ISS Interesting Exercise
Making exercise fun on the International Space Station and here on Earth
THE MISSION
Zero gravity weakens your body! Living in space means hours a day of exercise. ISSIE is a 10-year-old girl's mission to make exercise more fun on the International Space Station -- and on Earth! We're making mixed reality games powered by exercise.
The Problem
Want to fly in space? Explore different worlds? Leave the Earth’s gravity behind? Space travel is exciting and soon humans will be going farther and staying off Earth longer than ever before.
But space is really tough on your body! Without the force of Earth's gravity pulling on them, your muscles get weaker and your bones lose density. The more time you spend in space, the worse it gets. This is one of the biggest challenges facing human spaceflight, especially long-duration missions like going to Mars.
The good news is: there is an answer! The bad news is: it's exercise. Lots and lots of exercise. Astronauts on the International Space Station spend two hours a day on average, just to keep up.
Enter ISSIE
ISSIE is our project to make a gaming system for exercising on the gym machines of the International Space Station. We want to help astronauts make the most of the time they spend keeping their bodies healthy.
Astronauts would wear the Microsoft HoloLens and choose from a library of games powered by exercise. They would see holograms in the real space around them presenting challenges that achieve fitness goals and entertain.
Increased fun can help reduce the stress of long-duration spaceflight. And as the distance from Earth increases, so does the need.
Awards and Recognition
NASA International Space Apps Challenge
2017 Winner: NYC Best Use of Hardware
2016 Winner: NYC People's Choice, Best Use of Hardware
The idea for ISSIE came out of the 2015 Space Apps Challenge Hackathon and we brought our project in 2016. We won two awards locally and advanced to the global judging round. NASA picked us as a Top 25 project from the 164 nominees in the People's Choice category.
In 2017 we returned, with teams in New York and Seattle, winning Best Use of Hardware, again!
SFVR Holographic Hackathon
Honorable Mention: Use of Spatial Sound
We started building on the HoloLens here. And we got to meet the Microsoft engineer who was first to wear the HoloLens in zero G!
Featured Makers
ISSIE's first public appearance. Over 140 visitors played our game, Multiverse Rescue. See our write up at Wareable.com.
Our Team
It starts with fun
Laura Doyle
Founder, Chief Fun Officer
Laura Doyle is the 10-year old founder of ISSIE and the CFO of her family - Chief Fun Officer. She is a FIRST Junior Lego League veteran and started programming when she was 7. She's a recipient of the Presidential Fitness Award.
Michael Doyle
CTO
Michael Doyle is a technology manager with a lifelong love of space who started programming when he was 12 on a Commodore PET. NASA's International SpaceApps Challenge taught him anyone can be a maker of our future in space.
