Any developer's hope is for his or her creations to impact society or be recognized as an innovative tool. Releasing your projects to the world can be the most daunting yet rewarding step in the creative process and makes up for the stress associated with taking on a difficult task. This week, my hard work paid off in a completely unexpected way. I was offered the incredible opportunity to present my app to the House of Representatives in Washington, D.C! Four NASA centers across the country sent representatives to Washington's Flight Night, an opportunity for the centers to showcase their progress and strides in aeronautics research. I was one of the lucky five from Glenn Research Center to present and meet with America's representatives.
What exactly did I present?
One of the apps I've been working on this semester is called "NASA Concept Vehicles" (prize to whoever can come up with a better name). I developed this app for the zSpace, a 3D augmented reality computer that lets you virtually pull objects off the screens. As the name suggests, my app displays NASA concept vehicles that range from experimental airplane engines to future rockets. Users can interact with each model, take it apart, and learn how it contributes to NASA's missions. For the Flight Night presentation, I focused on the aeronautics models within the app (the X-57 electric motor and Urban Air Mobility drones - posts on these missions later!).
Washington, D.C.
Living in rural-suburban towns my entire life, I was completely shocked by this gigantic capital city! Although I was too busy to properly explore all of DC, I did make my way to some of the monuments the capital is known for, as well as the Air and Space Museum. Enjoy this small gallery of pictures.
The Presentation
Over 350 congressional staffers and representatives attended Flight Night - way more than I expected! Exhibits included virtual reality, flight simulators, propellor demonstrations, and plenty of model planes. I am thrilled NASA has outlets such as this to share and gather support for the incredible research being done across the country. I am even more thrilled that I got to be a small part of it.