NASA tests virtual reality smart glasses for trip to Mars

Astronauts may use smart glasses to obtain tech, navigation info and to send data back to Earth

NASA is testing virtual reality smart glasses that could one day help astronauts as they travel to an asteroid or even Mars.


osterhout design group smart glasses Osterhout Design Group

NASA is testing smartglasses from Osterhout Design Group that would be used by astronauts in space.

"The intended purpose and usefulness of glasses like this are unlimited," said Jay Bolden, a NASA spokesman, in an email to Computerworld. "Advanced glasses could aid in navigation, where cockpit displays are broadcast on the goggles in much the same way fighter pilot heads up displays operate today."


"For a two-hour flight on a 737 from Cleveland to Dallas, each pilot carries 15 pounds of manuals and that weight isn't really a big deal in the grand scheme," he noted. "However, for a multiple-week mission to an asteroid or the moon, or a multi-year mission to Mars, every pound saved means additional life-critical supplies -- food, water, oxygen, or fuel -- can be shipped in their place."

The smart glasses also could give more information to NASA engineers and scientists working on Earth.

"Real time applications also include the ability for ground support teams to see first hand what astronauts discover and video," Bolden said. "Instead of bringing a 50-pound boulder back for ground analysis, the astronaut can use glasses to scan, measure ‎and catalog where it was found and then chip off a 5-pound sample for ground analysis."

Evaluating smart glasses isn't a new concept for U.S. agencies.

The U.S. Air Force last spring said it was testing Google Glass with pilots, battlefield coordinators and even medics parachuting into battlefield areas.

Glass, which has had its share of ups and downs, is a prototype of smart eyeglasses that Google has worked on for several years.

The ODG smart glasses, which have been in development for six years, are designed to give users the information they could access on a tablet but by overlaying the information on the lens of the glasses.

The glasses also have positional sensors so the device knows the location of the user and where she is looking.

The glasses, for instance, could enable an astronaut to see repair instructions for equipment while keeping hands free to work on maintenance, according to ODG, which also works with the medical, energy and utilities industries.

"As electronic directions and instructions replace paper checklists and longer duration missions are considered, there is a need for tools that can meet evolving demands," said Lauri Hansen, engineering director at NASA's Johnson Space Center, in a statement. "ODG's technology provides an opportunity to increase space mission efficiencies and we are pleased to explore its potential in human spaceflight while also advancing its use here on Earth."

The glasses are being used in a series of tests at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.



NASA has been testing and working with virtual reality technology simulations for the past 20 years, Bolden said.

Copyright © 2015 IDG Communications, Inc.

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