of monitoring and control the cosmonaut actions.

The device is built on the principle of spatial triangulation which is used in the GLONASS and GPS systems. The precise coordinates of the object are determined by the radiation source located on the cosmonaut body and the signal receivers onboard the spacecraft.

- This is the continuation of the work that has been carried out by our Center for about ten years. Now the experiment is being conducted onboard the Russian Segment of the ISS to determine the cosmonaut or any equipment unit location at the Station. Our task is to learn how to make this procedure with utmost precision. The next step is to determine the cosmonaut position relative to the Station systems and elements. In the end we will be able to determine even the direction of the optical axis of the eye. Our system will give precise information where the cosmonaut looked to before performing this or that action, - Head of the Center, Test Cosmonaut-Instructor First Class, Hero of Russia Alexander KALERI said.

The range of application of the experiment results is wide enough. First, one shall mention control of executing a strict algorithm of the flight operation when a violation of the sequence of actions can lead to undesirable consequences. If a cosmonaut did not look at the signaling device before issuing the next command, the system will either give him an audible warning or even lock the command passage. The development can also be used when training a cosmonaut to correct his actions in time, when the simulator device does not allow for visual control. Utilization of this technology will also allow us to calculate ergonomics of the internal space of the station better, namely to identify the problem areas, locate the workstation and equipment more conveniently.

In the course of the experiment the possibilities of using ultrasonic and infrared radiation are studied.

Corporation specialists have already managed to solve the problem of photographing a given point on the Earth surface. The "reverse" problem was also solved: in the view direction - the optical axis of the photographic lens - to obtain the precise geographic coordinates of the central point of the frame. The ballistic-navigation system calculates the visibility zone of the object and tells the cosmonaut how to set the camera to fix it in the frame. Thus, in the scope of the experiment, the cosmonaut managed to "catch" a small island in the ocean using a long-focus lens the frame of which contains no more than ten square kilometers.