A Thai NewSpace company with plans to provide both satellite communications and space tourism has just announced two new developments: a spacesuit design for space tourists, as well as plans to develop new IoT products such as smart apparel, according to a recent report.
A new spacesuit inspired by Iron Man
On 21 September 2018, the Space tech company released a 3D image of the spacesuit, inspired by Iron Man, that astronauts and space tourism clients will one day wear in space and on the moon. The spacesuit will be used on the company’s OO Mission to fly its first space tourism clients by 2021.
Based on the 3D image, the Space tech company will develop a spacesuit technology that incorporates several advancements, including a helmet visor with a head-up display, a touch-screen wrist display, and an embedded exoskeleton.
In addition to creating a safer environment, the spacesuit will also offer astronauts with maximum mobility to manoeuvre a lunar rover, collect samples, and walk around the moon’s rocky surface.
The spacesuit will look and function a lot more advanced than those we see today. It’s lightweight, but durable to withstand harsh conditions in space. And as you can see, the design is inspired by Iron Man, according to the company’s CEO and founder.
The spacesuit needs to keep the wearer safe. It needs to give protection from freezing cold, micrometeorites and radiation. It has to supply enough oxygen and remove carbon dioxide. The spacesuit also needs to be lightweight, compact and flexible to wear, added the company’s head.
The CEO said that the “OO mission” spacesuit is still in the design stage and that the actual spacesuit will likely be a bit different than what was unveiled on 21 September 2018.
New IoT products, including smart apparel
The company plans to launch its own satellite in 2020. With it, the Space tech company is developing its first Internet of Things (IoT) product that will be powered by Thailand’s 5G network.
To do this, Space tech organisation will carry out tests at the IoT Institute in Digital Park Thailand, a government initiative to build a technology hub in Chonburi by 2020.
An example of such an IoT product is smart apparel that can collect historical health data to be used in medical diagnosis of the user.
Awareness of IoT is growing in Thailand, but adoption is still at the early stage. Despite this, the company joining the IoT bandwagon because it is optimistic that companies and industries will realize the business value of IoT when 5G network becomes available to the company in the future, according to the organisation’s CEO.
Just last week, OpenGovAisa reported that the Thai Space technology start-up is on track to developing its first Internet of Things (IoT) product that will be powered by a 5G network.
The start-up’s chief executive revealed at Thailand Digital Big Bang that the company is now working on finalizing the product’s design and functionality.
According to the company’s leadership, the start-up is planning to develop an IoT product like smart apparel to collect historical health data to be used in medical diagnosis of the user.
It was further revealed that the company plans to carry out future product tests at IoT Institute inside of Digital Park Thailand, a technology hub which will be built on a 960,000 sqm land in Sriracha in the eastern province of Chonburi.
The IoT Institute, scheduled to be completed in 2020, will provide companies and start-ups a space to research, develop and test out IoT solutions for agriculture, manufacturing, e-health and e-commerce.
The Thai government hopes that the institute will promote the tech start-up ecosystem in Thailand to support the country’s transformation into a digital economy and its vision to become an innovation hub in Southeast Asia.