Analog research club prepares for NASA competition

Team JARVIS was in the midst of a “github crisis” Sunday evening. Their team leader, Gurmehar Singh, a sophomore in the computer science and mathematics, went from desk to desk, seeing what problems needed to be solved before they left at 3 p.m.
“There are people here who are more technically skilled than me by a long shot in specific areas, so I kinda have to be the jack of all trades,” Singh said.
Gurmehar Singh, the team lead of Purdue's joint augmented reality visual informatics system team and a sophomore in computer science and mathematics, talks about the group's participation in NASA's Spacesuit User Interface Technologies for Students Challenge. The JARVIS team was chosen in December as one of the 11 finalist teams by NASA for the SUITS challenge.
Daniel Pike | Staff Photographer
Team JARVIS, which stands for Just A Rather Vital Interface System, is the software subteam of the Space & Earth Analogs Research chapter of Purdue. In May, Singh will be leading 13 members of the team to Houston to participate in the last leg of the NASA SUITS challenge.
SUITS, or Spacesuit User Interface Technologies for Students, is a yearly competition that NASA holds where selected universities and colleges “help design user interface solutions for future spaceflight needs,” according to SUITS’ website.
In December, Purdue’s team, Team JARVIS, was announced as one of 11 teams who would be participating in the Houston challenge. When the Department of Computer Science heard the news, they met with Singh and asked how they could help.
“The day the YouTube video went out about our selection … our faculty advisor messaged people in the department and they wanted to meet with me,” Singh said. “They said, 'how can we support the team?' and I said 'well, flying to Houston and staying there for a team of this size is really expensive.'”
Singh said that the team will be reimbursed up to $600 per person due to assistance from the department.
Students who are on Team JARVIS have designed and now are in the process of coding and programming the user interface software that will be used in Houston, an obstacle that led to Sunday’s “crisis.”
Members of Purdue's JARVIS team work on their project for NASA's Spacesuit User Interface Technologies for Students Challenge. The team is one of the finalists selected to have its design tested by astronauts as part of the SUITS challenge.
Daniel Pike | Staff Photographer
“On here there’s a bunch of different tasks the (astronauts) have to follow,” Madeline Willey, a sophomore in electrical and computer engineering, said, showing her computer screen which held a flurry of prompts that would appear inside of an astronaut's helmet.
Willey joined the club due to a love of space but stayed for the inclusive environment it fostered.
“On other teams, especially being a girl … I feel like sometimes it’s hard to ask questions or learn,” Willey said. “I feel like this is a very open, inclusive environment. Everyone is willing to answer any question.”
Sophomore in computer science and data science Peter Zakariya works with fellow team member Madeline Willey, a sophomore in electrical and computer engineering, on creating tasks to be performed by astronauts during the testing of Purdue JARVIS for NASA's Spacesuit User Interface Technologies for Students Challenge.
Daniel Pike | Staff Photographer
Michael Li, a fifth-year in business and computer science, said that even though members have different experience levels, the community brings everyone together.
“My favorite part is also seeing our work come to life,” Li said. “As one person I wouldn’t be able to do any of this, but with a team, with Gurmehar (and) having his guidance, it’s been running pretty smooth(ly).”
In a SUITS information session hosted by NASA, they marketed that the work students do for this challenge could be used by NASA in expeditions to the Moon and potentially Mars.
“When I sit back and think about that … I mean, pardon my French, but holy shit,” Singh said. “The work that we’re doing (could) genuinely change the way we explore worlds beyond Earth. That is nothing short of a dream come true.”
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