StyM
03-27-2017, 02:40 AM
https://www.engadget.com/2017/03/27/nasa-is-teaching-iss-astronauts-to-maintain-the-iss-using-vr/
To train ISS astronauts, NASA uses physical mockups, zero-G "vomit comet" airplane rides, neutral buoyancy (underwater) and other pricey and complex schemes. However, virtual reality has become a new option, allowing astronauts to do realistic training for things like maintenance in an accurate, simulated zero-G environment. The company that helped them build the sim, Epic Games' Unreal Engine, recently unveiled a video showing exactly how that works.
NASA recently teamed with Oculus on Mission:ISS, a consumer education VR experience aboard the ISS. However, the training SIM NASA is developing with Unreal Engine is different altogether, and they appear to be using both the Oculus Rift and HTC's Vive headsets.
The setup uses "cutting edge graphics and physics simulations to increase the sense of presence," says NASA Software Engineer Matthew Noyes. "The more realistic the training feels, the faster you can respond in real-world, critical situations, which could save your mission or even your life." As Ars Technica noted after trying it out earlier this month, the VR is realistic enough that it can even simulate blooming. When you look up at the digital "sky," your pupils must dilate before you can see any stars, the same thing astronauts experience in space.
To train ISS astronauts, NASA uses physical mockups, zero-G "vomit comet" airplane rides, neutral buoyancy (underwater) and other pricey and complex schemes. However, virtual reality has become a new option, allowing astronauts to do realistic training for things like maintenance in an accurate, simulated zero-G environment. The company that helped them build the sim, Epic Games' Unreal Engine, recently unveiled a video showing exactly how that works.
NASA recently teamed with Oculus on Mission:ISS, a consumer education VR experience aboard the ISS. However, the training SIM NASA is developing with Unreal Engine is different altogether, and they appear to be using both the Oculus Rift and HTC's Vive headsets.
The setup uses "cutting edge graphics and physics simulations to increase the sense of presence," says NASA Software Engineer Matthew Noyes. "The more realistic the training feels, the faster you can respond in real-world, critical situations, which could save your mission or even your life." As Ars Technica noted after trying it out earlier this month, the VR is realistic enough that it can even simulate blooming. When you look up at the digital "sky," your pupils must dilate before you can see any stars, the same thing astronauts experience in space.