LunARis

Develop an interactive app for children that uses smart phone and tablet sensory to locate the Moon (any time of the day, even below horizon), which unlocks current lunar data (phase, distance, etc), and then presents the user options for reading a "Moon" related story, view space agency photos and videos, and/or fun facts about the Moon. The goal of this challenge is edutainment and raising awareness about lunar missions around the world.

NASA SpaceApp Challenge Ho Chi Minh City - 2016

Team: LunARis

Võ Nguyễn Nhật Anh - Đào Thanh Duy - Lê Khắc Hồng Phúc - Mai Hồng Phúc - Nguyễn Hoàng

Challenge: Book it to the moon

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Short description

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Abstract

We are a team of 5 sophomore students from Vietnamese-German University. We were entirely fascinated by the idea “Book it to the moon” from NASA. Therefore, we decided to take the idea and bring it into reality. Presently in Vietnam, the subject of Astronomy is not receiving enough attention, despite its significant impact on our planet and its future. Astronomy education is also being taken quite lightly, due to the what-seemed arid and difficult nature of the subject. Hence, through this project, we aim to bring the alluring beauty and knowledge of the moon closer to the young audience. Basically, our App will provide you with almost anything you need to know about the Moon, our extremely unique satellite. At the basic level, it will allow you to locate the moon from right where you are standing with just a few taps. A set of printed flashcards will also be provided. 3D projectile, useful information, mythologies, fun facts about the Moon will be displayed when the according card is scanned over. The sophisticated and vivid user interface is certain to captivate the attention of young users. With this approach of “Edutainment”, we hope that more and more people will become enticed with our gorgeous, yet often forgot, natural satellite-the Moon. Ultimately, not just the moon, this App is designed with the intention of raising the vital awareness for the importance of the Astronomy subject.

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Technology

To locate the Moon, we first retrieve the longitudes and latitudes of the user’s location and the Moon’s zenith (orthogonal to the Earth’s surface) projections. Then the method of shifting and rotation in spherical coordinate system is applied to determine the relative position of the Moon with respect to the user’s perspective. Finally, the user is instructed to “catch” the Moon’s position with the device’s camera by spinning it horizontally and vertically. We can also use the data to derive further information such as the distance between the Moon and the user.

Regarding the Information display system, we implement the Augmented Reality technology to help make the interface more dynamic and lifelike. When a flashcard is detected by the device’s camera, a signal will be transmitted to the database to retrieve and display the according information to the screen. A 3D illustration of the desired item, taken from NASA’s gallery, will then be shown using the latest Augmented Reality technology. The knowledge provided to the user is carefully taken from informative and trustworthy sources, especially NASA’s massive database.

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Future orientation

We believe that this App holds an undoubtedly interesting concept. If given enough time and consideration, this app can be further developed to educate youngsters not just about the moon, but many other existing celestial bodies in the infinite universe.

Unity3D

Vuforia 5

Nasa's 3D model

Nasa's Images Resources

Nasa's Data