The rapid advancement of virtual reality technology in the gaming sector has created several opportunities in other fields. One example is scientific research and training, which even NASA recognizes as having potential.
Epic Games and NASA
As per the sources, Nasa collaborates with Epic Games to a “challenge” game makers. The goal is to produce virtual reality materials and experiences based on Mars that can help people prepare for a trip to the red planet in the future.
The challenge was posted on the HeroX platform, which allows businesses to crowdsource solutions for one-of-a-kind projects. NASA’s challenge is intended for game makers, which is why it teamed up with Epic Games. Unreal Engine 5 will be utilized by developers to produce Mars materials and experiences, which will be used in NASA’s Mars XR Operations Support System environment.
Of course, developers will not be left to build a whole Mars simulation from the ground up. To get started, creators can use the MarsXR environment, which already includes a lot of material.
Day/night cycles, realistic weather conditions, simulated Mars gravity, and assets such as spacesuits and rovers are all included in MarsXR. Developers can then customize these assets by adding to them or using what’s already there.
Metaverse Project and Virtual Experience
NASA’s virtual experiences for this assignment include setting up camp, scientific research, maintenance, exploration, and blowing our minds, each with a particular aim to achieve. The victors will get total prize money of $70,000, divided among twenty individual prizes. This means that the average award for each category will be $6,000.
As per the Herox page, this action has already piqued the interest of various organizations eager to contribute to the expansion of NASA’s Martian metaverse. More than 24 teams and 237 innovators are working on the Martian simulation, which will help the government save money by training next astronauts in varied scenarios using a virtual reality module known as Apache.
While institutions have been sluggish to embrace virtual reality and metaverse-based programs, this appears to be changing as Microsoft and Meta both launch virtual reality suites in the field. Last year, Microsoft announced the integration of Mesh, an app that will replace the video with digital avatars for meetings and presentations, inside the popular Microsoft Teams program. Meta, for one, has just announced the addition of Venues to its flagship metaverse software, Horizon Worlds.
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