Wichita State is one of 10 teams that advanced to the spring semester competition in the NASA SUITS (Spacesuit User Interface Technologies for Students) challenge. Teams are tasked to design and build an augmented reality heads-up display for astronauts on missions to Mars, as well as a web browser user interface for local mission control.
Yumi Kikuchi attended an information session in Devlin Hall for the NASA SUITS design challenge last fall. She considered passing on the opportunity.
“I was like, ‘Wow, this sounds like a lot of work,’” she said. “I’m glad that didn’t discourage me.”
Kikuchi, a graduate student in Wichita State University’s Master of Innovation Design (MID) program, is now co-leader of the nine-student group. She considers the experience an essential part of her time in the MID program.