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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2019

Immersive Simulations and Engineering Environment (iSEE): Improving Fidelity of Virtual Reality Simulations

The Immersive Simulation and Engineering Environment (iSEE) provides Kennedy Space Center (KSC) with accurate Human Systems Integration (HSI) analysis of the stresses on a human body incurred from physical work, along with accessibility and reach factors. Human Factors engineers can observe the simulations conducted by iSEE and work with the gathered data to help make the working environment at KSC safer. The software that runs the HSI analysis, however, provides users with a low fidelity virtual environment. Previously, this led to the addition and implementation of other iSEE programs that were capable of higher-fidelity simulations. The difficulties of streamlining the workflow in the lab with these new programs is currently being addressed.

Sein, Alexandr↗
NASA NTRS1991

Binaural room simulation

In every-day listening the auditory event perceived by a listener is determined not only by the sound signal that a sound emits but also by a variety of environmental parameters. These parameters are the position, orientation and directional characteristics of the sound source, the listener's position and orientation, the geometrical and acoustical properties of surfaces which affect the sound field and the sound propagation properties of the surrounding fluid. A complete set of these parameters can be called an Acoustic Environment. If the auditory event perceived by a listener is manipulated in such a way that the listener is shifted acoustically into a different acoustic environment without moving himself physically, a Virtual Acoustic Environment has been created. Here, we deal with a special technique to set up nearly arbitrary Virtual Acoustic Environments, the Binaural Room Simulation. The purpose of the Binaural Room Simulation is to compute the binaural impulse response related to a virtual acoustic environment taking into account all parameters mentioned above. One possible way to describe a Virtual Acoustic Environment is the concept of the virtual sound sources. Each of the virtual sources emits a certain signal which is correlated but not necessarily identical with the signal emitted by the direct sound source. If source and receiver are non moving, the acoustic environment becomes a linear time-invariant system. Then, the Binaural Impulse Response from the source to a listener' s eardrums contains all relevant auditory information related to the Virtual Acoustic Environment. Listening into the simulated environment can easily be achieved by convolving the Binaural Impulse Response with dry signals and representing the results via headphones.

Lehnert, H.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Computer Based Training: Field Deployable Trainer and Shared Virtual Reality

Astronaut training has traditionally been conducted at specific sites with specialized facilities. Because of its size and nature the training equipment is generally not portable. Efforts are now under way to develop training tools that can be taken to remote locations, including into orbit. Two of these efforts are the Field Deployable Trainer and Shared Virtual Reality projects. Field Deployable Trainer NASA has used the recent shuttle mission by astronaut Shannon Lucid to the Russian space station, Mir, as an opportunity to develop and test a prototype of an on-orbit computer training system. A laptop computer with a customized user interface, a set of specially prepared CD's, and video tapes were taken to the Mir by Ms. Lucid. Based upon the feedback following the launch of the Lucid flight, our team prepared materials for the next Mir visitor. Astronaut John Blaha will fly on NASA/MIR Long Duration Mission 3, set to launch in mid September. He will take with him a customized hard disk drive and a package of compact disks containing training videos, references and maps. The FDT team continues to explore and develop new and innovative ways to conduct offsite astronaut training using personal computers. Shared Virtual Reality Training NASA's Space Flight Training Division has been investigating the use of virtual reality environments for astronaut training. Recent efforts have focused on activities requiring interaction by two or more people, called shared VR. Dr. Bowen Loftin, from the University of Houston, directs a virtual reality laboratory that conducts much of the NASA sponsored research. I worked on a project involving the development of a virtual environment that can be used to train astronauts and others to operate a science unit called a Biological Technology Facility (BTF). Facilities like this will be used to house and control microgravity experiments on the space station. It is hoped that astronauts and instructors will ultimately be able to share common virtual environments and, using telephone links, conduct interactive training from separate locations.

Mullen, Terence J.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Virtual Collaborative Simulation Environment for Integrated Product and Process Development

Deneb Robotics is a leader in the development of commercially available, leading edge three- dimensional simulation software tools for virtual prototyping,, simulation-based design, manufacturing process simulation, and factory floor simulation and training applications. Deneb has developed and commercially released a preliminary Virtual Collaborative Engineering (VCE) capability for Integrated Product and Process Development (IPPD). This capability allows distributed, real-time visualization and evaluation of design concepts, manufacturing processes, and total factory and enterprises in one seamless simulation environment.

Gulli, Michael A.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

A Virtual Reality Planning Environment for High-Risk, High-Latency Teleoperation

Teleoperation of robots in space is challenging due to high latency and limited workspace visibility. Previously, the Interactive Planning and Supervised Execution (IPSE) and Augmented Virtuality systems were developed to reduce failure risk. These tools were visualized on a 3D da Vinci surgical console and operated using the da Vinci manipulators or visualized on conventional monitors and operated with a keyboard and mouse. Experimental studies indicated operator preference for the latter. In this work, we develop a 3D virtual reality (VR) interface for IPSE, implemented on a Meta Quest 2 head-mounted display (HMD), and evaluate it against the prior 2D, keyboard-and-mouse-based interface. The results demonstrate improved operator load with the 3D VR interface, with no decrease in task performance, while also providing cost and portability benefits compared to the conventional 2D interface.

Will Pryor↗
NASA NTRS2009

Virtual Planetary Analysis Environment for Remote Science

All of the data for NASA's current planetary missions and most data for field experiments are collected via orbiting spacecraft, aircraft, and robotic explorers. Mission scientists are unable to employ traditional field methods when operating remotely. We have developed a virtual exploration tool for remote sites with data analysis capabilities that extend human perception quantitatively and qualitatively. Scientists and mission engineers can use it to explore a realistic representation of a remote site. It also provides software tools to "touch" and "measure" remote sites with an immediacy that boosts scientific productivity and is essential for mission operations.

Keely, Leslie↗
NASA NTRS1991

Pictorial communication in virtual and real environments

Papers about the communication between human users and machines in real and synthetic environments are presented. Individual topics addressed include: pictorial communication, distortions in memory for visual displays, cartography and map displays, efficiency of graphical perception, volumetric visualization of 3D data, spatial displays to increase pilot situational awareness, teleoperation of land vehicles, computer graphics system for visualizing spacecraft in orbit, visual display aid for orbital maneuvering, multiaxis control in telemanipulation and vehicle guidance, visual enhancements in pick-and-place tasks, target axis effects under transformed visual-motor mappings, adapting to variable prismatic displacement. Also discussed are: spatial vision within egocentric and exocentric frames of reference, sensory conflict in motion sickness, interactions of form and orientation, perception of geometrical structure from congruence, prediction of three-dimensionality across continuous surfaces, effects of viewpoint in the virtual space of pictures, visual slant underestimation, spatial constraints of stereopsis in video displays, stereoscopic stance perception, paradoxical monocular stereopsis and perspective vergence. (No individual items are abstracted in this volume)

Ellis, Stephen R.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

A Virtual Reality Planning Environment for High-Risk, High-Latency Teleoperation

In-Space Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing has the potential to enable larger-scale and longer-lived infrastructure projects in space. Servicing in particular has the potential to vastly increase the usable lifetimes of satellites, both newly launched and existing. However, some of these servicing tasks require delicate manipulation and, to apply to existing satellites, need to be able to operate on structures that were not designed for servicing and, in some cases, where the exact shape of the structure is not known in advance. For this reason, human-in-the-loop ground-based teleoperation is the only option for some missions. Ground-based teleoperation presents its own difficulties. In addition to the challenge of performing delicate operations in constrained spaces, communication with the servicing platform is subject to a variable time delay on the order of 2-7 seconds, and the only visual feedback comes from camera views with limited situational awareness and viewing angles.

Teleoperation↗
NASA NTRS2000

NASA/University JOint VEnture (JOVE) Program. VIXEN(tm): Object-Oriented, Technology-Adaptive, Virtual Information Exchange Environment

Vixen is a collection of enabling technologies for uninhibited distributed object computing. In the Spring of 1995 when Vixen was proposed, it was an innovative idea very much ahead of its time. But today the technologies proposed in Vixen have become standard technologies for Enterprise Computing. Sun Microsystems J2EE/EJB specifications, among others, are independently proposed technologies of the Vixen type. I have brought Vixen completely under the J2EE standard in order to maximize interoperability and compatibility with other computing industry efforts. Vixen and the Enterprise JavaBean (EJB) Server technologies are now practically identical; OIL, another Vixen technology, and the Java Messaging System (JMS) are practically identical; and so on. There is no longer anything novel or patentable in the Vixen work performed under this grant. The above discussion, notwithstanding, my independent development of Vixen has significantly helped me, my university, my students and the local community. The undergraduate students who worked with me in developing Vixen have enhanced their expertise in what has become the cutting edge technology of their industry and are therefore well positioned for lucrative employment opportunities in the industry. My academic department has gained a new course: "Multi-media System Development", which provides a highly desirable expertise to our students for employment in any enterprise today. The many Outreach Programs that I conducted during this grant period have exposed local Middle School students to the contributions that NASA is making in our society as well as awakened desires in many such students for careers in Science and Technology. I have applied Vixen to the development of two software packages: (a) JAS: Joshua Application Server - which allows a user to configure an EJB Server to serve a J2EE compliant application over the world wide web; (b) PCM: Professor Course Manager: a J2EE compliant application for configuring a course for distance learning. These types of applications are, however, generally available in the industry today.

Anyiwo, Joshua C.↗
NASA NTRS2021

Architecture and Operations of the OSIRIS-REx Independent Navigation Team

The Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) GoddardSpace Flight Center (GSFC) Independent Navigation Team (INT) performs center-finding and landmark-basedOptical Navigation (OpNav), Orbit Determination (OD), maneuver verification, and additional analyses in support ofnavigation operations motivated by a stringent set of science requirements. The INT has adopted a streamlined andagile approach to navigation operations support via a virtual operations environment, known as "OREX-NAV",which leverages existing capabilities of the Space Science Mission Operations (SSMO) virtual Multi-MissionOperations Center (vMMOC). The virtual environment architecture of OREX-NAV enables the INT to perform dailyoperational tasks and seamlessly interface with external mission networks, regardless of physical location. Throughthe automation and process adopted, the INT is able to keep pace with the rapid cadence of required deliverables.

OSIRIS-REx↗
NASA NTRS2013

Live Virtual Constructive Distributed Test Environment Characterization Report

This report documents message latencies observed over various Live, Virtual, Constructive, (LVC) simulation environment configurations designed to emulate possible system architectures for the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration in the National Airspace System (NAS) Project integrated tests. For each configuration, four scenarios with progressively increasing air traffic loads were used to determine system throughput and bandwidth impacts on message latency.

UAS↗
NASA NTRS2001

Concept of Operations for Commercial and Business Aircraft Synthetic Vision Systems

A concept of operations (CONOPS) for the Commercial and Business (CaB) aircraft synthetic vision systems (SVS) is described. The CaB SVS is expected to provide increased safety and operational benefits in normal and low visibility conditions. Providing operational benefits will promote SVS implementation in the Net, improve aviation safety, and assist in meeting the national aviation safety goal. SVS will enhance safety and enable consistent gate-to-gate aircraft operations in normal and low visibility conditions. The goal for developing SVS is to support operational minima as low as Category 3b in a variety of environments. For departure and ground operations, the SVS goal is to enable operations with a runway visual range of 300 feet. The system is an integrated display concept that provides a virtual visual environment. The SVS virtual visual environment is composed of three components: an enhanced intuitive view of the flight environment, hazard and obstacle defection and display, and precision navigation guidance. The virtual visual environment will support enhanced operations procedures during all phases of flight - ground operations, departure, en route, and arrival. The applications selected for emphasis in this document include low visibility departures and arrivals including parallel runway operations, and low visibility airport surface operations. These particular applications were selected because of significant potential benefits afforded by SVS.

Williams Daniel M.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Model for Predicting the Performance of Planetary Suit Hip Bearing Designs

Designing a space suit is very complex and often requires difficult trade-offs between performance, cost, mass, and system complexity. During the development period of the suit numerous design iterations need to occur before the hardware meets human performance requirements. Using computer models early in the design phase of hardware development is advantageous, by allowing virtual prototyping to take place. A virtual design environment allows designers to think creatively, exhaust design possibilities, and study design impacts on suit and human performance. A model of the rigid components of the Mark III Technology Demonstrator Suit (planetary-type space suit) and a human manikin were created and tested in a virtual environment. The performance of the Mark III hip bearing model was first developed and evaluated virtually by comparing the differences in mobility performance between the nominal bearing configurations and modified bearing configurations. Suited human performance was then simulated with the model and compared to actual suited human performance data using the same bearing configurations. The Mark III hip bearing model was able to visually represent complex bearing rotations and the theoretical volumetric ranges of motion in three dimensions. The model was also able to predict suited human hip flexion and abduction maximums to within 10% of the actual suited human subject data, except for one modified bearing condition in hip flexion which was off by 24%. Differences between the model predictions and the human subject performance data were attributed to the lack of joint moment limits in the model, human subject fitting issues, and the limited suit experience of some of the subjects. The results demonstrate that modeling space suit rigid segments is a feasible design tool for evaluating and optimizing suited human performance. Keywords: space suit, design, modeling, performance

Cowley, Matthew S.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Capaciflector-based virtual force control and centering

This report presents a novel concept of force control, called virtual force control. The virtual force concept avoids sudden step transition of position control to contact force control resulting in contact force disturbance when a robot end-effector makes contact with the environment. A virtual force/position control scheme consists of two loops: the force control loop and the position control loop. While the position control loop regulates the free motion, the force control loop regulates the contact force after making contact with the environment and the virtual force measured by a range sensor called capaciflector in the virtual environment. After presenting the concept of virtual force control, the report introduces a centering scheme in which the virtual force controller is employed to measure three points on a cone so that its center can be located. Experimental results of a one-degree-of-freedom virtual force control scheme applied in berthing an orbital replaceable unit are reported and compared with those of conventional pure contact force control cases.

Nguyen, Charles C.↗