Advanced Techniques for Real-Time Visualization of Data Intensive Missions
Engineers at Sandia National Laboratories are combining entertainment industry software with traditional data collection techniques to create an interactive visualization tool. By replacing the usual flight simulator joystick with a telemetry data stream, experimental data is combined with existing three-dimensional (3D) engineering models. Users are immersed in their experiment, allowing interaction with and comprehension of complex data sets. Software tools are currently under development for post flight data visualization, and their usefulness and reusability have been demonstrated on numerous spaced-based programs within Sandia. However, data from remote sensors are subject to transmission errors that yield nonphysical behavior in real-time data visualization applications. We propose to investigate the applicability of real-time processing algorithms and estimation theories, such as Kalman filters, that have been successfully applied in other fields. Results will be integrated into existing postflight visualization tools for Proof-of-Concept validation and for potential integration of real-time applications.