nasa explores potential of altered realities for space

NASA Explores potential of altered realitiesfor space engineering and science10 August 2017, by Lori Keesey

Using headgear and handsets, users can assemble aspacecraft in a new virtual-reality application now beingdeveloped with NASA R&D funding. Credit: NASA

Virtual and augmented reality are transforming themulti-billion-dollar gaming industry. A team ofNASA technologists now is investigating how thisimmersive technology could profit agencyengineers and scientists, particularly in the designand construction of spacecraft and theinterpretation of scientific data.

Thomas Grubb, an engineer at NASA's GoddardSpace Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, isleading a team of center technical experts anduniversity students to develop six multidisciplinarypilot projects highlighting the potential of virtualand augmented reality, also known as VR and AR.These pilots showcase current capabilities inengineering operations and science, but alsoprovide a glimpse into how technologists could use

the technology in the future.

"Anyone who followed the popularity of PokémonGo has seen how the public has embraced thistechnology," said Grubb, referring to theaugmented-reality game that quickly became aglobal sensation in 2016. "Just as it's changing the gaming industry, it will change the way we do ourjobs," Grubb added. "Five years from now, it'sgoing to be amazing."

To understand the potential, Grubb, whose projectis funded by NASA's Center Innovation Fund, saidpeople need to understand the technology'sdifferences and how it has evolved.

Virtual reality typically involves wearing a headsetthat allows the user to experience and interact withan artificial, computer-generated reality. Bycombining computer-generated 3-D graphics andcoded behaviors—that is, how the app will respondwhen the user chooses an action—these simulationscan be used for design and analysis, entertainment,and training. They allow the user to feel like he orshe is experiencing the situation firsthand.

Augmented reality, on the other hand, doesn't movethe user to a different place, but adds something toit. As with Pokémon Go, augmented reality is madepossible through low-end devices like smartphonesand high-end AR headsets that blend digitalcomponents into the real world. In other words, withvirtual reality, the user swims with the sharks; withaugmented reality, the shark pops out of the user'scellphone.

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Goddard technologist Tom Grubb believes that low-cost,high-capability augmented and virtual-reality hardware,combined with NASA-oriented apps, will transform howNASA scientists and engineers work. Credit: NASA/W.Hrybyk

Although the computer-generated technology cantrace its heritage to the 1980s with the adventelectronic-gaming devices, it has advanced rapidlyover the past 15 years, largely because ofsophisticated computer technologies that rendermore realistic 3-D experiences and the decline inprices for headsets, handheld devices, and othergear.

"For several years, commercial VR and ARtechnology has been showing promise, but withoutreal tangible results," said Ted Swanson, seniortechnologist for strategic integration for Goddard'sOffice of the Chief Technologist. "However, recentlythere have been substantial developments inVR/AR hardware and software that may allow us touse this technology for scientific and engineeringapplications."

The aim isn't to reinvent the hardware and softwaredeveloped by technology companies, but to be a"consumer of the products and create NASA-oriented applications," he said.

The pilots, which involve students from theUniversity of Maryland, College Park, and Bowie

State University, also in Maryland, are as diverse asthe specialties in which NASA excels, Swansonsaid.

Under one, Grubb and his university collaboratorsare creating a collaborative virtual-realityenvironment where users don headgear and usehand controls to design, assemble, and interactwith spacecraft using pre-defined, off-the-shelfparts and virtual tools, such as wrenches andscrewdrivers. "The collaborative capability is amajor feature in VR," Grubb said. "Even thoughthey may work at locations hundreds of miles apart,engineers could work together to build and evaluatedesigns in real-time due to the shared virtualenvironment. Problems could be found earlier,which would save NASA time and money."

In other engineering-related apps, the team hascreated a 3-D simulation of Goddard's thermal-vacuum chamber to help engineers determinewhether all spacecraft components would fit insidethe facility before testing begins. In anotherinvolving on-orbit robotic servicing, the augmentedapp combines camera views and telemetry data inone location—an important capability for technicianswho operate robotic arms such as the one on theInternational Space Station. All information is withinthe operator's field of view, alerting them topotential problems before they happen.

A new virtual-reality application allows users to visualizethe magnetic connections in Earth's magnetosphere.Credit: NASA

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Just as important is applying the technology toscientific analysis, Grubb said.

The team has applied digital elevation maps andlidar data to create a 3-D simulation of terrestriallava flows and tubes. The goal is to develop a proof-of-concept app that would allow scientists tocompare remotely collected data with what theyobserve in the field. In another, the team is creatinga 3-D visualization of space around the sun formission planning. This simulation involves aconstellation of CubeSats surrounding the sun toinvestigate the structure of the solar atmosphere,including the formation of coronal mass ejectionsthat, when intense and traveling in the rightdirection, can affect low-Earth-orbiting spacecraftand power grids.

And last, the team is creating a virtual-realityenvironment where users can explore and visualizetopographical features of Earth's protectivemagnetosphere. This app allows users to studymagnetic reconnection sites, which are difficult tointerpret without observations from more than onevantage point, Grubb said.

"I'm a gamer, but I see the potential for engineeringand science applications," Grubb said. "We're in theearly stages, but I believe this technology willtransform how we work here. It will enhanceengineering and give scientists a uniqueperspective of data."

Provided by NASA's Goddard Space Flight CenterAPA citation: NASA Explores potential of altered realities for space engineering and science (2017,August 10) retrieved 24 March 2022 from https://phys.org/news/2017-08-nasa-explores-potential-realities-space.html

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