Embedded Files
A virtual version of the telescopes from Siding Spring Observatory for outreach and education purposes.
Project Mission
Project Mission
Our project aims to create a virtual experience where users can interact with a rendition of several different telescopes located at the Siding Spring Observatory NSW. Users will be able to view and operate a simulated version of these telescopes, and explore the surrounding facility.
The main purpose of our project is for education and outreach. It will be valuable for anyone looking to learn about astronomy, or engineers to examine the operation and installation of these telescopes.
The experience is built for the Oculus Quest 2 virtual reality (VR) headset, but there is also a standalone version for PC with support for keyboard or gamepad controls. Additionally, we have ported the application to Android mobile devices.
Showcase Video
Showcase Video
Downloads
Downloads
To run on PC with keyboard, gamepad, Oculus Quest via the Oculus Link cable, or Oculus Rift: Download and extract the PC zip file and run the .exe.
To run natively on Oculus Quest:Download and extract the Oculus Quest zip file and upload the .apk file to the device with an application such as SideQuest.
To run on Android:Follow this tutorial.
For updated downloads see our releases on GitHub and find us on the Google Play Store.
To run natively on Oculus Quest:Download and extract the Oculus Quest zip file and upload the .apk file to the device with an application such as SideQuest.
To run on Android:Follow this tutorial.
For updated downloads see our releases on GitHub and find us on the Google Play Store.
See our Google Drive for documentation, our GitLab repo for Unity source code, and Trello for an up-to-date development tracker. Contact us if you are unable to access these resources. Note that GitLabs requires an ANU account.
We have recently released our project to the public on GitHub and the Google Play Store.
General Links:
General Links:
Project Gitlab: 2021_S1_ANU_DREAMS_Techlauncher
Documentation: Google Drive
Kanban Agile Board: Trello
Statement of Work: SOW
Team Charter: Team Charter
Semester 1 Landing Page: Old Landing Page
Project Plan: Project Plan
Meeting Minutes: Meeting Minutes Folder
Decision Log: Decision Log
Risk Register: Risk Register
Project Demonstration: Demo Folder
Gantt Chart: Gannt Chart
Additional links are also distributed between different subpages on this landing page, on our GitLab repo, Trello, and MS Teams. Please contact us if there are any issues.
Project Details:
Project Details:
Our project aims to create a virtual rendition of several telescopes all located at Siding Spring Observatory NSW. Last semester we brought the DREAMS telescope (the namesake of our project) to the experience. This semester we expanded the project to include an additional telescope from Siding Spring: the Anglo-Australian Telescope. Our stretch goals are the SkyMapper Telescope and the ANU 2.3m Telescope (in order of priority). A previous TechLauncher group worked on a similar project for the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) in 2020, which is a different telescope located in Chile.
To add each telescope to the experience, we begin by creating 3D models of the telescope to be compatible and optimized for the Unity 3D game engine. With the assistance of 3D modelling software (such as Fusion360 and Blender), we create a realistic rendition of the buildings and landscape surrounding the telescopes. We utilized satellite height-maps and Google Earth to recreate the terrain and other parts of the Siding Spring facility. The interior of each observatory and research labs nearby each telescope is reconstructed from on-site photographs to be as immersive as possible.
With the use of the Unity 3D game engine, we implemented interaction with the scene, allowing users to control telescopes. Users can also open and close the roof to observe the sky, and adjust the time of day. Facts about each telescope and infographics are placed around the scene, in addition to tutorials to ensure the experience is accessible to anyone.
We are able to maintain an average of 50-60 frames per second for the Oculus Quest 2, which uses mobile processors running an Android-based operating system. The experience also has a standalone Windows PC desktop version, with support for keyboard or gamepad. The desktop version also dynamically detects any connected Oculus device, including Oculus Rift. We have also ported the project to additional platforms, such as Android mobile devices with touch screen controls.
Screenshots:
Screenshots:
The GMT experience were created by another Techlauncher group in 2020. Our goal is to create a experience similar for telescopes located at Siding Spring, using exisiting source code as a starting point.
Our project will be valuable to educational institutions, engineers and researchers interested in astronomy. The VR experience will assist with outreach and PR for the telescope, given the portable nature of the Oculus Quest device.
Project Background
Project Background
Siding Spring Observatory with Telescope Locations
Siding Spring Observatory: Siding Spring Observatory (SSO), on the edge of the Warrumbungle National Park near Coonabarabran, NSW, is Australia's premier optical and infrared astronomical observatory. The ANU’s Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics (RSAA) operates its research telescopes, and hosts those of other institutions. Click here to read more
DREAMS: The Dynamic REd All-sky Monitoring Survey (DREAMS) Telescope is an automated sky-scanning infrared telescope. The telescope is currently under construction, and will be installed at Siding Spring Observatory. This was the first telescope added to our project in 2021 S1, and our project is named after it. Click here to read more
Anglo-Australian Telescope: The Anglo-Australian Telescope (AAT) is an equatorially-mounted telescope and, with a 3.9m-diameter mirror, is the largest optical telescope in Australia. It is equipped with a robotic spectrograph it can simultaneously observe hundreds of galaxies and stars. It has also been used to carry out several important southern sky surveys, including the 2-degree-field Galaxy Redshift Survey (2dfGRS), and plays an important role in the search for planets around other stars. We are currently working on adding a detailed and interactive version of this telescope to our project. Click here to read more
ANU 2.3m Telescope: The design of the 2.3m Telescope, also called the Advanced Technology Telescope, incorporated three radical features never before combined in a single instrument - an uncommonly thin mirror, an alt-az mount, and a rotating building. The 2.3m Telescope is frequently used by students from RSAA and other universities, and provides hands-on experience of observing with a large optical astronomical telescope. A stretch goal for our project is to add a detailed and interactive version of this telescope. Click here to read more
SkyMapper Telescope: SkyMapper is a state-of-the-art automated wide-field survey telescope that represents a new vehicle for scientific discovery. SkyMapper's mission is to robotically create the first comprehensive digital survey of the entire southern sky. For our project, a stretch goal is to add a detailed and interactive version of this telescope. Click here to read more
Further info:
Stakeholder Analysis
Stakeholder Analysis
Tony Travouillon (Client)
Oculus Users
Educational Institutions
Researchers
Engineers
Project interests
Project interests
Client: Outreach and exposure for astronomy projects
Oculus Users: Grow their interest in scientific astronomy projects
Educational Institutions: A free tool for learning astronomy & engineering, in an accessible form
Researchers: A simulation of on-site opreating environment
Engineers: Visualizing the engineering project clearly
Tools We Used
Tools We Used
Use the navigation bar at the top of the page to view more info on Team, Goals, Documentation and Application.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse