NASA SUITS 2021
AUGMENTED LUNAR EXPLORATION AND EXTRAVEHICULAR INTERFACE (ALEXEI)
NASA SUITS is a program designed to provide students with experience developing augmented reality software concepts for spacesuits. NASA expects the future of spacesuits to have more rich digital displays that can vastly increase the amount and types of information available to lunar astronauts. Of specific interest is the ability to provide navigational aid for the traversal of the lunar surface. Every aspect of ALEXEI was developed with astronauts specifically in mind. Custom user interfaces and input controls were created to mimic existing NASA standards. The system is able to guide the user through an EVA by providing applications that contain mission critical information.
ALEXEI FEATURES
ALEXEI was developed in Unity using C# for the Magic Leap One Augmented Reality Headset. It provides astronauts with an unobtrusive yet informative system for lunar EVA. The system displays real time spacesuit vitals, traversal routes, operational procedures, and multimedia. The interfaces are tracked to the users body and head rotation.
CUSTOM USER INTERFACE
Interfaces designed specifically for astronaut utility and lunar exploration
EVA APPLICATIONS
Multiple applications for: EVA Tasks, Navigation, Science, and Media
CUSTOM INPUT AND TRACKING
A chest mounted controller tracks body rotation and has buttons for system input and control
NASA TESTED
Due to the Pandemic in 2021, ALEXEI was shipped to NASA JSC for testing. I remotely directed design evaluators to conduct our operations plan. The evaluators used our system to guide them through a simulated EVA mission by providing procedures, navigation, and supplementary information. Feedback from EVA and Augmented Reality experts was extremely positive, indicating a successful test. Feedback praised good UI design, comfortable controls, fast setup, and innovative features.
REAL TIME OPERATIONS
Remote test monitoring with troubleshooting and system guidance
SIMULATED EVA MISSION
The evaluators performed common EVA tasks with the help of ALEXEI
NASA ENGINEER FEEDBACK
Positive feedback provided for the overall interface design and astronaut considerations
LESSONS LEARNED
NASA SUITS 2021 was an immense learning opportunity for me. I went from minimal object oriented programming, to learning C# and Unity from scratch to develop a multitude of systems for ALEXEI. I created the application for displaying EVA procedures, developed the backend and frontend for the navigation system, and fixed lots and lots of bugs. I rapidly prototyped our system using the Augmented Reality headset at my disposal. I also learned how to collect user testing feedback for software designs through human in the loop testing. Through this project I became very fluent in C# and Unity, using the 3D coordinate system to manipulate assets with vectors and quaternions. I also learned proper code management through the use of Github and Zenhub. Overall this was a great experience which I was very passionate about. After NASA testing I also learned more about what is of particular interest for lunar EVA.
ALEXEI 2.0 NASA SUITS Exit Pitch
GALLERY
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