It’s not science fiction: I send hologram doctors into space to visit astronauts.
In 2021, a team of hologram doctors is “transferred” into space to visit the astronauts living aboard the ship. International Space StationAnd NASA revealed In a new post. led hologram teams NASA Flight surgeon Dr. Joseph Schmid and Fernando de la Peña Laca, CEO of software provider Aexa Aerospace, were the first humans to be “massively transported” from Earth to space.
“This is an entirely new way of human communication over vast distances,” Schmid said in the statement. “Moreover, it is a completely new way of human exploration, where our human being is able to travel away from the planet. Our physical body is not there, but our human being is just there.”
(In the photo above, Schmid can be seen greeting astronauts in space with the well-known space salute, the Star Trek movie Vulcan salute.)
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It doesn’t matter if the space station travels 17,500 miles per hour [28,000 kilometers per hour] And in constant motion over a 250-mile orbit [400 km] Above Earth, the astronaut can come back in three minutes or three weeks and with the system up and running, we’ll be right there in that spot and living on the space station.”
Medical teams headed to the station on October 8. Using a Microsoft Hololens Kinect camera and a PC with custom Aexa software, European astronaut Thomas Bisquet, who was aboard the station at the time, had a group chat with the Schmid and de la Pena teams. The doctors’ holograms were visible directly in the center of the space station.
How does it work?
The Holoportation technology that made this event possible works using specialized image capture technology that reconstructs, compresses and moves live 3D models of people. The technology is paired with HoloLens, a self-described “mixed reality headset” that combines sensors, optics and 3D processing technology to allow the wearer to see holograms or even enter the “virtual world”.
With the two systems combined, users in orbit can not only see the hologram participants, but also hear and interact with them. The technology is not new, but it has never been used before in an environment that presents a challenge to users who are far from each other.
According to NASA, this “new form of communication” is a precursor to using a more comprehensive hologram on future space missions. Next, the agency plans to experiment with two-way hologram communication, in which they will send a hologram of astronauts in space back to Earth as well as send a hologram of Earth users into space.
“We will use this at our special medical conferences, special psychiatry conferences, special family conferences, and to bring VIPs to the space station for their visit with the astronauts,” NASA officials wrote.
By testing a two-way hologram communication from Earth to space (and vice versa), NASA aims to use this technology for remote extraterrestrial guidance.
“Imagine that you can bring the best actual trainer or designer of a particularly complex technology to your side wherever you are working on it,” Schmid said.
“Moreover, we will combine augmented reality with touch,” Schmid said. Haptics refers to a technology that can simulate touch through things like vibrations or motors. “You can work on the device together, just like two of the best surgeons working during the procedure. That should put everyone at ease knowing that the best team is working together on an important piece of hardware.”
According to NASA, the potential future applications of hologram technology in space are far-reaching. Technology could support everything from advanced medical treatment, mission support, or even connect astronauts with their families on Earth. This technology could also prove to be particularly useful for crew travel in future deep space to destinations like Mars, where we know astronauts will face significant communication challenges and delays.
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