Semester

Spring

Date of Graduation

1999

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

MS

College

Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources

Department

Lane Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering

Abstract

Virtual reality simulations are finding applications in a wide range of disciplines such as surgical simulation, electronics training, and crime scene investigation. During the Mars Pathfinder Mission, in summer 1997, NASA scientists unveiled a new application of virtual reality for the visualization of a planetary surface. The success of this application led to a more concentrated effort for using virtual reality visualization tools during future missions. The thrust of this effort was to develop a new interface which would allow scientists to interactively plan experiments to be performed by the mission robots. This thesis covers two of the primary aspects of implementing this system. The first topic was to develop a kinematic model for one of NASA's rovers for use in a virtual reality simulation. The second aspect of this thesis is the implementation of the tools required for the mission planning module, which are the interfaces that the scientists use to plan the experiments for the rover.

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