Immersive Technology for
History
And
Ideolog
y
Education
In Space Nation
And ...
Immersive Technology for
History
And
Ideolog
y
Education
In Space Nation
And For Space Exploration
(With Some
Additional
Thoughts On Space Law
and
Space Farming)
My proposal primarily concentrates on the history and ideology education of a space nation. In the face of public and private organizations’ goals of achieving human settlement in the outer-space by the year 2030, we will likely see outer-space born extraterrestrials by 2043. They will be at the frontier of human knowledge exploration, and it is obvious that the education system should continue encouraging curiosity, critical thinking, and problem solving skills (as it is in many education systems of the states on Earth today). However, there is a potential risk: how do we ensure that the outer-space born generations will still associate their own identities to earthlings, feel connected to where their ancestors come from, so they will uphold the space nation’s goals to ensure the peaceful use of space, protect planet Earth from space threats, and create a demilitarized and free scientific base of knowledge in space? I believe empathy and social responsibility are equally important in the education system of a space nation. We have to make sure the young generations are both intellectually and morally prepared, so together we can serve the entire humanity and protect the interests of all human beings on Earth, which is one of the key philosophical ideas of setting up this space nation. Having been running a pioneering immersive technology business since 2014, working on innovative Virtual and Augmented Reality projects, and running workshops at many organizations and schools on immersive technology, I would like to propose two ways how we can utilize immersive technology and media as a tool for education, to help equip the young generations of the space nation with both intellectual and moral readiness.
Having been running a crowd-sourcing initiative named Timescape since 2016, we are trying to create a virtual space or platform where everyone can upload their archive photos or videos and match it at same immersive location where those materials were taken. Here are some videos to better demonstrate the idea.
http://www.hiverlab.com/timescape.html
;
https://youtu.be/a5IEh-9GJg0
;
https://youtu.be/WJF-j8bItjY
.
What is powerful about this kind of open platform as more data is gathered over time is that it brings the human beings’ collective memories back to life again, makes “time travel” possible (not in the most strict sense though), and showcases how human beings’ lives are inter-connected across space and time. It can be a powerful tool for outer-space history education, as a way for the young generations to visualize and even experience what their forefathers have been through, so they will have a better understanding of lives on Earth and where they come from. I believe this can be a useful tool to assist history teaching, and I encourage those who are into space nation education to contribute to this kind of initiatives.
Another upcoming trend in the immersive technology industry is to have human-machine interfaces and immersive operation systems. This means that this technology can be used for actual machine control and space exploration, which makes it a good tool to train the young generations about hard sciences and engineering. However, the current structure of radio frequency communications and optical communications are not sufficient to materialize the potential of immersive operation systems. We will have to look into more stable and high-speed communication solutions, such as ultra wideband, radia frequency and optical hybrid technology, internetworking or integration of communication and navigation technology (to integrate sensor and visual systems so multiple wireless cameras and the machines such as space vehicles can be commanded simultaneously), or more revolutionary concepts such as quantum communications (to provide more efficient communications performance when integrated with optical communications systems), or reconfigurable large apertures (to provide lower-cost deep-space-to-Earth optical communications). By 2030, we will likely see the infrastructure being advanced, and the citizens of the space nation will likely have the chance to be the ones using immersive operation systems to explore the universe. It will be a great tool to enhance human capacities, to increase our understanding and mastery of the physical world, and my suggestion is to keep this development in mind.
I believe the proposed solutions will assist us to reconcile the past and the future for the upcoming generations in a space nation, and prepare them to be better universe citizens intellectually and morally.
Aside from the history and ideology education as well as space exploration possibilities as mentioned above, there are two more areas which I believe are important in the early stage of setting up a space nation, namely space law and space farming (please read the appendix below for some of my quick thoughts). At the moment, I have limited experiences and knowledge in these two areas, but would be open to explore the possibilities with like-minded people, so we can create a sustainable political system, eco-system, and future society.
(799 words)
[Appendix]
Some quick thoughts on space law and space nation.
Space law.
It takes a lot of effort for a space nation to be officially r
ecognized by the global community. But just like how the United States could declare its independence, a community with entrepreneurial spirit and can-do attitude will be able to make things happen. Space law is a niche area at the moment and the structure is not perfect. It will be awesome if the space law experts in this community can kick start some courses to share some knowledge with those interested in this area. Maybe soon we will see more people who are capable of handling international and inter-planet relations issues.
Space farming
Having witnessed the mess that human beings have done to Earth in the past few decades, our generation should work towards s
ustainable space development since day one. It is not just a morally right thing to do, but also a practical action which will allow us to achieve bigger dreams. Space farming may be an idea to supply nutritious food for the citizens, maintain their psychological condition, remove carbon dioxide, produce oxygen, and purify water all at one go. If we could create enclosed sustainable ecosystems (perhaps tapping on hydroponics and waste management), we can look into long-duration exploration missions. It is also important to be able to utilize r
enewable energy in space and in-situ resources.
As the moment, we can probably start some experiment on Earth: simulate a zero-gravity environment, use m
ulti-functional lighting systems to provide efficient ambient illumination, aid circadian management, and sustain plant growth. It is important to access the risks before implementation. I am not sure how radiation will play its part.
Keywords:
Immersive Technology (Virtual and Augmented Reality, Heritage, History, Trans-human, Human+
,
Space Law, Space Farming, Sustainable Space Development, Areospace Engineering
