NASA mobile ar

A data‐driven augmented reality application of a supernova remnant, with Brown U and NASA

Sept 2021 - May 2022

TEAM:

  • Ivery Chen - Shading 3D models, importing into web AR AFrame, creating virtual tours

  • Alexander Depuis - creating AR interactions in mobile AR

  • Tom Sgouros - Project manager

  • Kimberly Arcand - NASA representative

Software Used:

  • Blender

  • AFrame (HTML, CSS)

Outline:

On the Astroviz team that works on developing an AR app funded by NASA. The app takes the users on a tour around stars such as Cassiopeia A or Eta Carinae.

How I built it:

For this project, I worked on shading using Blender nodes and creating the AR tours using AFrame. I shaded and stylised plain 3D model data from NASA Chandra Observatory using nodes, baked and exported in GLTF format for the AR app. Below is a gallery display of all the models we have so far. I worked on Cassiopeia A and Eta Carinae, Alexander Dupuis worked on the top four models.


Challenges I ran into:

This project required a lot of tweaking to make sure the models looked scientifically sound. Our lead of the project Kimberly Arcand has the technical eye for what is scientifically right and what isn’t. What was initially difficult for me is to set aside my own painterly visual aesthetic.

Accomplishments that I'm proud of:

I completed and shaded 2 star models and learnt a lot about procedural shading.

What I learned:

I learnt to constantly ask for feedback from my team so I don’t derail from the goal for too long.

future development:

Still a work in progress!