Evaluation of Pre-Flight and On Orbit Training Methods Utilizing Virtual Reality
Neil G. McHenry, Tanner W. Hunt, William T. Young, Anthony Donald Gardner, Ujwala Bhagavatula, Blake Bontz, Jonathan Chiu, Gregory E Chamitoff, Ana Diaz‐Artiles · AIAA Scitech 2020 Forum · 2020
Operational training for Space missions is often limited to textbook information and hands-on training within physical mock-ups on Earth. Virtual Reality technology provides an alternative training method that is becoming increasingly more available for preliminary training tasks. Unlike many physical mock-ups, virtual mock-ups allow for an accurately simulated external environment similar to a spacecraft in orbit or aircraft during flight. This adds a layer of fidelity not possible in the physical world, and can save time and cost during development due to the lack of physical hardware needs. Key challenges for operational training include how well a task can be interpreted, remembered, and executed. This study aims to assess differences in human performance between a guided instructional task in a Virtual Reality environment and in a physical environment. Specifically, each test subject is given a set of instructions and a physical set of parts or a virtual set of 3D models that they are tasked with assembling into a certain configuration. A series of pre-task and post-task survey questions are used to evaluate cognitive workload, retention of concepts, and success of execution. This paper evaluates the differences in performance characteristics of an assembly task in VR compared to assembling the physical model.