HOLOGRAPHIC ENHANCEMENT OF TELEPRESENCE IN SPACE

IN THE SPACE ENVIRONMENT, MANY TASKS MUST BE PERFORMED THROUGH TELEOPERATION OF REMOTELY CONTROLLED DEVICES. CURRENTLY, OPERATORS TRANSMIT CONTROL COMMANDS TO REMOTE MANIPULATORS WHILE VIEWING THE WORLD ON CONVENTIONAL TV MONITORS. THE MONITORS DO NOT PROVIDE A FEELING OF ON-SCENE PRESENCE BUT INSTEAD PRODUCE A PERCEPTION OF REMOTENESS BECAUSE OF THE LOSS OF DEPTH INFORMATION COMBINED WITH REDUCED RESOLUTION AND CONTRAST. THREE-DIMENSIONAL DISPLAY TECHNOLOGIES, SUCH AS HOLOGRAPHY AND STEREOGRAPHY, ENHANCE TELEPRESENCE WITH THE ADDITIONAL ARRAY OF VISUAL INFORMATION. OF THESE TWO TECHNOLOGIES, HOLOGRAPHY APPEARS TO BE MORE SUITABLE FOR THE REMOTE CONTROL TASK SINCE IT INTRINSICALLY PRESERVES MOTION PARALLAX. THE PRIMARY OBJECTIVE OF THIS INNOVATIVE RESEARCH EFFORT IS TO ESTABLISH THE FEASIBILITY OF HOLOGRAPHIC IMAGING AS A TELEPRESENCE AID IN A SPACE ENVIRONMENT. THE INVESTIGATION WILL FOCUS ON STATE-OF-THE-ART HOLOGRAPHY, NASA TELEOPERATOR CONTROL TASKS, AND NASA OPERATING ENVIRONMENTS AND WILL CULMINATE IN AN ANALYSIS OF THE FEASIBILITY OF HOLOGRAPHY FOR CLOSED-LOOP, CONTINUOUS CONTROL WITH PARTICULAR EMPHASIS ON DISPLAY REQUIREMENTS FOR ENHANCED TELEOPERATIONS.