Effects of Display Modality on Simulated On-Orbit Inspection Performance: Initial Results from Human Exploration Research Analog Campaign 6

To reduce risk in future human spaceflights, free-flying teleoperated inspector robots could be a viable alternative to extravehicular activity inspection operations. Teleoperation depends on accurate operator situation awareness; consequently, a key to successful operations is providing appropriate feedback through an intuitive interface. During each week of a 45-day mission in NASA Human Exploration Research Analog Campaign 6, four crew members perform two simulated telerobotic inspection tasks (Synchronous Inspection task, Asynchronous Inspection task) while using three distinct visual displays (2D, 3D, AR). Preliminary results from Campaign 6 Mission 1 suggest that task performance and efficiency generally improved with each repetition of the task. Performance with the AR display did not show a performance benefit compared to using the 2D or 3D displays. These results are also in general agreement with a prior laboratory study using the same experiment protocol.