Immersive Virtual Reality : Engineering Application in Space Environment Author: Matthew Lau Supervisor: Mr. John Page, Dr. Nathan Kinkaid Research Theme: The Digital Future Background: Immersive virtual reality is a fast developing technology in which the user is ‘tricked’ into a computer simulated environment by means of manipulating the user’s senses, mainly through sight, hearing and touch. The user will feel his/her presence in the virtual environment rather than the physical world and hence the user is immersed into a virtual reality. Immersion technology has found its use in different fields including the gaming, medical and military fields. Future Improvements: Improving textures and physics interaction to enhance realism of the immersion Integration with other sensory controls such as a data glove that provides input and feedback Adding avatars to simulate human interactions Methodology: Aim: Investigate the current immersion technology for space engineering applications Assess current virtual reality engines based on their suitability for engineering purposes Explore the effect of immersion experience in stimulating innovative space design Results and Discussions: o Precise physics needs to be implemented in the engine for meaningful engineering use, in addition quality of the texture significantly affects the realism of the immersed environment o Immersion enabled the user to experience the virtual environment and hence allowing a deeper understanding to what the user previously perceived, stimulating potential innovative designs o Motion sickness is a major concern due to the disorientation within the immersed space environment o Most commercially available virtual reality engines are gaming engines, however they are capable of delivering accurate physics required for engineering applications. o The realism of the immersion experience can be enhanced by integrating with suitable devices depending on the applications o Engineering software generates models that have better control over physical properties such as dimensions however less capable of applying textures when compared to models generated from graphics design software Conclusion: Immersive virtual reality has shown potential in engineering application in a space environment however future improvements are needed to provide more sense of realism There is a lack of available engineering virtual reality engines however gaming engines are viable substitutes The use of immersion has potential in stimulating innovative design due to the user’s experience in unfamiliar environments Texture and Physics Implementation Model Importation into Engine Virtual Reality Engine Experimentation Engineering Model Construction Immersion Testing Existing Virtual Models Motivation: Despite the many great uses of immersive virtual reality, there has been a lack of engineering application of this technology. Currently, immersion technology has trended towards the gaming industry which focused on graphics more than physics which is the opposite for ideal engineering applications Space environment is hostile and unknown to many, including engineers thus it is difficult to enable efficient space design Refinement Refinement Figure 5.) Immersion testing set-up Joystick – movement control Oculus Rift - Head Mounted Display Unity3d – Virtual Reality software Figure 1.) Immersive Virtual Reality Figure 2.) CATIA model of the International Space Station Figure 3.) Virtual Reality Engines Figure 4.) Immersion testing with Oculus Rift Figure 6.) Virtual Environment outside the International Space Station