Tomorrow's space: Journey to the virtual worlds

The new technology of Virtual Reality (VR) provides a revolutionary way to improve the coupling of the human operator to the computing machine. In a VR system, the goal is to remove the distinction between the system and the user's environment, as compared to the conventional relationship between the user and a computer. Thus, to be able to immerse the user in his artificial world, the VR system shall make use simultaneously of the human senses and of his cognitive capacities. In practice, the VR system is the integration of computer graphics and various sensor and actuator technology to create the illusion of immersion in a computer generated reality.

VR has therefore been identified as a good candidate for the Technological Research Programme of the European Space Agency (ESA). In 1991, the Agency has initiated research activities in the field of VR to identify its potential applications for European space programmes. A generic VR system has been developed allowing the Agency to evaluate the performance of VR technology and to define research activities for the coming years. The aims are to build a European expertise in VR technology and to demonstrate the applicability of VR to space programmes.