Why does NASA want to use Microsoft's Hololens?

Summary

• What are Hololens and Sidekick?
• SpaceX's Falcon 9 explosion echo
• The advantages of Hololens

What are Hololens and Sidekick?

SpaceX's Falcon 9 explosion echo

THESpaceX rocket explosion in June, who was the head of the International Space Station (ISS), was a blow to the US space agency's project. Indeed, among the items on board the charred cargo were the upcoming augmented reality gadgets. These devices were not a copy of the Hololens helmet but came from the Sidekick project. However, after this accident, the NASA teams and their counterparts at Microsoft did not give up. Thanks to the new Hololens materials that they have obtained and tested rigorously, NASA wants to redo a launch test in space. For the commercial launch of the cargo by the orbital science aerospace company at the space station resupply, it is scheduled for December 3.

The advantages of Hololens

NASA wants to use the Hololens in space to allow their astronauts to benefit from the help of an expert, remotely, when performing unfamiliar tasks or as an instruction manual that displays directly on the glasses and shows the astronaut what to do and where to place a particular object. Thanks to its virtual reality device with three-dimensional images, it therefore avoids manual consultation on paper. Using Hololens' augmented reality is also helpful within a space station such as the ISS to manage stocks. It therefore guarantees the traceability of everything, that is to say the place where an object is located, and shows the path to follow to reach it. To ensure the reliability of the device, NASA used it at the Florida Underwater Research Station. The astronauts were therefore underwater and experts, on the surface, guided them remotely through a special program that let the expert see what the astronaut saw.