WALK THE WORLD
There is a great deal of interest from national space agencies to go to the Moon and Mars. ESA wants to go to the Moon and establish a village there. NASA wants to go to Mars. Astronauts and Cosmonauts from all over the world are already living aboard the ISS. What can they do in their free time? It can’t be all about reading books or game play on computers. Think of new sports or games that could take into account the low gravity (e.g. a space lacrosse game, extreme basketball). What about real or virtual experiences involving the Apollo 11 landing site on the Moon? Or following the paths of Sojourner, Spirit or Curiosity on Mars using a form of cross-country skiing? Think of new ways for to astronauts to use their free time. To present your results develop an app that makes use of virtual reality tools.
What
astronauts might really miss in space is being in nature. With our
app they can choose a place on earth and take a virtual walk there.
This virtual walk might not only be a distraction from the daily
space routines but it also might have profound positive effects on
their well being.
Life
in space
A
spaceship is a very mechanical environment. The astronauts are
surrounded by computers, machines and equipment. There are no plants,
no animals, no fresh air and little sounds. Earth is far away and
what might be really missed during a mars mission is nature with its
familiar sights, lights and sounds.
Nature
makes us feel good
Nature
has positive effects on our well being (1):
Exposure
to natural environment
-
reduces stress,
-
improves mood and
-
cognitive performance refocus.
Studies
have shown that both being in nature and viewing pictures of natural
environments enhance well-being. (2)
Take
a break with virtual walks
Taking
a virtual walk through nature offers a time out from life in space.
Immersing in nature astronauts can relax, virtually explore new
places on earth, go jogging or just listen to the soothing sounds of
nature.
The
videos
The
videos show a walk through in nature (or maybe in a city). They
should be as authentic as possible. That means that they should come
with the original sounds and not be cut. The videos should be in high
quality and have a length of 2 – 40 minutes.
How
it works
Our
app shows a world map with pins on it. Each pin is linked to a video
showing a walk through the place where the pin is located.
The pins on the world map can be set by users:
- On earth -
- A user takes a video of a walk through of a place (with sound).
- The user uploads the video to youtube or any other platform.
- With our app the user sets a link to the video and geotaggs it (GPS Data of the video).
- The video is now pinned on our virtual world map at the coordinates of the video.
- In space -
- The astronaut clicks on a pin on the worldmap. The link to the video opens.
- The astronaut also can search for a location or watch a random video.
The
outcome
With
our app it might soon be possible to take virtual walks through many
places on earth.
This
virtual walk expierence might be interesting not only for people in
space but also for earthlings that are interested in taking virtual
walks in places they have never been before.
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