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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1995

Applied Virtual Reality Research and Applications at NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center

A Virtual Reality (VR) applications program has been under development at NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) since 1989. The objectives of the MSFC VR Applications Program are to develop, assess, validate, and utilize VR in hardware development, operations development and support, mission operations training and science training. Before this technology can be utilized with confidence in these applications, it must be validated for each particular class of application. That is, the precision and reliability with which it maps onto real settings and scenarios, representative of a class, must be calculated and assessed. The approach of the MSFC VR Applications Program is to develop and validate appropriate virtual environments and associated object kinematic and behavior attributes for specific classes of applications. These application-specific environments and associated simulations will be validated, where possible, through empirical comparisons with existing, accepted tools and methodologies. These validated VR analytical tools will then be available for use in the design and development of space systems and operations and in training and mission support systems. Specific validation studies for selected classes of applications have been completed or are currently underway. These include macro-ergonomic "control-room class" design analysis, Spacelab stowage reconfiguration training, a full-body micro-gravity functional reach simulator, and a gross anatomy teaching simulator. This paper describes the MSFC VR Applications Program and the validation studies.

Hale, Joseph P.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Visualizing Mars Using Virtual Reality: A State of the Art Mapping Technique Used on Mars Pathfinder

We describe an interactive terrain visualization system which rapidly generates and interactively displays photorealistic three-dimensional (3-D) models produced from stereo images. This product, first demonstrated in Mars Pathfinder, is interactive, 3-D, and can be viewed in an immersive display which qualifies it for the name Virtual Reality (VR). The use of this technology on Mars Pathfinder was the first use of VR for geologic analysis. A primary benefit of using VR to display geologic information is that it provides an improved perception of depth and spatial layout of the remote site. The VR aspect of the display allows an operator to move freely in the environment, unconstrained by the physical limitations of the perspective from which the data were acquired. Virtual Reality offers a way to archive and retrieve information in a way that is intuitively obvious. Combining VR models with stereo display systems can give the user a sense of presence at the remote location. The capability, to interactively perform measurements from within the VR model offers unprecedented ease in performing operations that are normally time consuming and difficult using other techniques. Thus, Virtual Reality can be a powerful a cartographic tool. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.

Stoker, C.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Evaluation of heart rate changes: electrocardiographic versus photoplethysmographic methods

The heart rate (HR) variation to forced deep breathing (HRDB) and to the Valsalva maneuver (Valsalva ratio; VR) are the two most widely used tests of cardiovagal function in human subjects. The HR is derived from a continuously running electrocardiographic (ECG) recording. Recently, HR derived from the arterial waveform became available on the Finapres device (FinapHR), but its ability to detect rapid changes in HR remains uncertain. We therefore evaluated HRDB and VR derived from FinapHR using ECG-derived HR (ECGHR) recordings as the standard. We also compared the averaged HR on Finapres (Finapav) with beat-to-beat Finapres (FinapBB) values. Studies were undertaken in 12 subjects with large HR variations: age, 34.5 +/- 9.3 (SD) years; six males and six females. FinapBB values were superimposable upon ECGHR for both HRDB and VR. In contrast, Finapav failed to follow ECGHR for HRDB and followed HRECG with a lag for the VR. To evaluate statistically how closely FinapHR approximated ECGHR, we undertook regression analysis, using mean values for each subject. To compare the two methods, we evaluated the significance of the difference between test and standard values. For HRDB, FinapBB reproducibly recorded HR (R2 = 0.998), and was significantly (p = 0.001) better than Finapav (R2 = 0.616; p < 0.001). For VR, HRBB generated a VR that was not significantly different from the correct values, while HRav generated a value that was slightly but consistently lower than the correct values (p < 0.001). We conclude that FinapHR reliably records HR variations in the beat-to-beat mode for cardiovascular HR tests.

Non-NASA Center↗
NASA NTRS2016

The Virtual Tablet: Virtual Reality as a Control System

In the field of human-computer interaction, Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) have been rapidly growing areas of interest and concerted development effort thanks to both private and public research. At NASA, a number of groups have explored the possibilities afforded by AR and VR technology, among which is the IT Advanced Concepts Lab (ITACL). Within ITACL, the AVR (Augmented/Virtual Reality) Lab focuses on VR technology specifically for its use in command and control. Previous work in the AVR lab includes the Natural User Interface (NUI) project and the Virtual Control Panel (VCP) project, which created virtual three-dimensional interfaces that users could interact with while wearing a VR headset thanks to body- and hand-tracking technology. The Virtual Tablet (VT) project attempts to improve on these previous efforts by incorporating a physical surrogate which is mirrored in the virtual environment, mitigating issues with difficulty of visually determining the interface location and lack of tactile feedback discovered in the development of previous efforts. The physical surrogate takes the form of a handheld sheet of acrylic glass with several infrared-range reflective markers and a sensor package attached. Using the sensor package to track orientation and a motion-capture system to track the marker positions, a model of the surrogate is placed in the virtual environment at a position which corresponds with the real-world location relative to the user's VR Head Mounted Display (HMD). A set of control mechanisms is then projected onto the surface of the surrogate such that to the user, immersed in VR, the control interface appears to be attached to the object they are holding. The VT project was taken from an early stage where the sensor package, motion-capture system, and physical surrogate had been constructed or tested individually but not yet combined or incorporated into the virtual environment. My contribution was to combine the pieces of hardware, write software to incorporate each piece of position or orientation data into a coherent description of the object's location in space, place the virtual analogue accordingly, and project the control interface onto it, resulting in a functioning object which has both a physical and a virtual presence. Additionally, the virtual environment was enhanced with two live video feeds from cameras mounted on the robotic device being used as an example target of the virtual interface. The working VT allows users to naturally interact with a control interface with little to no training and without the issues found in previous efforts.

virtual control interface↗
NASA NTRS2023

Using Virtual Reality to Envision Deployment of Spacesuit-Compatible Augmented Reality Displays for Lunar Surface Operations

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) will soon land crew on the lunar surface to establish a sustainable presence and develop operational concepts for future long-duration missions. New technologies will be necessary to extend planning and execution capabilities for lunar surface activities. The Joint Augmented Reality Visual Informatics System (Joint AR) at NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) is one such technology. Joint AR is a suit-mounted augmented reality (AR) display and compute system which facilitates unprecedented information exchange and data visualization capabilities between mission support operators and suited crew. This paper describes challenges associated with developing an AR technology for an envisioned work domain by applying a sociotechnical lens to the iterative testing and development of novel AR technology through virtual reality (VR). A foundational VR testbed was established, providing a high-fidelity approximation of the lunar surface and enabling testing of envisioned AR system features in parallel with real world product development. Using this environment, a series of human-in-the-loop experiments were conducted using VR to deploy a notional AR system supporting use cases envisioned for lunar exploration extravehicular activity (xEVA). Our findings indicate VR is a powerful and immersive tool for testing capabilities which extend beyond the limitations of current AR technology. Our VR testbed enables early testing of proposed system features, advancing identification of high-value features and driving present-day development of Joint AR. Future work directions are discussed, including lessons learned and a roadmap for an iterative research and development approach applying VR (among other testbeds) to accelerate Joint AR system maturation.

Augmented reality↗
NASA NTRS1994

Virtual reality in medical education and assessment

The NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC)/LinCom Corporation, the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB), and the Galveston Independent School District (GISD) have teamed up to develop a virtual visual environment display (VIVED) that provides a unique educational experience using virtual reality (VR) technologies. The VIVED end product will be a self-contained educational experience allowing students a new method of learning as they interact with the subject matter through VR. This type of interface is intuitive and utilizes spatial and psychomotor abilities which are now constrained or reduced by the current two dimensional terminals and keyboards. The perpetual challenge to educators remains the identification and development of methodologies which conform the learners abilities and preferences. The unique aspects of VR provide an opportunity to explore a new educational experience. Endowing medical students with an understanding of the human body poses some difficulty challenges. One of the most difficult is to convey the three dimensional nature of anatomical structures. The ideal environment for addressing this problem would be one that allows students to become small enough to enter the body and travel through it - much like a person walks through a building. By using VR technology, this effect can be achieved; when VR is combined with multimedia technologies, the effect can be spectacular.

Sprague, Laurie A.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Virtual reality as a human factors design analysis tool: Macro-ergonomic application validation and assessment of the Space Station Freedom payload control area

A virtual reality (VR) Applications Program has been under development at MSFC since 1989. Its objectives are to develop, assess, validate, and utilize VR in hardware development, operations development and support, missions operations training, and science training. A variety of activities are under way within many of these areas. One ongoing macro-ergonomic application of VR relates to the design of the Space Station Freedom Payload Control Area (PCA), the control room from which onboard payload operations are managed. Several preliminary conceptual PCA layouts have been developed and modeled in VR. Various managers and potential end users have virtually 'entered' these rooms and provided valuable feedback. Before VR can be used with confidence in a particular application, it must be validated, or calibrated, for that class of applications. Two associated validation studies for macro-ergonomic applications are under way to help characterize possible distortions of filtering of relevant perceptions in a virtual world. In both studies, existing control rooms and their 'virtual counterparts will be empirically compared using distance and heading estimations to objects and subjective assessments. Approaches and findings of the PCA activities and details of the studies are presented.

Hale, Joseph P.↗
NASA NTRS1994

An applications-oriented approach to the development of virtual environments

The field of Virtual Reality (VR) is diverse, ranging in scope from research into fundamental enabling technologies to the building of full-scale entertainment facilities. However, the concept of virtual reality means many things to many people. Ideally, a definition of VR should derive from how it can provide solutions to existing challenges in building advanced human computer interfaces. The measure of success for VR lies in its ability to enhance the assimilation of complex information, whether to aid in difficult decision making processes, or to recreate real experiences in a compelling way. This philosophy is described using an example from a VR-based advertising project. The common and unique elements of this example are explained, though the fundamental development process is the same for all virtual environments that support information transfer. In short, this development approach is an applications oriented approach that begins by establishing and prioritizing user requirements and seeks to add value to the information transfer process through the appropriate use of VR technology.

Crowe, Michael X.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Virtual reality applications in robotic simulations

Virtual reality (VR) provides a means to practice integrated extravehicular activities (EVA)/remote manipulator system (RMS) operations in the on-orbit configuration with no discomfort or risk to crewmembers. VR afforded the STS-61 crew the luxury of practicing the integrated EVA/RMS operations in an on-orbit configuration prior to the actual flight. The VR simulation was developed by the Automation and Robotics Division's Telepresence/Virtual Reality Lab and Integrated Graphics, Operations, and Analysis Lab (IGOAL) at JSC. The RMS Part Task Trainer (PTT) was developed by the IGOAL for RMS training in 1988 as a fully functional, kinematic simulation of the shuttle RMS and served as the RMS portion of the integrated VR simulation. Because the EVA crewmember could get a realistic view of the shuttle and payload bay in the VR simulation, he/she could explore different positions and views to determine the best method for performing a specific task, thus greatly increasing the efficiency of use of the neutral buoyancy facilities.

Homan, David J.↗
NASA NTRS2019

NASA KSC Intern Final Report - Virtual Reality in STEM Engagement

For this internship, I was a part of the multi-center NextGen STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) pilot. Specifically, I worked with the Developing Commercial Crew Program (CCP) Capabilities team that focuses on human spaceflight to the space station with NASA’s commercial partners. Composed of NASA employees and contractors (who are connected to KSC, JSC, and LaRC), they work to ensure that students will experience traditional classroom content and be immersed in emerging technologies in order to explore Commercial Crew missions and launch facilities. This group is in the process of creating educational products and resources to inspire the next generation to pursue STEM and to allow educators to have access to unique and enticing STEM activities. These products include: age-appropriate classroom lessons (including activity sheets and challenges) for kindergarten through twelfth grade; a CCP app and corresponding guide; learning experiences for students as well as educators; and virtual field trips and tours using NASA-created Virtual Reality (VR) videos and a custom VR app. My particular assignment was managing the VR equipment, developing an understanding of how to maximize the use of the equipment, creating documents that explain and convey the operations and procedures concerning the equipment (including lessons learned from equipment use), and training others to utilize the equipment effectively and correctly for conference events and group demonstrations. Over the course of this internship, I helped my team outline and learn essential procedures of operation for the VR equipment, solved technology problems that arose (due to the nature of creating unique products), and encouraged audiences at KSC and various conferences to consider using the CCP VR videos in their classrooms as an opportunity to engage and challenge the next generation to pursue STEM careers.

STEM↗
NASA NTRS2019

Using Virtual Reality and Motion Capture as tools for Human Factors Engineering at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center

NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) Human Factors Engineering (HFE) Team is implementing virtual reality (VR) and motion capture (MoCap) into HFE analyses of various projects through its Virtual Environments Lab (VEL). VR allows for multiple analyses early in the design process and more opportunities to give design feedback. This tool can be used by engineers in most disciplines to compare design alternatives and is particularly valuable to HFE to give early input during these evaluations. These techniques are being implemented for concept development of Deep Space Habitats (DSH), and work is being done to implement VR for design aspects of the Space Launch System (SLS). VR utilization in the VEL will push the design to be better formulated before mockups are constructed, saving budget and time. The MSFC VEL will continue forward leaning implementation with VR technologies in these and other projects for better models earlier in the design process.

Andrews, Tanya↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

An Evaluation of Extended Reality Technologies for Use in Verification Testing at NASA 2024 HRP IWS Abstract

BACKGROUND At NASA, verification testing is the formal process of ensuring that a product conforms to requirements set by a project or program. Some verification methods, such as Demonstrations and Test, require either the end product or a mockup of the product with sufficient fidelity to stand-in for the product during the test. Traditionally, these mockups have been physical (e.g., foam-core and wood) but there is growing interest in exploring new methods for testing with these mockups. These methods include virtual reality (VR), mixed reality, and augmented reality which are collectively referred to as eXtended Reality (XR) technologies. VR has already been adopted and used by many in the aerospace industry as a tool for use in early design phases (e.g., developmental testing) and may have the most potential for use in verification tests. Benefits of using VR mockups offer cost effectiveness, ease of iteration, simulation of hazardous conditions (e.g., an egress through a hatch with smoke obscuring vision), and the ability to simulate microgravity conditions, which are challenging to do with physical mockups. However, the validity of test results obtained from VR mockup demonstrations or testing, compared to the current gold standard of physical mockups, remains uncertain. It is unlikely that there is one clean answer as there are many different types of verification outcomes and each XR technology must be evaluated on its own merits. This is not an issue during developmental testing as the design is still in flux and the total success of the design is not dependent upon the results of a developmental test. Verification tests, however, only happen once, assuming no change to the design, and the results are used to certify the product. Therefore, establishing the validity of XR mockup-based verification outcomes is essential before considering them for any use in verification tests. OBJECTIVE AND METHOD To address this concern, the Human Research Program has funded a project to explore and qualify how XR technologies might be used in verification demonstration and testing at NASA. Currently, we are conducting a review of the literature on the utilization of XR mockups for design activities, prototyping, and user testing. We are employing the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis method to identify the pros, cons, and barriers to adoption of XR technologies for verification testing at NASA. Additionally, we are developing a framework to guide the deployment of XR mockups for verification tests. Building upon available evidence from the literature and subject-matter expert feedback, our goal for the framework is to provide guidelines for which forms of XR mockups are suitable for a given verification test, when only physical mockups should be employed and to highlight areas for which more evidence is needed. To further refine our framework and to contribute to the body of evidence, we are planning a lab-based experiment comparing a VR mockup to a physical twin for a set of select verification outcomes. ANTICIPATED RESULTS In this presentation, we will present the work we conducted to evaluate XR technologies for use in verification tests at NASA. We will summarize and report our findings from the SWOT analysis and our lab-based study, and we will present the current state of the XR Technologies for Verification Testing framework. We will conclude by summarizing remaining work and future directions for the project. Technologies for Verification Testing framework. We will conclude by summarizing remaining work and future directions for the project.

Extended Reality↗
NASA NTRS1996

The Infrastructure of an Integrated Virtual Reality Environment for International Space Welding Experiment

This study is a continuation of the summer research of 1995 NASA/ASEE Summer Faculty Fellowship Program. This effort is to provide the infrastructure of an integrated Virtual Reality (VR) environment for the International Space Welding Experiment (ISWE) Analytical Tool and Trainer and the Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG) Analytical Tool study. Due to the unavailability of the MSG CAD files and the 3D-CAD converter, little was done to the MSG study. However, the infrastructure of the integrated VR environment for ISWE is capable of performing the MSG study when the CAD files become available. Two primary goals are established for this research. First, the essential peripheral devices for an integrated VR environment will be studied and developed for the ISWE and MSG studies. Secondly, the training of the flight crew (astronaut) in general orientation, procedures, and location, orientation, and sequencing of the welding samples and tools are built into the VR system for studying the welding process and training the astronaut.

Wang, Peter Hor-Ching↗
NASA NTRS2002

A computational model-based validation of Guyton's analysis of cardiac output and venous return curves

Guyton developed a popular approach for understanding the factors responsible for cardiac output (CO) regulation in which 1) the heart-lung unit and systemic circulation are independently characterized via CO and venous return (VR) curves, and 2) average CO and right atrial pressure (RAP) of the intact circulation are predicted by graphically intersecting the curves. However, this approach is virtually impossible to verify experimentally. We theoretically evaluated the approach with respect to a nonlinear, computational model of the pulsatile heart and circulation. We developed two sets of open circulation models to generate CO and VR curves, differing by the manner in which average RAP was varied. One set applied constant RAPs, while the other set applied pulsatile RAPs. Accurate prediction of intact, average CO and RAP was achieved only by intersecting the CO and VR curves generated with pulsatile RAPs because of the pulsatility and nonlinearity (e.g., systemic venous collapse) of the intact model. The CO and VR curves generated with pulsatile RAPs were also practically independent. This theoretical study therefore supports the validity of Guyton's graphical analysis.

NASA Discipline Cardiopulmonary↗
NASA NTRS2020

Virtual and Augmented Reality Applications in Science and Engineering

The articles in this special section focus on virtual and augmented reality applications in science and engineering. There has been an explosive growth in visually augmenting the spaces around us by creating environments where visual, aural, and kinesthetic immersive experiences afforded by virtual and augmented reality (AR) powerfully engage us in a way no other medium can. Virtual reality (VR) recreates the sensory world around us entirely through computer-generated signals of sight, sound, touch (and in some cases smell and taste). AR overlays the computer-generated sensory signals on the real world allowing the user to experience a rich juxtaposition of the virtual and the real worlds simultaneously. Together, these technologies are transforming the way people from all walks of life—scientists, engineers, educators, industrial workers, health care professionals, artists, and everyday people— see and use the information that matters most to them, in an intuitive embodied way. Just as mobile technology has revolutionized how we communicate with each other and with our digital worlds, ubiquitous VR and AR will fundamentally alter how our society creates, inspires, engages, and learns from the information-rich and enriched cyberspaces around us. While affordable consumer- quality VR and AR hardware is becoming available, significant work is needed to adopt VR and AR for important and difficult scientific and societal applications.

Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

An Analysis of Extended Reality Mockups for Use in Verification: Phase 2

NASA commercial providers are increasing their use of Virtual Reality (VR) and Hybrid Reality (HR) technologies in their system development process. The use of these technologies, collectively referred to as Extended Reality (XR) technologies, has been limited to the development phase, but there have been requests to integrate VR and HR mockups into verifications. Verifications require, at minimum, a high-fidelity mockup for activities involving human participation (tests, demonstrations, inspections). HR technology shares many of the strengths but may not share some of the critical shortcomings of VR. Specifically, HR allows for integrating physical objects, such as a suit, which may be critical to evaluating a system. Adopting HR technology still has many of the same challenges as VR. Namely, there is little to no data about the validity of evaluations conducted with HR mockups, an established process, or criteria for evaluating the appropriateness of HR mockups. Because verifications are final and only need to happen once, HR mockups must be adequately vetted before being approved for use in verifications. Further hindering the adoption of these technologies is the lack of consensus on what constitutes a high-fidelity XR mockup. Even for physical mockups, there are guidelines and common criteria, but nothing has been formalized. Discussion about when an XR mockup can be used would be greatly helped by clearly defining what a high-fidelity XR mockup is and how it might be measured. The team will engage with relevant stakeholders to learn more about the benefits and challenges of adopting hybrid reality mockups for verification. The team will build upon work from Phase 1 by maturing a framework to guide decisions for evaluating XR mockups for use in verifications. The team will also conduct experimental studies to evaluate advantages and tradeoffs of hybrid/mixed reality relative to physical and virtual reality mockups. Finally, data from Phase 1 and Phase 2 will be synthesized into a set of best practices for developing and validating XR mockups for verification. We will highlight the work conducted to date in Phase 2. We will present the status of the XR for Verification Framework, a summary of best practices identified thus far, and give a synopsis of future work.

verification testing↗
NASA NTRS1993

Unsteady aerodynamic behavior of an airfoil with and without a slat

Unsteady flow behavior and load characteristics of a 2D VR-7 airfoil with and without a leading-edge slat were studied in the water tunnel of the Aeroflightdynamics Directorate, NASA Ames Research Center. Both airfoils were oscillated sinusoidally between 5 and 25 deg at Re = 200,000 to obtain the unsteady lift, drag, and pitching moment data. A fluorescent dye was released from an orifice located at the leading edge of the airfoil for the purpose of visualizing the boundary layer and wake flow. The flowfield and load predictions of an incompressible Navier-Stokes code based on a velocity-vorticity formulation were compared with the test data. The test and predictions both confirm that the slatted VR-7 airfoil delays both static and dynamic stall as compared to the VR-7 airfoil alone.

Tung, Chee↗
NASA NTRS1992

Virtual reality and planetary exploration

NASA-Ames is intensively developing virtual-reality (VR) capabilities that can extend and augment computer-generated and remote spatial environments. VR is envisioned not only as a basis for improving human/machine interactions involved in planetary exploration, but also as a medium for the more widespread sharing of the experience of exploration, thereby broadening the support-base for the lunar and planetary-exploration endeavors. Imagery representative of Mars are being gathered for VR presentation at such terrestrial sites as Antarctica and Death Valley.

Mcgreevy, Michael W.↗