Virtual Reality is not just useful for entertainment and news, it is also useful for science and learning. Evidently, NASA and Sony are working together on Mighty Morphenaut. This is a Play Station VR demo that allows operators to practice control over a humanoid space.
Engadget mentioned that the demo can stimulate space shuttle. Through navigation, user can learn how to get the humanoid to complete a task or move around obstacles from a safe distance. Further, the Mighty Morphenaut demo runs on PS4 that allows quick decisions based on the robot's environment. The robot then follows and imitates the operator's motion through move controllers. Though, a lag between the remote operator and the space robot can occur due to its distances.
Further, Road to VR reported that Mighty Morphenaut needs further research in order to find a solution for the delay or lag. This would also help in anticipating the motion of a floating object. It may take a while for the project to perfect its purpose, which is to help with the challenges relating to space exploration. Though according to the related report, this is a good start that may serve as a medium in controlling future NASA's humanoid.
On the other hand, Richard Marks, director of PlayStation Magic Lab, mentioned in Game Informer how the innovation started. He said that the official project started around 2010 and early 2011. He also added that 3D interaction has been on the work since 1999. Shuhei Yoshida, Sony's president of worldwide studios for Sony Computer Entertainment, added that "The VR project that we used to call Project Morpheus was started as a grassroots project amongst different teams geographically spread across Japan, the U.S., and Europe almost simultaneously."
Through continuous research and experiment, Virtual Reality can play a huge role over humanoid space in the future. Certainly, technologies are not just for leisure purposes but can also serve in the aspect of learning.
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