NASA Engineers Build Virtual World to Explore Data

(Image credit- Tech Crunch) Virtual reality (VR) technology has been at the forefront of development for NASA for almost as long as it has been as a concept. Since the cumbersome headsets of the 1990s, the industry has had a revival, though. Several popular companies currently employ VR for virtual chat rooms and immersive video games, but some people believe this technology has applications beyond amusement. For many years, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California has worked to enhance data visualization. Scientists typically use panoramic photos to evaluate the environment after receiving images from an alien world, but this technique has drawbacks. It can be challenging to determine distances while looking at a flat image. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="1500"] Image credit- Digital Trends[/caption]

3D Graphics for More Clarity

“Looking at pictures on a screen is a much different experience to walking through a canyon,” said Scott Davidoff, manager of the Human Centered Design Group at JPL. Davidoff started playing around with virtual reality using images collected by the Mars Curiosity rover. The problem of visual distance had been addressed in some ways, such as by using 3D graphics that could be viewed through red and blue filtered glasses, but nothing gave scientists the impression that they were actually there. Davidoff and his associates made the decision to surround the scientist in a virtual setting. Geologists who experienced VR in this way said it gave them a sense of being on Mars. They could more rapidly and accurately determine a feature's size and distance than they could with a flat display, which gave rise to another thought. Seeing visuals in virtual reality, in Davidoff's opinion, maybe a game-changer for more complicated "multi-dimensional" data if it proved to be helpful. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="3584"] Image credit- NASA[/caption]

Scientific Data Visualization

It turns out that your perception alters when you view a network diagram as a system in three dimensions, according to Davidoff. We created a data universe so that an analyst could examine any science or engineering problem and more clearly identify patterns and correlations than they could in a flat version. The California Institute of Technology (Caltech) was conducting research on the use of immersive environments for scientific data visualization and collaboration at the same time as Ciro Donalek and George Djorgovski. The three of them collaborated to develop software that analyzes correlations between data points using 3D graphics. The ability to visualize data in virtual space facilitates the identification of relationships, much like watching a three-dimensional Martian landscape facilitates better understanding. Donalek, Djorgovski, and new CEO Michael Amori of Pasadena, California, established Virtualitics Inc. in 2016 after obtaining an exclusive license from Caltech, which oversees JPL, with Davidoff serving as an advisor. They have included capabilities like artificial intelligence to highlight patterns and relationships in the graphical data as they continue to develop the software. Also read: Flourish brought Data visualization to next level, Understanding data becomes more easy Technology transfer from NASA to the business sector has a lengthy history. In order to show the wider advantages of America's commitment to its space program, the agency's Spinoff publication showcases NASA technology that has evolved into commercial goods and services. The spinoff is a journal produced by NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) Technology Transfer program.