NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) 20020063418: World Reaction to Virtual Space

1 Pages·0.1 MB·English

by  NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

World Reaction to Virtual Space
Commercial Benefits—Spinoffs
While it may be a small world after all, it
can be a virtual one as well.
DRaW Computing Associates, Inc., of
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, developed a virtual reality
software package to support NASA’s work on the OpenWorlds™ is being used for integration of live
International Space Station. Through a Small video and 3-D graphics in next-generation television
Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project research.
managed by the Marshall Space Flight Center, the
company developed well as a GUI-based scene graphic viewer. With
software that creates OpenWorlds™, applications can be made to support
complex virtual reality Java™ scripting and virtual reality hardware devices.
simulations of the According to Dr. Paul Diefenbach, president of
Space Station’s DRaW, “OpenWorlds™ is an open library accessible
numerous compo- by all, open to platforms, open to scripting lan-
nents. While the first guages, open to change.” VRML is viewed by many
elements of the Space as a web-based language for graphics scene descrip-
Station are already tion, with additional scripting capabilities through-
circling Earth, out. Dr. Diefenbach and his associates viewed
astronaut assembly VRML differently. Not only is it a powerful tool for
crews face the graphics exchange, but ultimately, it is an extensible
daunting task of scripting language that also handles graphics scenes.
putting together the VRML’s promise lies in being a medium of exchange
entire facility in orbit for all graphics and simulation systems, Dr.
over many years to Diefenbach says.
come. DRaW’s DRaW was incorporated in 1991 and has
powerful software, specialized in 3-D graphics development and
called OpenWorlds™, consulting, with an emphasis on human factors
is facilitating the simulation. DRaW has worked closely with the
training of future University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Human
assembly teams. Modeling and Simulation, the developer of the
OpenWorlds’™ leading human factors simulation software, Jack®,
scripting, hardware, which is commercially available as Transom™ Jack®
and graphical user from Transom Technologies, Inc.
interface (GUI) front- As a result of NASA SBIR contract awards,
NASA-funded end permitted Marshall engineers to “be there OpenWorlds™ has led to the creation of Human
OpenWorlds™ without being there,” enabling them to fashion the OpenWorlds™ (HOW™). Originally an add-on
technology is being complex habitats, solar arrays, and other central module to Transom™ Jack®, HOW™ provides the
used for graphics elements in virtual space. power of VRML scripting and transforms human
support in virtual OpenWorlds™ is an open platform for 3-D modeling packages into true, interactive, immersive
worlds on the Internet. graphics and virtual reality modeling language simulation systems by permitting the creation of
(VRML) 2.0 integration. With it, there is the ability reactive worlds. Where human factors packages offer
to have realistic, interactive, moving worlds. It control of the human figure, HOW™ provides a
provides the advanced features of VRML 2.0 without realistic virtual world in which the figure can
all the effort. The OpenWorlds™ C++ library interact. With HOW™, “objects can have behav-
provides VRML 2.0 support for any application and iors,” Dr. Diefenbach says. v
any graphics server. In addition, sample source code
demonstrates implementations of VRML 2.0 OpenWorlds™ is a trademark of DRaW Computing Associates, Inc.
OpenGL® is a registered trademark of Silicon Graphics, Inc.
browsers on various graphics layers, including
Java™ is a trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc.
OpenGL®. Sample code showing the implementation Transom™ Jack® is a registered trademark of Transom Technologies, Inc.
Human OpenWorlds™ (HOW™) is a trademark of DRaW Computing Associates, Inc.
of the build-in nodes is part of OpenWorlds™, as
72 Computer Technology