For almost as long as a concept, NASA has been at the forefront of virtual reality (VR) technology. But the venue experienced a renaissance after the bulky sets of the 1990s. Many large companies now use VR for immersive video games and virtual chats, but for some, the technology is used for more than entertainment.

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California has spent decades improving its data visualization. When images are brought in from an alien world, scientists often survey the environment using panoramic photography, but this method has limitations. When observing a flat image, it can be difficult to judge distances.

“Looking at images on the screen is a very different experience than walking through a canyon,” said Scott Davidoff, director of the human-centered design group at JPL.

Davidoff began experimenting with VR using image data from the Curiosity rover on Mars. Attempts have been made to solve the problem of visual distance, such as using 3D images that can be viewed through glasses with red and blue filters, but nothing has happened that makes the scientists feel like they’re actually there. Davidoff and his colleagues decided to wrap the panorama around the scientist in a virtual environment. Using VR in this way, geologists reported feeling like they were in a real Martian environment. They were able to determine the distance and size of elements much faster and more accurately than with a flat panel display, which led to another idea. Davidoff thought that if viewing images in virtual reality helped, it could be a game changer for more complex “multidimensional” data.

“When you look at a network diagram as a 3D system, it turns out that your perception is doing something different,” Davidoff said. “We’ve created a world of data where an analyst can look at any scientific or engineering problem and see patterns and correlations more clearly than a flat version.”

At the same time, Ciro Donalek and George Giorgowski of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) were exploring how to use immersive environments for scientific data visualization and collaboration.

They came together to create software that uses 3D visualization to explore relationships between data points. Just as viewing a 3D panorama of Mars allows for better interpretation of the data, viewing the data in virtual space makes it easier to detect correlations.

Under the exclusive license of Caltech, which manages JPL, Donalek, Giorgowski and new CEO Michael Amory formed Virtualitics Inc. As a consultant with Davidoff in Pasadena, California in 2016. To further enhance the software, they added features such as artificial intelligence that shows patterns and relationships in visualized data.

“We call it intellectual research. You use artificial intelligence and 3D visualization to quickly identify drivers and relationships in your data and improve understanding in a way that 2D graphics cannot,” said Donalek, now CTO of Virtualitics. because it’s literally a drag-and-drop operation.”

The Virtualitics software also has a run mode for data analysis. Even without a virtual reality headset, the ability to visualize data in 3D space helps scientists better understand the raw information they receive.Credit: Virtualitics Inc.

The software works on both desktop and VR and is compatible with many popular headsets. While the platform was designed to be used wherever there is a significant amount of data, it is currently most commonly used in banking, retail and medical research. It can visualize anything from a spreadsheet to a large “data lake” without moving data from where it resides. Donalek says the company has a relationship with JPL, and most of its 60 employees come from headquarters or the Cal Institute of Technology.

“One is from MIT, but we don’t blame him,” Donalek joked.

Whether analysts are looking at science from the surface of Mars or trading stocks on Wall Street, NASA’s imaging efforts have opened up a whole new dimension of research.

NASA has a long history of transferring technology to the private sector. The agency’s Spinoff publication chronicles NASA technologies that are transforming into commercial products and services, demonstrating the broader benefits of America’s investment in the space program. Spinoff is a publication of the Technology Transfer Program at NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD). Source