Tech
Engineering fantasy into reality
Growing up in the suburban town of Spring, Texas, just outside of Houston, Erik Ballesteros couldn’t help but be drawn in by the possibilities for humans in space.
It was the early 2000s, and NASA’s space shuttle program was the main transport for astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS). Ballesteros’ hometown was less than an hour from Johnson Space Center (JSC), where NASA’s mission control center and astronaut training facility are based. And as often as they could, he and his family would drive to JSC to check out the center’s public exhibits and presentations on human space exploration.
For Ballesteros, the highlight of these visits was always the tram tour, which brings visitors to JSC’s Astronaut Training Facility. There, the public can watch astronauts test out spaceflight prototypes and practice various operations in preparation for living and working on the International Space Station.
“It was a really inspiring place to be, and sometimes we would meet astronauts when they were doing signings,” he recalls. “I’d always see the gates where the astronauts would go back into the training facility, and I would think: One day I’ll be on the other side of that gate.”
Today, Ballesteros is a PhD student in mechanical engineering at MIT, and has already made good on his childhood goal. Before coming to MIT, he interned on multiple projects at JSC, working in the training facility to help test new spacesuit materials, portable life support systems, and a propulsion system for a prototype Mars rocket. He also helped train astronauts to operate the ISS’ emergency response systems.
Those early experiences steered him to MIT, where he hopes to make a more direct impact on human spaceflight. He and his advisor, Harry Asada, are building a system that will quite literally provide helping hands to future astronauts. The system, dubbed SuperLimbs, consists of a pair of wearable robotic arms that extend out from a backpack, similar to the fictional Inspector Gadget, or Doctor Octopus (“Doc Ock,” to comic book fans). Ballesteros and Asada are designing the robotic arms to be strong enough to lift an astronaut back up if they fall. The arms could also crab-walk around a spacecraft’s exterior as an astronaut inspects or makes repairs.
Ballesteros is collaborating with engineers at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory to refine the design, which he plans to introduce to astronauts at JSC in the next year or two, for practical testing and user feedback. He says his time at MIT has helped him make connections across academia and in industry that have fueled his life and work.
“Success isn’t built by the actions of one, but rather it’s built on the shoulders of many,” Ballesteros says. “Connections — ones that you not just have, but maintain — are so vital to being able to open new doors and keep great ones open.”
Getting a jumpstart
Ballesteros didn’t always seek out those connections. As a kid, he counted down the minutes until the end of school, when he could go home to play video games and watch movies, “Star Wars” being a favorite. He also loved to create and had a talent for cosplay, tailoring intricate, life-like costumes inspired by cartoon and movie characters.
In high school, he took an introductory class in engineering that challenged students to build robots from kits, that they would then pit against each other, BattleBots-style. Ballesteros built a robotic ball that moved by shifting an internal weight, similar to Star Wars’ fictional, sphere-shaped BB-8.
“It was a good introduction, and I remember thinking, this engineering thing could be fun,” he says.
After graduating high school, Ballesteros attended the University of Texas at Austin, where he pursued a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering. What would typically be a four-year degree stretched into an eight-year period during which Ballesteros combined college with multiple work experiences, taking on internships at NASA and elsewhere.
In 2013, he interned at Lockheed Martin, where he contributed to various aspects of jet engine development. That experience unlocked a number of other aerospace opportunities. After a stint at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, he went on to Johnson Space Center, where, as part of a co-op program called Pathways, he returned every spring or summer over the next five years, to intern in various departments across the center.
While the time at JSC gave him a huge amount of practical engineering experience, Ballesteros still wasn’t sure if it was the right fit. Along with his childhood fascination with astronauts and space, he had always loved cinema and the special effects that forged them. In 2018, he took a year off from the NASA Pathways program to intern at Disney, where he spent the spring semester working as a safety engineer, performing safety checks on Disney rides and attractions.
During this time, he got to know a few people in Imagineering — the research and development group that creates, designs, and builds rides, theme parks, and attractions. That summer, the group took him on as an intern, and he worked on the animatronics for upcoming rides, which involved translating certain scenes in a Disney movie into practical, safe, and functional scenes in an attraction.
“In animation, a lot of things they do are fantastical, and it was our job to find a way to make them real,” says Ballesteros, who loved every moment of the experience and hoped to be hired as an Imagineer after the internship came to an end. But he had one year left in his undergraduate degree and had to move on.
After graduating from UT Austin in December 2019, Ballesteros accepted a position at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. He started at JPL in February of 2020, working on some last adjustments to the Mars Perseverance rover. After a few months during which JPL shifted to remote work during the Covid pandemic, Ballesteros was assigned to a project to develop a self-diagnosing spacecraft monitoring system. While working with that team, he met an engineer who was a former lecturer at MIT. As a practical suggestion, she nudged Ballesteros to consider pursuing a master’s degree, to add more value to his CV.
“She opened up the idea of going to grad school, which I hadn’t ever considered,” he says.
Full circle
In 2021, Ballesteros arrived at MIT to begin a master’s program in mechanical engineering. In interviewing with potential advisors, he immediately hit it off with Harry Asada, the Ford Professor of Enginering and director of the d’Arbeloff Laboratory for Information Systems and Technology. Years ago, Asada had pitched JPL an idea for wearable robotic arms to aid astronauts, which they quickly turned down. But Asada held onto the idea, and proposed that Ballesteros take it on as a feasibility study for his master’s thesis.
The project would require bringing a seemingly sci-fi idea into practical, functional form, for use by astronauts in future space missions. For Ballesteros, it was the perfect challenge. SuperLimbs became the focus of his master’s degree, which he earned in 2023. His initial plan was to return to industry, degree in hand. But he chose to stay at MIT to pursue a PhD, so that he could continue his work with SuperLimbs in an environment where he felt free to explore and try new things.
“MIT is like nerd Hogwarts,” he says. “One of the dreams I had as a kid was about the first day of school, and being able to build and be creative, and it was the happiest day of my life. And at MIT, I felt like that dream became reality.”
Ballesteros and Asada are now further developing SuperLimbs. The team recently re-pitched the idea to engineers at JPL, who reconsidered, and have since struck up a partnership to help test and refine the robot. In the next year or two, Ballesteros hopes to bring a fully functional, wearable design to Johnson Space Center, where astronauts can test it out in space-simulated settings.
In addition to his formal graduate work, Ballesteros has found a way to have a bit of Imagineer-like fun. He is a member of the MIT Robotics Team, which designs, builds, and runs robots in various competitions and challenges. Within this club, Ballesteros has formed a sub-club of sorts, called the Droid Builders, that aim to build animatronic droids from popular movies and franchises.
“I thought I could use what I learned from Imagineering and teach undergrads how to build robots from the ground up,” he says. “Now we’re building a full-scale WALL-E that could be fully autonomous. It’s cool to see everything come full circle.”
With over 5,000 employees and 3,000 sewing machines across 90 sewing lines, VTL Group specialises in jersey knits and denim, producing up to 20 million garments per year for world-renowned brands such as Lacoste, Adidas, G-Star, Hugo Boss, Replay and Paul & Shark. The company operates six garment production units, along with dedicated facilities for screen printing, knitting, dyeing and textile finishing. This extensive vertical integration gives VTL complete control over quality, lead-times and cost-efficiency, which is vital for meeting the stringent demands of its global customer base.
VTL Group has adopted Coats Digital’s GSDCost to standardise production, boost productivity, and improve pricing accuracy across its Tunisian operations.
The solution cut SMVs by 15–20 per cent, raised line output by 10 per cent, and enhanced planning, cost accuracy, and customer confidence, enabling competitive pricing, lean operations, and stronger relationships with global fashion brands.
Prior to implementing GSDCost, VTL calculated capacity and product pricing using data from internal time catalogues stored in Excel. This approach led to inconsistent and inaccurate cost estimations, causing both lost contracts due to inflated production times and reduced margins from underestimations. In some cases, delays caused by misaligned time predictions resulted in increased transportation costs and operational inefficiencies that impacted customer satisfaction.
Hichem Kordoghli, Plant Manager, VTL Group, said: “Before GSDCost, we struggled with inconsistent operating times that directly impacted our competitiveness. We lost orders when our timings were too high and missed profits when they were too low. GSDCost has transformed the way we approach planning, enabling us to quote confidently with accurate, reliable data. We’ve already seen up to 20% reductions in SMVs, a 10% rise in output, and improved customer confidence. It’s a game-changer for our sales and production teams.”
Since adopting GSDCost across 50 sewing lines, VTL Group has been able to establish a reliable baseline for production planning and line efficiency monitoring. This has led to a more streamlined approach to managing load plans and forecasting. Importantly, GSDCost has given the business the flexibility to align pricing more effectively with actual production realities, contributing to greater customer satisfaction and improved profit margins.
Although it’s too early to determine the exact financial impact, VTL Group has already realised improvements in pricing flexibility and competitiveness thanks to shorter product times and better planning. These gains are seen as instrumental in enabling the company to pursue more strategic orders, reduce wasted effort and overtime, and maintain the high expectations of leading global fashion brands.
Hichem Kordoghli, Plant Manager, VTL Group, added: “GSDCost has empowered our teams with reliable data that has translated directly into real operational benefits. We are seeing more consistent line performance, enhanced planning precision, and greater confidence across departments. These improvements are helping us build stronger relationships with our brand partners, while setting the foundation for sustainable productivity gains in the future.”
The company now plans to expand usage across an additional 30 lines in 2025, supported by a second phase of GSD Practitioner Bootcamp training to strengthen in-house expertise and embed best practices throughout the production environment. A further 10 lines are expected to follow in 2026 as part of VTL’s phased rollout strategy.
Liz Bamford, Customer Success Manager, Coats Digital, commented: “We are proud to support VTL Group in their digital transformation journey. The impressive improvements in planning accuracy, quoting precision, and cross-functional alignment are a testament to their commitment to innovation and excellence. GSDCost is helping VTL set a new benchmark for operational transparency and performance in the region, empowering their teams with the tools needed for long-term success.”
GSDCost, Coats Digital’s method analysis and pre-determined times solution, is widely acknowledged as the de-facto international standard across the sewn products industry. It supports a more collaborative, transparent, and sustainable supply chain in which brands and manufacturers establish and optimise ‘International Standard Time Benchmarks’ using standard motion codes and predetermined times. This shared framework supports accurate cost prediction, fact-based negotiation, and a more efficient garment manufacturing process, while concurrently delivering on CSR commitments.
Key Benefits and ROI for VTL Group
- 15–20% reduction in SMVs across 50 production lines
- 10% productivity increase across key sewing facilities
- More competitive pricing for strategic sales opportunities
- Improved cost accuracy and quotation flexibility
- Standardised time benchmarks for future factory expansion
- Enhanced planning accuracy and load plan management
- Greater alignment with lean and sustainable manufacturing goals
- Increased brand confidence and satisfaction among premium customers
Note: The headline, insights, and image of this press release may have been refined by the Fibre2Fashion staff; the rest of the content remains unchanged.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (HU)
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Tencia Benavidez, a Supernatural user who lives in New Mexico, started her VR workouts during the Covid pandemic. She has been a regular user in the five years since, calling the ability to workout in VR ideal, given that she lives in a rural area where it’s hard to get to a gym or workout outside during a brutal winter. She stuck with Supernatural because of the community and the eagerness of Supernatural’s coaches.
“They seem like really authentic individuals that were not talking down to you,” Benavidez says. “There’s just something really special about those coaches.”
Meta bought Supernatural in 2022, folding it into its then-heavily invested in metaverse efforts. The purchase was not a smooth process, as it triggered a lengthy legal battle in which the US Federal Trade Commission tried to block Meta from purchasing the service due to antitrust concerns about Meta “trying to buy its way to the top” of the VR market. Meta ultimately prevailed. At the time, some Supernatural users were cautiously optimistic, hoping that big bag of Zuckerbucks could keep its workout juggernaut afloat.
“Meta fought the government to buy this thing,” Benavidez says. “All that just for them to shut it down? What was the point?”
I reached out to Meta and Supernatural, and neither responded to my requests for comment.
Waking Up to Ash and Dust
On Tuesday, Bloomberg reported that Meta has laid off more than 1,000 people across its VR and metaverse efforts. The move comes after years of the company hemorrhaging billions of dollars on its metaverse products. In addition to laying off most of the staff at Supernatural, Meta has shut down three internal VR studios that made games like Resident Evil 4 and Deadpool VR.
“If it was a bottom line thing, I think they could have charged more money,” Goff Johnson says about Supernatural. “I think people would have paid for it. This just seems unnecessarily heartless.”
There is a split in the community about who will stay and continue to pay the subscription fee, and who will leave. Supernatural still has more than 3,000 lessons available in the service, so while new content won’t be added, some feel there is plenty of content left in the library. Other users worry about how Supernatural will continue to license music from big-name bands.
“Supernatural is amazing, but I am canceling it because of this,” Chip told me. “The library is large, so there’s enough to keep you busy, but not for the same price.”
There are other VR workout experiences like FitXR or even the VR staple Beat Saber, which Supernatural cribs a lot of design concepts from. Still, they don’t hit the same bar for many of the Supernatural faithful.
“I’m going to stick it out until they turn the lights out on us,” says Stefanie Wong, a Bay Area accountant who has used Supernatural since shortly after the pandemic and has organized and attended meetup events. “It’s not the app. It’s the community and it’s the coaches that we really, really care about.”
Welcome to the New Age
I tried out Supernatural’s Together feature on Wednesday, the day after the layoffs. It’s where I met Chip and Alisa. When we could stop to catch our breath, we talked about the changes coming to the service. They had played through previous sessions hosted by Jane Fonda or playlists with a mix of music that would change regularly. It seems the final collaboration in Supernatural’s multiplayer mode will be what we played now, an artist series featuring entirely Imagine Dragons songs.
In the session, as we punched blocks while being serenaded by this shirtless dude crooning, recorded narrations from Supernatural coach Dwana Olsen chimed in to hype us up.
“Take advantage of these moments,” Olsen said as we punched away. “Use these movements to remind you of how much awesome life you have yet to live.”
Frankly, it was downright invigorating. And bittersweet. We ended another round, sweaty, huffing and puffing. Chip, Alisa, and I high-fived like crazy and readied for another round.
“Beautiful,” Alisa said. “It’s just beautiful, isn’t it?”
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