1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:10,000 The great poet Walt Whitman once said, I accept reality and dare not question it. 2 00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:14,000 Well, if old Walt was here to see this, he just might question it. 3 00:00:14,000 --> 00:00:19,000 Today, NASA researchers are working in high-tech virtual reality simulation labs 4 00:00:19,000 --> 00:00:22,000 using numbers, graphics, mathematical models, 5 00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:26,000 to create three-dimensional images of objects and environments. 6 00:00:26,000 --> 00:00:28,000 Man, it's like working inside a real holodeck. 7 00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:33,000 Now, I spoke with Dr. Chris Sandridge at NASA Langley's Immersive Design and Simulation Lab, 8 00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:36,000 better known as the CAVE, to find out how it works. 9 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:39,000 What we're standing in right now is called a CAVE. 10 00:00:39,000 --> 00:00:42,000 It stands for Cave Automatic Virtual Environment. 11 00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:47,000 Basically, it's a multi-screen theater where we can generate 3-D images, 3-D sounds, 12 00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:50,000 and simulate various NASA missions. 13 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:54,000 The CAVE has three walls made of 10-foot by 10-foot rear projection screens 14 00:00:54,000 --> 00:00:56,000 and a floor that is projected from above, 15 00:00:56,000 --> 00:01:00,000 giving the users a near-complete immersion in computer-generated graphics. 16 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:03,000 The simulation looks like double images until you put on the goggles 17 00:01:03,000 --> 00:01:06,000 that gives everything a three-dimensional quality. 18 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:09,000 The hardware and graphics equipment used to operate the system 19 00:01:09,000 --> 00:01:13,000 were first developed for use in computer games and in the theme park industry. 20 00:01:13,000 --> 00:01:15,000 So, how does this virtual environment work? 21 00:01:15,000 --> 00:01:18,000 We need the glasses to describe that. 22 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:22,000 Basically, what we have here are shutter glasses, 23 00:01:22,000 --> 00:01:27,000 and what they do is they kind of decode the stereo image so that we see the depth. 24 00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:30,000 Basically, the computer is generating two images, 25 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:32,000 one for your left eye, one for your right eye, 26 00:01:32,000 --> 00:01:34,000 and then there's a little sensor here on the glasses 27 00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:38,000 that is detecting an infrared signal from behind the screen 28 00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:42,000 that synchronizes the glasses so you see a 3-D image. 29 00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:46,000 In addition, the person who's actually running the CAVE is also being head-tracked. 30 00:01:46,000 --> 00:01:50,000 There's a black box above us that is putting out an electromagnetic field 31 00:01:50,000 --> 00:01:52,000 that's being picked up by this antenna, 32 00:01:52,000 --> 00:01:55,000 and then that relays information back to the computer 33 00:01:55,000 --> 00:01:59,000 and tells the computer where the person is looking and what his head orientation is, 34 00:01:59,000 --> 00:02:05,000 and then it updates the visuals and it updates the sound based on this person's position. 35 00:02:05,000 --> 00:02:10,000 And then finally, because we don't have a mouse and a keyboard available to us, 36 00:02:10,000 --> 00:02:12,000 we need some type of an input device. 37 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:17,000 So, what we have here is the wand that we use to control the application. 38 00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:20,000 It has joysticks on it. It has some buttons. 39 00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:22,000 And then also, it is tracked as well, 40 00:02:22,000 --> 00:02:27,000 so the computer knows where the position of this is so we can interact with the environment. 41 00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:29,000 So that's basically how it works. 42 00:02:29,000 --> 00:02:34,000 And then, of course, there's kind of a supercomputer in the back room that's kind of driving it all. 43 00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:36,000 So, can you show me how this application works? 44 00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:40,000 Sure. Put your glasses on and then we'll go to town. 45 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:42,000 Got it, man. Test drive this thing. 46 00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:45,000 This is a full-up configuration of the station, 47 00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:49,000 and we're using this application basically for two different environments, 48 00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:52,000 the radiation environment and the sound environment. 49 00:02:52,000 --> 00:02:55,000 Currently, NASA Langley researchers are developing tools 50 00:02:55,000 --> 00:03:00,000 to help design improved radiation shielding and reduce noise for the International Space Station. 51 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:04,000 They're able to move equipment or install shielding in the virtual reality image 52 00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:08,000 and then observe and store calculations of what effects the changes make. 53 00:03:08,000 --> 00:03:13,000 The simulations can be shared with other researchers at distant locations via computer network connections. 54 00:03:13,000 --> 00:03:15,000 So, Johnny, you want to try giving it a shot? 55 00:03:15,000 --> 00:03:16,000 Absolutely. Let me see this. 56 00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:17,000 Take the wand. 57 00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:18,000 Okay. 58 00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:21,000 You need to put it on these glasses because these are the ones that are tracked. 59 00:03:21,000 --> 00:03:24,000 All right. Thank you. 60 00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:29,000 And the way it works is that you point the wand in the direction you want to go 61 00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:30,000 and then push the joystick forward. 62 00:03:30,000 --> 00:03:31,000 Forward. 63 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:32,000 To go forward. 64 00:03:32,000 --> 00:03:33,000 Oh, man. 65 00:03:33,000 --> 00:03:34,000 And you pull it backward to go backwards. 66 00:03:34,000 --> 00:03:37,000 And then rotating is pulling the joystick left and right. 67 00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:38,000 Check this out. 68 00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:41,000 You might want to back out so you can see, fly around the station. 69 00:03:41,000 --> 00:03:42,000 I'm going to throw up. 70 00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:45,000 All right. Here we go. 71 00:03:45,000 --> 00:03:46,000 Rookie driver. 72 00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:47,000 Yeah. 73 00:03:47,000 --> 00:03:48,000 Here, take the wheel. 74 00:03:48,000 --> 00:03:49,000 Here, your glasses back. 75 00:03:49,000 --> 00:03:50,000 Thanks. 76 00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:51,000 I'll take these. 77 00:03:51,000 --> 00:03:54,000 So what are some of the other uses for this technology? 78 00:03:54,000 --> 00:03:58,000 Another use that we're just starting to work on is to develop a simulation 79 00:03:58,000 --> 00:04:04,000 to evaluate community noise of jets and aircraft flying near airports 80 00:04:04,000 --> 00:04:08,000 to look at how we can quiet the aircraft 81 00:04:08,000 --> 00:04:12,000 and be less intrusive to the neighbors around the airport. 82 00:04:12,000 --> 00:04:16,000 And then finally, I guess, these types of cave environments are used 83 00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:20,000 by the automotive industry to lay out the interior cockpit of the car. 84 00:04:20,000 --> 00:04:24,000 So in a virtual environment, they'll look at, like, where the mirror is, 85 00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:28,000 where the console is, anything where human factors are involved, 86 00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:33,000 and you can put it in actual size and look at it in the correct perspective 87 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:37,000 before you build hardware prototypes, which are fairly expensive. 88 00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:38,000 This was a lot of fun. 89 00:04:38,000 --> 00:04:40,000 This was really something else, and thanks a lot for everything. 90 00:04:40,000 --> 00:04:41,000 Yeah, no problem. 91 00:04:41,000 --> 00:04:42,000 One more question? 92 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:43,000 Sure. 93 00:04:43,000 --> 00:04:44,000 Can I keep the glasses? 94 00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:45,000 Yeah, everybody wants the glasses. 95 00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:46,000 They are very exciting. 96 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:48,000 Check these out, man.