Folding LiDAR and Scientific Data into Virtual Reality: Creating a Planetary Cave Exploration Utility for Future Missions to Mars
Abstract
Our team of scientists, engineers, and digital media experts has developed a virtual reality (VR) experience from LiDAR scans and digital imagery of caves in Lava Beds National Monument (N. CA, USA). This effort is intended to serve as a remote observation tool for scientists and has potential value for future planetary missions.
NASA's BRAILLE1 Team collected LiDAR scans of 9 caves at Lava Beds using FARO S70 and M70 instruments. Individual scans were stitched together to create point cloud maps. These were transformed into a 3D mesh using Cloud Compare . The resulting meshes were imported into Blender , an open-source computer graphics toolset, and finally into Unity , a development platform used to create multiplatform games and interactive experiences . Unity allowed us to prepare the meshes for use in a VR headset. We focused on creating a VR experience for Valentine Cave, the site of BRAILLE's 2018 robotic Mars Mission simulation. In these activities, a NASA rover collected color Realsense imagery over several transects of the cave wall; a remote science team used the resulting hi-res mosaic to target points of interest inside the cave. For comparison, another group of scientists completed the same exercise in-person within the cave. Our VR experience allows the user to move around in Valentine Cave while examining the transects and points of interest in their geologic context. Data collected via robotic exploration is not a substitute for the insight gleaned through in-person expeditions. VR allows the user to approach these in-person experiences, enhancing the quality of observations, the ability to interpret local surroundings, and the avoidance of risk. This utility has complementary value as a teaching tool and allows universal access for users who would not otherwise be able to visit the site. This work was funded in part by the NASA PSTAR Program NNH16ZDA001N. 1Biologic and Resource Analog Investigations in Low Light Environments- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2020
- Bibcode:
- 2020AGUFMP055.0002P
- Keywords:
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- 0406 Astrobiology and extraterrestrial materials;
- BIOGEOSCIENCES;
- 6225 Mars;
- PLANETARY SCIENCES: SOLAR SYSTEM OBJECTS;
- 6297 Instruments and techniques;
- PLANETARY SCIENCES: SOLAR SYSTEM OBJECTS;
- 5430 Interiors;
- PLANETARY SCIENCES: SOLID SURFACE PLANETS