Independent usability / Extraterrestrial environments

Making
first contact
second nature.

User-centered software for all intelligent life forms.

We research and test software for deep-space exploration, helping crews and the life forms they encounter navigate unfamiliar systems.

Explore our fieldwork What we do ↓
EARTH-BASED. SPECIES-AGNOSTIC.EST. 2086 / SOL SECTOR
FIELD OBSERVATION / 003 RECEIVING
SUBJECT: UNFAMILIARINTERFACE: UNDER REVIEW* NOT TO SCALE. NEITHER ARE THE USERS.
CONFIDENCE IN SIGNAL▂▃▅▆█94.2%
BEFORE YOU MAKE HISTORY, MAKE IT USABLE.RESEARCH → TESTING → FEWER INCIDENT REPORTS

01 / CAPABILITIES

The universe has enough unknowns.Your interface shouldn’t be one of them.

We study how crews think, work, and make decisions when software enters new territory.

01.1

Mission-critical usability

Navigation, life support, sample collection. We test the decisions that matter under pressure, in gloves, and several light-years from tech support.

01.2

Cross-species interaction

Different senses. Different appendages. Different ideas about what a button is. We question the assumptions your interface makes about its users.

01.3

Remote field research

Observe real crews in unfamiliar environments. Build a research plan that accounts for signal delays, isolation, and the occasional missing researcher.

02 / SELECTED FIELD STUDIES

Observations from
outside the usual.

A pressure-suit glove pressing an orange interface button. Tactile input, revision 04.
CASE 014 / CREW OPERATIONS

Big gloves.
Small buttons.

Rethinking sample-collection software for hands wearing seven layers of protection.

Read observation +

The interface passed every desktop test. Then someone tried it in a pressure suit. We revised target sizes and added explicit action feedback.

Proximity notice: New life detected. Please try to act normal. Response options: acknowledge or wave back. First contact, revision 03.
CASE 027 / EXOBIOLOGY

Is that an alert
or a greeting?

Helping exploration teams distinguish an urgent system warning from a promising introduction.

Read observation +

Red means danger. Except to the participants for whom red means hospitality. Redundant cues improved interpretation without relying on color alone.

Crew reorientation display reading Good morning, 2149, at 08:00. Revision 11.
CASE 032 / LONG-DURATION FLIGHT

Welcome back.
A few things changed.

Onboarding returning crew after extended cryosleep and several major software releases.

Read observation +

Participants wanted mission context before release notes. We introduced a short reorientation sequence. Three-factor authentication remained unpopular across all cohorts.

03 / OUR APPROACH

Presume intelligence.
Measure twice.

Your users may have crossed the galaxy. They should still be able to find the settings. We give intelligent life the benefit of the doubt. Interfaces undergo a more thorough investigation—through observation, testing, and questioning the decisions everyone was suspiciously comfortable with.

  1. 01

    Observe the life form.

    Understand its environment, abilities, and actual mission.

  2. 02

    Test the interface.

    Watch what happens. Resist explaining where to click.

  3. 03

    Make contact. Iterate.

    Translate findings into clearer software. Repeat before departure.

04 / THE LAB

Curious minds.
Open channels.

A multidisciplinary team. “They’ll figure it out” keeps us employed.

MV01 / EARTH

Dr. Mara Vale

Research Director

Specialty: asking one more question.
I702 / ORIGIN WITHHELD

Ilex-7

Cross-Species Interaction Lead

Available in several visible spectra.
RO03 / IN TRANSIT

Ren Okafor

Field Systems Researcher

Currently 18 minutes behind this conversation.
INTERNAL FIELD NOTE / 008
“The participant asked whether anyone had tested this.
We explained that this was the test.”
RESEARCH OPERATIONS · DEBRIEF PENDING

05 / ESTABLISH CONTACT

Working on something
unfamiliar?

Tell us about your mission. Especially the part that isn’t going to plan.

SOL SYSTEM / EARTH / MOST DAYS