Telepresence for Deep Space Missions Project

Transcription

1 ABSTRACT Incorporating telepresence technologies into deep space mission operations can give the crew and ground personnel the impression that they are in a location at time that they are not. NASA s space technology grand technology challenge for telepresence in space is intended to Create seamless userfriendly virtual telepresence environments allowing people to have real-time, remote interactive participation in space research and exploration. This challenge was expanded to include telepresence experiences by both the crew and people on Earth. Advancing the technology for the crew s use of virtual telepresence onboard a deep space habitat and use by Earthbound flight controllers, the crew s family and friends, and payload investigators could enhance mission capabilities, human performance efficiency and improve the crew s psychological health. Advanced technologies were applied to the exchange of realistic representations of live and inanimate objects on Earth with the crew aboard spacecraft on long duration missions. Conversely, multi-dimension imagery of the simulated crew and spacecraft were generated. Telepresence technologies can be used to provide spacecraft situational awareness imagery and medical scans for telemedicine. Displays incorporating viewpoint (eye) tracking were evaluated to search for 3-D displays that don t require active switching glasses. Telepresence for Deep Space Missions Table of Contents. Abstract Anticipated Benefits Technology Maturity Management Team Technology Areas Detailed Description U.S. Work Locations and Key. Partners Image..... Gallery Details for.. Technology Technology Maturity Start: 2 Estimated End: 4 ANTICIPATED BENEFITS To NASA funded missions: Studies were performed to learn how the human vision and hearing senses work. Advanced imaging and display processes, joined with low cost, off-the-shelf components, were assembled and optimized during ground testing in Building 44 and the JSC Innovation Design Center. Early inclusion of user interface Applied Research Development Demo & Test Page 1

2 design and evaluations verified that the high level requirements in the concepts of operation document have been met. The project objectives will be met when the demonstrations show that the telepresence technology can perform a useful role in spacecraft health maintenance and the crew s performance and well being. It is anticipated that more mission support will be conducted outside the walls of the Mission Control Center (MCC). Telepresence technologies will be infused into the communication systems to allow spacecraft subsystem managers to head off on-orbit problems and to allow the crew to deal with them more autonomously. Telepresence technology will be employed to provide telemedicine data to the medical doctors while the crew is in their quarters. Commercial telecommunications and telepresence technology will be heavily leveraged to reduce non-recurring flight hardware and software development costs. Imaging and display hardware configurations that provide a true telepresence experience in the Deep Space Habitat (DSH) mockup will move NASA one step closer to a final habitat architecture design. To NASA unfunded & planned missions: Enhanced telepresence communications technology and associated operational procedures can allow the crew and flight controllers to deal with delayed communications. A telepresence session can be recorded at normal data rates and played back and transmitted at a data rate that can be supported by the current link conditions. Received data can be recorded at the lower rate and played later at the normal rate. Management Team Program Executive: John Falker Program Manager: Ronald Clayton Project Manager: Oron Schmidt Principal Investigator: Oron Schmidt Technology Areas Primary Technology Area: Human Health, Life Support, and Habitation Systems (TA 6) Human Health and Performance (TA 6.3) Secondary Technology Area: Human Exploration Destination Systems (TA 7) Additional Technology Areas: Communications, Navigation, and Orbital Debris Tracking and Characterization Systems (TA 5) Astronauts on long duration missions will spend most of their time in the DSH. A telepresence booth in the DSH would provide the crew with Earth-based conferencing with friends, family, flight controllers and science investigators. Locations for permanently mounted displays, controls, cameras and Page 2

3 microphones will be coordinated with Human Factors personnel to optimize the telepresence experience and efficiently utilize the habitat volume. Telepresence procedures will also be applied to operational communications. Private conferences could be conducted in the crew quarters using mobile devices. To the commercial space industry: This research will benefit the development of mobile telepresence conferencing systems on Earth. Presenting motion and still imagery of manned exploration of deep space missions to planets such as Mars will be of high interest to the public. Technology spin-offs from telepresence research into the field of commercial telepresence video conferencing will benefit this rapidly growing industry. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Telepresence sessions between the crew, family members and medical doctors require visual and acoustic privacy. This environment is best achieved in the individual crew quarters. A prototype crew quarters was developed and built that would provide both privacy and a safe haven from which to conduct operational activities during solar radiation events. High school and college intern students participated in the design and construction of the crew quarters. 3D video displays and multi-dimension audio systems were evaluated to attempt to achieve a realistic recreation of Earth events. Indirect Light Emitting Diode (LED) lighting was installed to simulate a 24-hour circadian rhythm cycle. Page 3

4 U.S. WORK LOCATIONS AND KEY PARTNERS U.S. States With Work Lead Center: Johnson Space Center IMAGE GALLERY Telepresence for Deep Space Missions Page 4

5 DETAILS FOR TECHNOLOGY 1 Technology Title Telepresence for Deep Space Missions Technology Description Telepresence sessions between the crew, family members and medical doctors require visual and acoustic privacy. This environment is best achieved in the individual crew quarters. A prototype crew quarters was developed and built that would provide both privacy and a safe haven from which to conduct operational activities during solar radiation events. High school and college intern students participated in the design and construction of the crew quarters. 3D video displays and multi-dimension audio systems were evaluated to attempt to achieve a realistic recreation of Earth events. Indirect Light Emitting Diode (LED) lighting was installed to simulate a 24-hour circadian rhythm cycle. Capabilities Provided This research demonstrated the capability of determining the crew s medical and psychological health through the transmission of 3D video accompanied by high quality multi-channel audio. The crew s emotional and general well being can be transmitted subconsciously via their body language. Eye contact with the 3D camera and tone of voice provide vital information. This finding suggests more research should be conducted to determine how non-invasive telepresence sensors can be used to collect and transfer crew health information to their doctors on Earth. Page 5