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NASA NTRS2010

Methods Used in Game Development to Foster FLOW

Games designed for entertainment have a rich history of providing compelling experiences. From consoles to PCs, games have managed to present intuitive and effective interfaces for a wide range of game styles to successfully allow users to "walk-up-and-play". Once a user is hooked, successful games artfully present challenging experiences just within reach of a user's ability, weaving each task and achievement into a compelling and engaging experience. In this paper, engagement is discussed in terms of the psychological theory of Flow. I argue that engagement should be one of the primary goals when developing a serious game and I discuss the best practices and techniques that have emerged from traditional video game development which help foster the creation of engaging, high Flow experiences.

Jeppsen, Isaac Ben↗

NASA NTRS1997

Stress Management by Biofeedback

In the 1980's, Dr. Patrick Doyle served on a project to train U.S. astronauts at Johnson Space Center in biofeedback techniques to control anxiety and hypertension. Traditional biofeedback concepts were found to be too mundane, repetitive and boring, so Doyle developed Bio-Games with more interesting and involved formats. The first product, Bio-Ball, is an interactive, multimedia baseball video game that is played by relaxing in order to hit the ball. Gradually the player is able to relax at will, and with practice is able to apply the skills to real-life situations. Doyle has since gone on to create a number of biofeedback games marketed by Creative MultiMedia Inc. including Bio-Golf, Clutch City, and Pachyderm. Stress-busting screen savers are also being marketed under the Buddies series. In addition to being used in the corporate world, Bio-Games have been recognized by the Starbright Foundation which focuses on improving the total hospital environments of critically injured and chronically-ill children.

Source record↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

TPSAS-NF1676L-14834-DND

A recent spin-off from flight deck adaptive automation research at NASA Langley Research Center is a biocybernetic invention referred to informally as MindShift. When using the MindShift technology, a person is able to play off-the-shelf Nintendo Wii games enhanced with biofeedback, which is used to improve self-regulation of physiological functioning. Therefore, the user experiences the challenge of regulating their physiological responses during gameplay in addition to the intended challenges presented in the video game. The research projects being conducted under the supervision of Dr. Alan Pope and Chad Stephens at NASA Langley Research Center examine the effects of interacting with the MindShift invention technology on subjects' self-regulation of heart rate and brainwave activity, performance in the games, performance on cognitive tasks, and subjective experience of effort (i.e., workload). The MindShift invention's effects are being compared to the effects of interacting with the games without the MindShift technology and to the effects of interacting with commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) brain-computer interface (BCI) technology, specifically the Mattel Mind Flex and the Uncle Milton Star Wars Force Trainer. A 32-channel electroencephalograph system is used to record subjects' brainwave and electrocardiographic activity. The potential for biofeedback game system applications is wide-ranging - from a more engaging form of clinical biofeedback training to a new challenge for avid gamers. Consequently, research needs to be conducted to fully understand the effects that these new games have on a person's physiological and psychological functioning. Biocybernetic technology like MindShift developed from the idea that operators of critical systems such as aerospace systems could hone their stress management and attention skills in biofeedback-augmented leisure activities while off-the-job in order to positively affect their on-the-job performance. This human performance enhancement technology is applicable to skill training on manually controlled critical tasks, such as unmanned aerial vehicle teleoperation, thus enabling the training of cognitive skills to be concurrent with manual skills. Furthermore, this type of technology can apply to medical and clinical uses of biofeedback by serving as an additional form of clinical biofeedback training that may be particularly useful for those with ADHD.

Brittany N Neilson↗

NASA NTRS1994

Quantitative 3-D imaging topogrammetry for telemedicine applications

The technology to reliably transmit high-resolution visual imagery over short to medium distances in real time has led to the serious considerations of the use of telemedicine, telepresence, and telerobotics in the delivery of health care. These concepts may involve, and evolve toward: consultation from remote expert teaching centers; diagnosis; triage; real-time remote advice to the surgeon; and real-time remote surgical instrument manipulation (telerobotics with virtual reality). Further extrapolation leads to teledesign and telereplication of spare surgical parts through quantitative teleimaging of 3-D surfaces tied to CAD/CAM devices and an artificially intelligent archival data base of 'normal' shapes. The ability to generate 'topogrames' or 3-D surface numerical tables of coordinate values capable of creating computer-generated virtual holographic-like displays, machine part replication, and statistical diagnostic shape assessment is critical to the progression of telemedicine. Any virtual reality simulation will remain in 'video-game' realm until realistic dimensional and spatial relational inputs from real measurements in vivo during surgeries are added to an ever-growing statistical data archive. The challenges of managing and interpreting this 3-D data base, which would include radiographic and surface quantitative data, are considerable. As technology drives toward dynamic and continuous 3-D surface measurements, presenting millions of X, Y, Z data points per second of flexing, stretching, moving human organs, the knowledge base and interpretive capabilities of 'brilliant robots' to work as a surgeon's tireless assistants becomes imaginable. The brilliant robot would 'see' what the surgeon sees--and more, for the robot could quantify its 3-D sensing and would 'see' in a wider spectral range than humans, and could zoom its 'eyes' from the macro world to long-distance microscopy. Unerring robot hands could rapidly perform machine-aided suturing with precision micro-sewing machines, splice neural connections with laser welds, micro-bore through constricted vessels, and computer combine ultrasound, microradiography, and 3-D mini-borescopes to quickly assess and trace vascular problems in situ. The spatial relationships between organs, robotic arms, and end-effector diagnostic, manipulative, and surgical instruments would be constantly monitored by the robot 'brain' using inputs from its multiple 3-D quantitative 'eyes' remote sensing, as well as by contact and proximity force measuring devices. Methods to create accurate and quantitative 3-D topograms at continuous video data rates are described.

Altschuler, Bruce R.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Extended attention span training system

Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) is a behavioral disorder characterized by the inability to sustain attention long enough to perform activities such as schoolwork or organized play. Treatments for this disorder include medication and brainwave biofeedback training. Brainwave biofeedback training systems feed back information to the trainee showing him how well he is producing the brainwave pattern that indicates attention. The Extended Attention Span Training (EAST) system takes the concept a step further by making a video game more difficult as the player's brainwaves indicate that attention is waning. The trainee can succeed at the game only by maintaining an adequate level of attention. The EAST system is a modification of a biocybernetic system that is currently being used to assess the extent to which automated flight management systems maintain pilot engagement. This biocybernetic system is a product of a program aimed at developing methods to evaluate automated flight deck designs for compatibility with human capabilities. The EAST technology can make a contribution in the fields of medical neuropsychology and neurology, where the emphasis is on cautious, conservative treatment of youngsters with attention disorders.

Pope, Alan T.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Assessment of a head-mounted miniature monitor

Two experiments were conducted to assess the capabilities and limitations of the Private Eye, a miniature, head-mounted monitor. The first experiment compared the Private Eye with a cathode ray tube (CRT) and hard copy in both a constrained and unconstrained work envelope. The task was a simulated maintenance and assembly task that required frequent reference to the displayed information. A main effect of presentation media indicated faster placement times using the CRT as compared with hard copy. There were no significant differences between the Private Eye and either the CRT or hard copy for identification, placement, or total task times. The goal of the second experiment was to determine the effects of various local visual parameters on the ability of the user to accurately perceive the information of the Private Eye. The task was an interactive video game. No significant performance differences were found under either bright or dark ambient illumination environments nor with either visually simple or complex task backgrounds. Glare reflected off of the bezel surrounding the monitor did degrade performance. It was concluded that this head-mounted, miniature monitor could serve a useful role for in situ operations, especially in microgravity environments.

Hale, J. P., II↗

NASA NTRS1991

Overconfidence, preview, and probability in strategic planning

The performance of eight subjects in a 'rescue' video game requiring choices as to which node they should fly to in order to rescue the simulated casualties is presently studied with a view to biases and display support criteria in strategic planning. After each choice, the subjects needed to fly a challenging tracking dynamic along a path to reach the next node. The results obtained indicate that the choices of the subjects were less optimal when full preview was offered, perhaps due to subjects' reliance on the simple strategy of choosing routes with the greatest number of casualties.

Wickens, Christopher D.↗

NASA NTRS1995

The CAVE (TM) automatic virtual environment: Characteristics and applications

Virtual reality may best be defined as the wide-field presentation of computer-generated, multi-sensory information that tracks a user in real time. In addition to the more well-known modes of virtual reality -- head-mounted displays and boom-mounted displays -- the Electronic Visualization Laboratory at the University of Illinois at Chicago recently introduced a third mode: a room constructed from large screens on which the graphics are projected on to three walls and the floor. The CAVE is a multi-person, room sized, high resolution, 3D video and audio environment. Graphics are rear projected in stereo onto three walls and the floor, and viewed with stereo glasses. As a viewer wearing a location sensor moves within its display boundaries, the correct perspective and stereo projections of the environment are updated, and the image moves with and surrounds the viewer. The other viewers in the CAVE are like passengers in a bus, along for the ride. 'CAVE,' the name selected for the virtual reality theater, is both a recursive acronym (Cave Automatic Virtual Environment) and a reference to 'The Simile of the Cave' found in Plato's 'Republic,' in which the philosopher explores the ideas of perception, reality, and illusion. Plato used the analogy of a person facing the back of a cave alive with shadows that are his/her only basis for ideas of what real objects are. Rather than having evolved from video games or flight simulation, the CAVE has its motivation rooted in scientific visualization and the SIGGRAPH 92 Showcase effort. The CAVE was designed to be a useful tool for scientific visualization. The Showcase event was an experiment; the Showcase chair and committee advocated an environment for computational scientists to interactively present their research at a major professional conference in a one-to-many format on high-end workstations attached to large projection screens. The CAVE was developed as a 'virtual reality theater' with scientific content and projection that met the criteria of Showcase.

Kenyon, Robert V.↗

NASA NTRS1998

Real World Audio

Crystal River Engineering was originally featured in Spinoff 1992 with the Convolvotron, a high speed digital audio processing system that delivers three-dimensional sound over headphones. The Convolvotron was developed for Ames' research on virtual acoustic displays. Crystal River is a now a subsidiary of Aureal Semiconductor, Inc. and they together develop and market the technology, which is a 3-D (three dimensional) audio technology known commercially today as Aureal 3D (A-3D). The technology has been incorporated into video games, surround sound systems, and sound cards.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS1999

FoilSim: Basic Aerodynamics Software Created

FoilSim is interactive software that simulates the airflow around various shapes of airfoils. The graphical user interface, which looks more like a video game than a learning tool, captures and holds the students interest. The software is a product of NASA Lewis Research Center s Learning Technologies Project, an educational outreach initiative within the High Performance Computing and Communications Program (HPCCP).This airfoil view panel is a simulated view of a wing being tested in a wind tunnel. As students create new wing shapes by moving slider controls that change parameters, the software calculates their lift. FoilSim also displays plots of pressure or airspeed above and below the airfoil surface.

Peterson, Ruth A.↗

NASA NTRS2012

Spinoff 2011

Topics include: Bioreactors Drive Advances in Tissue Engineering; Tooling Techniques Enhance Medical Imaging; Ventilator Technologies Sustain Critically Injured Patients; Protein Innovations Advance Drug Treatments, Skin Care; Mass Analyzers Facilitate Research on Addiction; Frameworks Coordinate Scientific Data Management; Cameras Improve Navigation for Pilots, Drivers; Integrated Design Tools Reduce Risk, Cost; Advisory Systems Save Time, Fuel for Airlines; Modeling Programs Increase Aircraft Design Safety; Fly-by-Wire Systems Enable Safer, More Efficient Flight; Modified Fittings Enhance Industrial Safety; Simulation Tools Model Icing for Aircraft Design; Information Systems Coordinate Emergency Management; Imaging Systems Provide Maps for U.S. Soldiers; High-Pressure Systems Suppress Fires in Seconds; Alloy-Enhanced Fans Maintain Fresh Air in Tunnels; Control Algorithms Charge Batteries Faster; Software Programs Derive Measurements from Photographs; Retrofits Convert Gas Vehicles into Hybrids; NASA Missions Inspire Online Video Games; Monitors Track Vital Signs for Fitness and Safety; Thermal Components Boost Performance of HVAC Systems; World Wind Tools Reveal Environmental Change; Analyzers Measure Greenhouse Gasses, Airborne Pollutants; Remediation Technologies Eliminate Contaminants; Receivers Gather Data for Climate, Weather Prediction; Coating Processes Boost Performance of Solar Cells; Analyzers Provide Water Security in Space and on Earth; Catalyst Substrates Remove Contaminants, Produce Fuel; Rocket Engine Innovations Advance Clean Energy; Technologies Render Views of Earth for Virtual Navigation; Content Platforms Meet Data Storage, Retrieval Needs; Tools Ensure Reliability of Critical Software; Electronic Handbooks Simplify Process Management; Software Innovations Speed Scientific Computing; Controller Chips Preserve Microprocessor Function; Nanotube Production Devices Expand Research Capabilities; Custom Machines Advance Composite Manufacturing; Polyimide Foams Offer Superior Insulation; Beam Steering Devices Reduce Payload Weight; Models Support Energy-Saving Microwave Technologies; Materials Advance Chemical Propulsion Technology; and High-Temperature Coatings Offer Energy Savings.

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NASA NTRS2016

Remote Adaptive Motor Resistance Training Exercise Apparatus and Method of Use Thereof

The invention comprises a method and/or an apparatus using a computer configured exercise system equipped with an electric motor to provide physical resistance to user motion in conjunction with means for sharing exercise system related data and/or user performance data with a secondary user, such as a medical professional, a physical therapist, a trainer, a computer generated competitor, and/or a human competitor. For example, the exercise system is used with a remote trainer to enhance exercise performance, with a remote medical professional for rehabilitation, and/or with a competitor in a competition, such as in a power/weightlifting competition or in a video game. The exercise system is optionally configured with an intelligent software assistant and knowledge navigator functioning as a personal assistant application.

Reich, Alton↗

NASA NTRS2017

Remote Adaptive Motor Resistance Training Exercise Apparatus and Method of Use Thereof

Reich, Alton↗

NASA NTRS2017

Method and System for Physiologically Modulating Videogames and Simulations which Use Gesture and Body Image Sensing Control Input Devices

Method for physiologically modulating videogames and simulations includes utilizing input from a motion-sensing video game system and input from a physiological signal acquisition device. The inputs from the physiological signal sensors are utilized to change the response of a user's avatar to inputs from the motion-sensing sensors. The motion-sensing system comprises a 3D sensor system having full-body 3D motion capture of a user's body. This arrangement encourages health-enhancing physiological self-regulation skills or therapeutic amplification of healthful physiological characteristics. The system provides increased motivation for users to utilize biofeedback as may be desired for treatment of various conditions.

Pope, Alan T.↗

NASA NTRS2017

A 3D Active Learning Application for NeMO-Net, the NASA Neural Multi-Modal Observation and Training Network for Global Coral Reef Assessment

NeMO-Net, the NASA neural multi-modal observation and training network for global coral reef assessment, is an open-source deep convolutional neural network and interactive active learning training software aiming to accurately assess the present and past dynamics of coral reef ecosystems through determination of percent living cover and morphology as well as mapping of spatial distribution. We present an interactive video game prototype for tablet and mobile devices where users interactively label morphology classifications over mm-scale 3D coral reef imagery captured using fluid lensing to create a dataset that will be used to train NeMO-Nets convolutional neural network. The application currently allows for users to classify preselected regions of coral in the Pacific and will be expanded to include additional regions captured using our NASA FluidCam instrument, presently the highest-resolution remote sensing benthic imaging technology capable of removing ocean wave distortion, as well as lower-resolution airborne remote sensing data from the ongoing NASA CORAL campaign. Active learning applications present a novel methodology for efficiently training large-scale Neural Networks wherein variances in identification can be rapidly mitigated against control data. NeMO-Net periodically checks users input against pre-classified coral imagery to gauge their accuracy and utilize in-game mechanics to provide classification training. Users actively communicate with a server and are requested to classify areas of coral for which other users had conflicting classifications and contribute their input to a larger database for ranking. In partnering with Mission Blue and IUCN, NeMO-Net leverages an international consortium of subject matter experts to classify areas of confusion identified by NeMO-Net and generate additional labels crucial for identifying decision boundary locations in coral reef assessment.

NeMO=NET↗

NASA NTRS2017

Digital Human Modeling

The development of models to represent human characteristics and behaviors in human factors is broad and general. The term "model" can refer to any metaphor to represent any aspect of the human; it is generally used in research to mean a mathematical tool for the simulation (often in software, which makes the simulation digital) of some aspect of human performance and for the prediction of future outcomes. This section is restricted to the application of human models in physical design, e.g., in human factors engineering. This design effort is typically human interface design, and the digital models used are anthropometric. That is, they are visual models that are the physical shape of humans and that have the capabilities and constraints of humans of a selected population. They are distinct from the avatars used in the entertainment industry (movies, video games, and the like) in precisely that regard: as models, they are created through the application of data on humans, and they are used to predict human response; body stresses workspaces. DHM enable iterative evaluation of a large number of concepts and support rapid analysis, as compared with use of physical mockups. They can be used to evaluate feasibility of escape of a suited astronaut from a damaged vehicle, before launch or after an abort (England, et al., 2012). Throughout most of human spaceflight, little attention has been paid to worksite design for ground workers. As a result of repeated damage to the Space Shuttle which adversely affected flight safety, DHM analyses of ground assembly and maintenance have been developed over the last five years for the design of new flight systems (Stambolian, 2012, Dischinger and Dunn Jackson, 2014). The intent of these analyses is to assure the design supports the work of the ground crew personnel and thereby protect the launch vehicle. They help the analyst address basic human factors engineering questions: can a worker reach the task site from the work platform provided; can she or he see the task site; can she or he control tools, which, if dropped, might damage the system? Figure 7.3.1 provides an example of such analysis for a future NASA launch vehicle. [figure 7.3.1 here] In-space systems for operation by astronauts have long been targets for DHM analysis, given the focus on mission success and concerns for astronaut safety. Figure 7.3.2 illustrates the analysis of the design to support astronaut tasks for an International Space Station glovebox. [Figure 7.3.2 here] Use by

Dischinger, H. Charles, Jr.↗

NASA NTRS2018

Maps of Tethys' Thermophysical Properties

On 11th April 2015 Cassini's Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS) made a series of observations of Tethys’ daytime anti-Saturn hemisphere over a nine-hour time period. During this time the sub-spacecraft position was remarkably stable (0.3° S to 3.9° S; 153.2° W to 221.8° W), and so these observations provide unprecedented coverage of diurnal temperature variations on Tethys’ anti-Saturn hemisphere. In 2012 a thermal anomaly was discovered at low latitudes on Tethys’ leading hemisphere; it appears cooler during the day and warmer at night than its surroundings (Howett et al., 2012) and is spatially correlated with a decrease in the IR3/UV3 visible color ratio (Schenk et al., 2011). The cause of this anomaly is believed to be surface alteration by high-energy electrons, which preferentially bombard low-latitudes of Tethys’ leading hemisphere (Schenk et al., 2011; Howett et al., 2012; Paranicas et al. 2014; Schaible et al., 2017). The thermal anomaly was quickly dubbed “Pac-Man” due to its resemblance to the 1980s video game icon. We use these daytime 2015 CIRS data, along with two sets of nighttime CIRS observations of Tethys (from 27 June 2007 and 17 August 2015) to make maps of bolometric Bond albedo and thermal inertia variations across the anti-Saturn hemisphere of Tethys (including the edge of its Pac-Man region). These maps confirm the presence of the Pac-Man thermal anomaly and show that while Tethys’ bolometric Bond albedo varies negligibly outside and inside the anomaly (0.69 plus or minus 0.02 inside, compared to 0.71 plus or minus 0.04 outside) the thermal inertia varies dramatically (29 plus or minus 10 J m−2 K−1 s−1/2 inside, compared to 9 plus or minus 4 J m−2 K−1 s−1/2 outside). These thermal inertias are in keeping with previously published values: 25 plus or minus 3 J m−2 K−1 s−1/2 inside, and 5 ± 1 J m−2 K−1 s−1/2 outside the anomaly (Howett et al., 2012). A detailed analysis shows that on smaller spatial-scales the bolometric Bond albedo does vary: increasing to a peak value at 180° W. For longitudes between approximately 100° W and approximately 160° W the thermal inertia increases from northern to southern latitudes, while the reverse is true for bolometric Bond albedo. The thermal inertia on Tethys generally increases towards the center of its leading hemisphere but also displays other notable small-scale variations. These thermal inertia and bolometric Bond albedo variations are perhaps due to differences in competing surface modification by E ring grains and high-energy electrons which both bombard Tethys’ leading hemisphere (but in different ways). A comparison between the observed temperatures and our best thermal model fits shows notable discrepancies in the morning warming curve, which may provide evidence of regional variations in surface roughness effects, perhaps again due to variations in surface alteration mechanisms.

Howett, C. J. A.↗

NASA NTRS2014

Advanced Inspection System: Integrating Robotic Configurations & Controls

The Advanced Inspection System (AIS) promotes the ability to perform field inspections and repairs remotely by operator command. The robotic system is required to be a fully autonomous operation, managed by computer execution of scripts with limited user control. AIS is a complex yet intriguing challenge in which various goals must be reached to achieve complete autonomy. The first steps to building such a system require human computer interactions and computer simulations for testing and verification. Such applications include the use of a wireless video game controller via Bluetooth Technology and the use of Leap Motion, a gesture based motion controller which can be used to manipulate robotic arm movements. Utilizing the Robotic Operating System (ROS) environment, these applications, in accordance to developing a 3D simulation of the system, will provide a foundational test bed for AIS development.

Wlodarczyk, Stephan J.↗