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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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This is a set of Unity components that use the Unity game engine's transform and collision systems to provide a reasonably representative approximation of any number of unique radiation sources and the collective dose they deliver to a user.
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Abstract not provided.
Describes the use of Unity to create an interactive dynamic lighting management tool.
Game Development (Process); Game Development Tools; Implementation Tools; Materials Education Game Environment; Virtual Cleanroom; E-learning as game-like environments + CLDT; +CPR Tool.
GoView is a video-game-like software engine, written in the C and C++ computing languages, that enables real-time, three-dimensional (3D)-appearing visual representation of spacecraft and trajectories (1) from any perspective; (2) at any spatial scale from spacecraft to Solar-system dimensions; (3) in user-selectable time scales; (4) in the past, present, and/or future; (5) with varying speeds; and (6) forward or backward in time. GoView constructs an interactive 3D world by use of spacecraft-mission data from pre-existing engineering software tools. GoView can also be used to produce distributable application programs for depicting NASA orbital missions on personal computers running the Windows XP, Mac OsX, and Linux operating systems. GoView enables seamless rendering of Cartesian coordinate spaces with programmable graphics hardware, whereas prior programs for depicting spacecraft trajectories variously require non-Cartesian coordinates and/or are not compatible with programmable hardware. GoView incorporates an algorithm for nonlinear interpolation between arbitrary reference frames, whereas the prior programs are restricted to special classes of inertial and non-inertial reference frames. Finally, whereas the prior programs present complex user interfaces requiring hours of training, the GoView interface provides guidance, enabling use without any training.
This paper presents a new Route Generation Algorithm that accurately and realistically represents human route planning and navigation for Military Operations in Urban Terrain (MOUT). The accuracy of this algorithm in representing human behavior is measured using the Unreal Tournament(Trademark) 2004 (UT2004) Game Engine to provide the simulation environment in which the differences between the routes taken by the human player and those of a Synthetic Agent (BOT) executing the A-star algorithm and the new Route Generation Algorithm can be compared. The new Route Generation Algorithm computes the BOT route based on partial or incomplete knowledge received from the UT2004 game engine during game play. To allow BOT navigation to occur continuously throughout the game play with incomplete knowledge of the terrain, a spatial network model of the UT2004 MOUT terrain is captured and stored in an Oracle 11 9 Spatial Data Object (SOO). The SOO allows a partial data query to be executed to generate continuous route updates based on the terrain knowledge, and stored dynamic BOT, Player and environmental parameters returned by the query. The partial data query permits the dynamic adjustment of the planned routes by the Route Generation Algorithm based on the current state of the environment during a simulation. The dynamic nature of this algorithm more accurately allows the BOT to mimic the routes taken by the human executing under the same conditions thereby improving the realism of the BOT in a MOUT simulation environment.
The Tall Lunar Tower project at the NASA Langley Research Center is focused on the design, modeling, fabrication, and testing of a supervised autonomously assembly engineering development unit for tall lunar towers. The lunar south pole environment poses many challenges for robotic assembly of the tall tower, particularly to computer vision camera systems due to a high-contrast lighting environment. This paper will present an Unreal Engine 5 video game engine Lunar South Pole Lighting Testbed to simulate realistic lunar lighting conditions for synthetic image generation. The fidelity of the simulation environment is investigated by comparing the accuracy of computer vision models trained using synthetic image data and trained from real image data collected in a lunar analog environment.
The Tall Lunar Tower project at the NASA Langley Research Center is focused on the design, modeling, fabrication, and testing of a supervised autonomously assembled engineering development unit for tall lunar towers. The lunar south pole environment poses many challenges for robotic assembly of the tall tower, particularly to computer vision camera systems due to a high-contrast lighting environment. This paper will present an Unreal Engine 5 video game engine Lunar South Pole Lighting Testbed to simulate realistic lunar lighting conditions for synthetic image generation. The fidelity of the simulation environment is investigated by comparing the accuracy of computer vision models trained using synthetic image data and trained from real image data collected in a lunar analog environment.
The Tall Lunar Tower project at the NASA Langley Research Center is focused on the design, modeling, fabrication, and testing of a supervised autonomously assembly engineering development unit for tall lunar towers. The lunar south pole environment poses many challenges for robotic assembly of the tall tower, particularly to computer vision camera systems due to a high-contrast lighting environment. This paper will present an Unreal Engine 5 video game engine Lunar South Pole Lighting Testbed to simulate realistic lunar lighting conditions for synthetic image generation. The fidelity of the simulation environment is investigated by comparing the accuracy of computer vision models trained using synthetic image data and trained from real image data collected in a lunar analog environment.
The evolution of games as an alternative to traditional simulations in the military context has been gathering momentum over the past five years, even though the exploration of their use in the serious sense has been ongoing since the mid-nineties. Much of the focus has been on the aesthetics of the visuals provided by the core game engine as well as the artistry provided by talented development teams to produce not only breathtaking artwork, but highly immersive game play. Consideration of game technology is now so much a part of the modeling and simulation landscape that it is becoming difficult to distinguish traditional simulation solutions from game-based approaches. But games have yet to provide the much needed interactive free play that has been the domain of semi-autonomous forces (SAF). The component-based middleware architecture that game engines provide promises a great deal in terms of options for the integration of agent solutions to support the development of non-player characters that engage the human player without the deterministic nature of scripted behaviors. However, there are a number of hard-learned lessons on the modeling and simulation side of the equation that game developers have yet to learn, such as: correlation of heterogeneous systems, scalability of both terrain and numbers of non-player entities, and the bi-directional nature of simulation to game interaction provided by Distributed Interactive Simulation (DIS) and High Level Architecture (HLA).
The best way to engage a soldier is to present them with training content consistent with their learning preference. Blended Interactive Multimedia Instruction (IMI) can be used to leach soldiers what they need to do, how to do each step, and utilize a COTS game engine to actually practices the skills learned. Blended IMI provides an enjoyable experience for the soldier, thereby increasing retention rates and motivation while decreasing the time to subject mastery. And now mobile devices have emerged as an exciting new platform, literally placing the training into the soldier's hands. In this paper, we will discuss how we leveraged commercial game engine technology, tightly integrated with the Blended IMI, to train soldiers on both laptops and mobile devices. We will provide a recent case study of how this training is being utilized, benefits and student/instructor feedback.
MAGIC is a software tool capable of converting highly detailed 3D models from an open, standard format, VRML 2.0/97, into the proprietary DTS file format used by the Torque Game Engine from GarageGames. MAGIC is used to convert 3D simulations from authoritative sources into the data needed to run the simulations in NASA's Distributed Observer Network. The Distributed Observer Network (DON) is a simulation presentation tool built by NASA to facilitate the simulation sharing requirements of the Data Presentation and Visualization effort within the Constellation Program. DON is built on top of the Torque Game Engine (TGE) and has chosen TGE's Dynamix Three Space (DTS) file format to represent 3D objects within simulations.
Game design workshops, camps and activities engage K-12 students In STEM disciplines that use game engine and development tools. Game development will have students create games and simulations that Will inspire them to love technology while learning math, physics, and,logic. By using tools such as Gamemaker, Alice, Unity, Gamesalad and others, students will get a sense of confidence and accomplishment creating games and simulations.
The integration of virtual and augmented reality, sometimes called mixed reality, is an emerging technology which will likely skyrocket overnight much in the way smartphones did a decade ago. Kennedy Space Center's Augmented and Virtual Reality (AVR) Lab is developing a Rapid Model Import Tool (RMIT) to create a quick and efficient way to bring NASA's complex engineering 3D models into virtual and augmented environments. The long-term objective is to create a tool that will ultimately benefit KSC engineers. Its various uses within NASA can potentially span from astronaut training, to marketing, to public outreach, to name a few. Unity is a prolific cross-platform game engine that allows users to build high quality 2D and 3D games for desktop, mobile, web, and game console platforms. It is perhaps also the most widely used software for virtual reality game development. At the AVR lab, we are looking at alternative uses of Unity to build tools for NASA engineers to perform design, development, testing, and training on spacecraft, rocket delivery systems, ground support equipment, and facilities at KSC. As an intern for the RMIT project, I am charged with the task of performing research on Unity-compatible file types to develop an efficient, affordable, preservative process to bring models from CATIA 3D engineering software into the Unity environment. With a tool called the NASA Enterprise Visualization Application (NEVA), developed by the Boeing Design Visualization group at KSC, we are able to easily convert CATIA's design models to. DAE (also known as COLLADA) and .OBJ file formats. I first reduce the polygon count of the model within CATIA itself, make any necessary tweaks to reduce the model further, and then export using NEVA. The .OBJ or. DAE files that I am left with are then converted by another intern to a Unity-compatible file format using a custom Python script. I have generated extensive documentation of this process in a NEVA User Guide. By the end of this semester, we will have built a solid framework for RMIT based on a thorough understanding of virtual reality specifications and file requirements, allowing future software development teams to go forward with development on the custom tool.
Project KEWL is a joint project between NASA/JPL and NASA/JSC to stimulate interest of children in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) and bring the NASA space exploration experience to the classroom, museum and ultimately the living room. Using the Kinect game controller KEWL allows children to engage in NASA s missions in a fundamentally new way. KEWL allows children to experiment with gravity on Mars and the Moon; navigate through the International Space Station; fix a torn solar array on the ISS; drive a robot on Mars; visit an Asteroid; learn about the differences in gravity on different planets and control Robonaut 2 using their body as the input device. Project KEWL complements NASA s outreach investments in television, mobile platforms and the web by engaging the public through the rapidly expanding medium of console gaming. In 2008, 97% of teenagers played video games and 86% played on a home gaming console. (source: http://pewresearch.org/pubs/953/) As of March 2011, there have been more than 10 million Kinects sold. (source: http://www.itproportal.com/2011/03/10/kinect-record-breaking-sales-figures-top-10-million/) Project KEWL interacts with children on a platform on which they spend much of their time and teaches them information about NASA while they are having fun. Project KEWL progressed from completely custom C++ code written in house to using a commercial game engine. The art work and 3D geometry models come from existing engineering work or are created by the KEWL development team. Six different KEWL applications have been demonstrated at nine different venues including schools, museums, conferences, and NASA outreach events. These demonstrations have allowed the developers the chance to interact with players and observe the gameplay mechanics in action. The lessons learned were then incorporated into the subsequent versions of the applications.
INL engineers developed a special purpose software framework designed to establish real-time connections between multiple running Unity instances. The framework is developed in Unity, a game engine development platform. This framework programmatically attaches functions to engineering models, enabling users to interact with, observe, and make changes to virtual models. These interactions are broadcasted through websocket connections, and received by other engineers in real-time.