NASA is using a mixed reality space station to train astronauts – TechCrunch

NASA has always embraced emerging technology for visualization, even if that tech was seemingly developed for frivolous entertainment. We recentlycovered its holographicMars exhibit,andthe many 3D resources that NASA makes availableto developers and educators. Now, the US space agency has partnered with Epic Games Unreal Engine to create a mixed reality International Space Station simulator.

Tobecome a qualified NASA astronaut, candidatesspend up to two years of training learning the ropes through intensive classes and simulations that help them prepare for working while weightless, navigating around different parts of the space shuttle and international space station, and serving as each others emergency medical technicians, among other things.

In the past, astronaut trainingmeant dives in a neutral buoyancy lab, a giant pool thatholds 6.2 million gallons of water, and spending time at NASAs space vehicle mock-up facility, a life-sized model of the space shuttle orbiter and parts of the international space station (ISS). Those physical facilities have limited capacity, though. Adding a mixed realitymock-up, alongside the physical facility, could allow astronauts-in-training a lot more time to hone their skills in a convincing sim.

Unreal Engines main competitor, Unity, has also worked with NASA. For the unfamiliar, both companies make game engines that have been adapted for the creationof enterprise applications, andVR experiences. More game developers use Unity than Unreal Engine by a long shot today. Still, Unreal Engine boastsimpressive customers on the serious games front, including BMW, McLaren, Ikea and Lockheed Martin.

According to a video thatUnreal Engine and NASA released earlier this month, their mixed reality system shows various elements of, and instruments on board the ISS, including different exercise machines and tools that astronauts use for maintenance work there. The simulator is different than the previously-released educational experience,Mission: ISS for Oculus.

Among other things, the mixed reality ISS appsweeps astronauts-in-training off their feet with an active response gravity offload system. It works in conjunction with a robotic crane that makes the trainee feel like he or she would in micro-, lunar- or Martian gravity.Besides using the mixed reality system to train astronauts and engineers for life and work in orbit,NASA willuse it todesign new habitats.

More:
NASA is using a mixed reality space station to train astronauts - TechCrunch