Helicopter Flight Testing Presentation Excerpts

I pursued a career at NASA because I wanted to do research and make discoveries. I enjoyed conducting experiments and analyzing large amounts of data.

Designing simulations allowed me to think in multiple dimensions – both in the experiment setup and in the helicopter dynamics that I was testing. I created the visual cues that the pilot referenced out the window and on head-down displays. Writing papers on the results helped me improve my written skills and presenting at conferences helped me improve my speaking abilities.

I created the slides and graphics that are illustrated in this project.

Publications:

Blanken, Hart, & Hoh. “Helicopter Control Response Types for Hover and Low-Speed Near-Earth Tasks in Degraded Visual Conditions” Presented at the 47th Annual Forum of the American Helicopter Society, Phoenix, AZ, May 1991

Hart, D. “ADS-33C Flight Test Maneuvers Validation in a Degraded Visual Environment” Presented at the 50th Annual Forum of the American Helicopter Society, Washington, DC, May 1994

Keller, Hart, Schubert & Feingold. “Handling Qualities Specification Development for Cargo Helicopters” Presented at the 51st Annual Forum of the American Helicopter Society, Forth Worth, TX, May 1995

Hart & Reynolds. “Validation of ADS-33C Flight Test Maneuvers in a Degraded Visual Environment”
NASA Technical Memorandum 110377, February 1996

Hart & Mitchell. “A Simulation Investigation of Motion Cueing and Visual Time Delay Effects on Two Helicopter Tasks”, – NASA Technical Memorandum 110385, April 1996

Research site: US Army Aeroflightdynamics Directorate

Architecture in the urban setting is strongly influenced by motifs found in nature. In fact, “man-made” structures can be thought of as natural occurrences since humans are simply participating in an evolutionary process.

The same forces that create structure in the non-man-made world are at play when we conceive and create structure. The result is that architecture is intrinsically related to nature. Furthermore, we repeat the motifs found in nature in an attempt to assert our influence over the same forces that are driving us.

“Trees grow for light,
Towers grow for might.
Both seek to exercise their power
over the environment.”

“Courtyard Diptych” (18×24″, B&W silver hand-printed)

Solution 1. A multi-actor, simultaneous video experience

This project was an interactive narration using a Wacom tablet and pen as the interface. The timeline is laid out graphically on the Wacom tablet. The inputs are fed into the MAX/MSP/Jitter program and the audio and visual are displayed on a monitor. The story is told simultaneously from the point of view of four different individuals who inhabit two different apartments. The viewer can scrub the story (displayed in video) in time or flip between the people. When the person is changed the midi musical score continues but the instruments are changed to reflect the change in narrator.

At certain key points in the story, the action is suspended and the viewer has to solve an audio puzzle to continue. The entire Wacom tablet becomes active and the story will only continue when the puzzle is completed.

Solution 2. Personality Switch

A project that allowed me to better understand how people relate differently to the same environment. In this immersive game, the player can switch “personalities” and thus experience the space from the perspective of another person. I used a place near where I lived (the Canal St. Martin in Paris) to better understand how people relate differently to the same environment.

Sound cues represented the character of people who could be found in specific areas of the space. You are allowed to switch characters only with those people who have a connection to you. It is up to the user to make those connections in order to advance in the game. Once you made a connection, then that person allows you into their personal space.