Written by Richard Alena, NASA - Ames Research Center ...(Click here to return to: Field Updates)
Written by Richard Alena, NASA - Ames Research Center ...
I came to Haughton Crater with two basic objectives, to learn about the geology and biology of this unique High Arctic area and to apply mobile instruments and computers to the field exploration program. The goal was to develop prototype methods and designs for future handheld and wearable computing components and instruments that would facilitate field exploration activities and scientific discovery. The expedition provided a rich environment for development of concepts and prototypes for future exploration activities. These new tools can also be applied to similar operational environments such as the International Space Station and vehicle maintenance where people must perform complex tasks while accessing computer systems.
In the past week working at Haughton Crater with people of multiple disciplines and interests, I have been able to create several varied "Observation Records" of geological, biological and technological investigations. The objective was to develop multimedia-based computer tools to assist gathering and organizing observations in real-time during traverses to field sites. These records are multimedia chronologies of travels into specific regions of the crater consisting of audio and video clips, high-resolution digital camera images, Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates, commentary and notes taken at each field site. Each record contains information about the time, location, who took the measurements and details such as depth of permafrost layer.
The Observation Records were to be created in the field. Due to the constraints of the field environment, specifically the difficulty of using a keyboard while crouching in the mud and using a color screen in the bright sunlight, the protocol was modified to gather only the raw data in a coherent manner during the traverses. In order to cover enough ground, the team was unwilling to spend more time than necessary to make the required observations at each site. Consequently, the raw data was organized into prototype observation records during the evening in the more hospitable environment of the work tent. Performing this raw data correlation shortly after the traverses ensures accuracy in recalling the details of the field activity.
Certain types of data were common to all observations, biological, geological or technical. The time, place and participants were important. An overall site photograph and video allowed the context to be recorded. Details of the rock or oasis were recorded with the digital camera, with short comments. Video clips with audio were found to be a particularly useful tool for recording field commentary. A handheld suite of components, such as a video camera with windproof microphone, a high resolution camera, a pen-based graphical electronic notepad all linked to a rugged server computer with GPS will be the minimal set needed for creating totally digital records of the field observations. The advantage of digital records is that they can be sent via radio back to base camp and even to the research center back home for review by others, moments after they are gathered in the field. An experiment in these collaborative methods was performed where field members reviewed the records gathered by others using a wireless network link.
For the next field expedition we will attempt to refine the instruments and provide the basic set of components described above. We will run a ruggedized computer on the ATVs during traverses recording the route using GPS automatically. We will experiment with helmet-mounted displays, cameras and audio. We will use Personal Digital Assistants in bright sunlight to record field notes. We will attempt to deploy a more complete communications system allowing team members at base camp to view the field activities and observations remotely, and to have the ability to upload selected data to the research center. I am very lucky to have been able to participate in this field expedition with such a talented team and am looking forward to developing the next generation of mobile scientific assistant systems based on the results of this field study.