The Idea
"Body Interactions in Micogravity for science learning" is one of the two installations that I designed for school-lab of German aerospace center (DLR) in Bremen, Germany. The purpose is to visualize some aspects of being in outer-space with the main theme of gravity.
It helps participants acquire understanding about how physical activities are different in micro-gravity (MG) than on the Earth.
The Setting
Using head mounted 3D displays (Oculus Rift), participants have full 360° view in the virtual world. In addition, they own virtual avatars with the shape of an astronaut and they have full control over main body links and joints of their avatar. Participants look to the virtual world through eyes of this avatar.
Reactions to movements of body-links are physically simulated according to the physical laws of conservation of momentum and conservation of angular momentum.
The Scenario
It is about movement in MG without existence of external forces. Participants find themselves in outer space near the international space station. There is nothing to push or pull and there is no mobility system except the body. In such a situation, it is not possible to move but it is possible to reorient. This project is not just a physical visualization of possible interactions but also includes some visual details of the environment near the International Space Station. Here, participants are not passive receivers of information but they learn about the environment while interacting.
* The video at the buttom of the page may help to make the concept more clear.
Publication
Part of results of this research has been published in the proceeding of 2017 IEEE Virtual Reality Workshop on K-12 Embodied Learning through Virtual & Augmented Reality (KELVAR). https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7961560
The following video gives more information.
