Advanced 3D Human Simulation Components with Thermal/Haptic Feedback and Tissue Deformation, Phase I

In integrating the following three significant components for its research/research and development (R/R&D) effort, the power of this candidate Phase I project will be demonstrated through the Collaborative Virtual Environment Simulation Tool (CVEST): 1. Software Application Development Toolkit 2. Physiological Hardware Interface 3. Technology Integration Manager The multi-faceted CVEST development environment operates as a plug-and-play interface to various software and hardware products specializing in virtual reality-based simulation development. The final Phase I demonstration will feature the muscular mass/tissue deformation within a digital virtual human interface (DVH) to show performance data (physiological, biomechanical, etc). This STTR Phase I candidate project will concentrate on some new physiological hardware/haptic devices to produce tactile feedback to the user. These range from gross or large object reporting to more fine-grain/granular tactile sensing to thermal sensing devices. In addition, a COTS-based Global Position System (GPS) will be analyzed as wireless tracking source for the user. For NASA and commercial domains, this Phase I simulation facility, with its physiological/biomechanical functionality, could be implemented in software and integrated to enable realistic simulations of the forces exerted on and by users (astronauts, divers, etc.) as they work in various environments. More »