Ad astra

Salvador | Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star

Ad Astra: There are several ways to reach the stars

High-Level Project Summary

The stars in the sky are always changing, however, people cannot see this because in addition to light pollution in cities, some variations are not visible to the naked eye. In this project, we intend to provide people, through an educational and interactive platform, with the importance and diversity of stars and how they impact our lives, facilitating learning through interesting tools, interactive spaces, simplified content and guidance for those who want have in-depth knowledge.

Link to Final Project

https://www.figma.com/file/hHf4JTiXqLhXjLcCRLRx4c/AD-ASTRA?node-id=0%3A1

Link to Project "Demo"

https://youtu.be/wnu4i7jllD8

Detailed Project Description

Problem

The stars above are constantly changing, but usually these changes are too slow or too faint for the eye to see clearly.

Challenge

Develop a learning tool to teach people about stellar variability and help them understand how dynamic the night sky really is - how and why the stars in the night sky change.

Solution

The solution to the challenge will be the development of an interactive and accessible platform focused on teaching and visualizing the stars and their variables in an easy, dynamic and fun way.

Target Audience

People from 14 years old with little or no knowledge about the stars, as well as the curious and astronomy lovers. We intend to work with the inclusion of people who are blind or with low vision, deaf and hearing impaired.

How will the platform work?

About the levels and topics

Our platform consists of 3 (three) levels, which are inspired by star processes.

The basic level of study follows with the "Nebula" stage of star birth. Following the "White Dwarf" level, which is smaller than ordinary stars but represents a new beginning, symbolizing the new level of the platform. Finishing at the last level of the platform, "Supernova", being one of the advanced stages of stellar evolution.

But that is not the end of the journey...

We can find out more content with the daily trivia and the "to infinity and beyond" session, with tips on movies, books and games that involve the stellar theme. Thus helping to complement the teaching in a fun way.

In general, the site provides a tool that simulates the variability of stars according to their type, a tool for comparing the size and some characteristics of the stars, recommendations for movies and games whose content is related to the space to engage the audience of a lighter and fun way, theoretical and simplified explanations to facilitate understanding and introduce users to the subject; For those who wish to delve deeper into the subject, the platform contains tabs with other content, articles, videos from reliable sources such as university references, books and the NASA website itself to provide more information. Thus, the platform offers numerous dynamic and playful resources, from the initial to the advanced phase, organized in the levels of the site.

Multiple Ways to Play - About interactivity in the platform

The platform provides playful experiences, challenges, and lots of information (built at the levels that the user feels most comfortable with). In addition, our graphics are easy to visualize, fluid and simple so that the user does not experience difficulty when accessing them. The challenges proposed on the platform are separated by levels and will be finished by groups with your friends.

Why learning with friends is more fun - About the challenge proposal

One of the great difficulties of the gaming industry and interactive learning platforms, such as Ad Astra, is how to maintain the audience and turn the occasional connections into constant and lifelong ones. With this in mind, the team created the 'Challenges' tab. The proposal is that our young scientists can, in union with colleagues or other users of the site, solve tasks within or outside the platform itself and, by successfully advancing in the obstacles, earn some daily points, being the limit 100 per day.

"And what will they do with those points?"

The idea is that each challenge will last a month, whether team or individual, and there will be rewards for those who manage to complete the challenge on time, which includes using the accumulated points.

We want these activities to be as beneficial as possible, whether on a small or large scale. In this vein, such as the "SPACE FOR CHANGE" challenge, we aim for connections with NASA, public and private entities so that, through the goals achieved in the platform challenges, these corporations commit to contributing to sustainable and social tasks, such as , plant trees, expand recycling networks, make donations to charities, pay for the treatment of people with skin cancer (where many cases are caused by exposure to the solar star), among others that can help solve and/or alleviate the most various socio-environmental problems in the world. This initiative will also impact other people to do similar activities according to their capabilities, creating and/or strengthening a support network towards sustainable and humanitarian goals.

Point and See - A way to look at the stars in the past and the future

Let's be honest, there is no shortage of teaching platforms. However, few are interested or see the real need to learn about astronomy topics. So we asked ourselves, "How do we get people interested in the site and wanting to learn?" The result is the Stellar Visualizer, a way for people to look down less to pay more attention to what is above our heads.

The idea of the visualizer is that wherever a person is, they can point their cell phone camera at the sky and get an analysis of some of the stars present at that location. By choosing a specific star they will get a detailed history of which star it is, how many light years away it is, and even how it was born and is likely to die, which will be made very visual through a back and forward time bar, showing for example the 3D explosion of a supernova or the formation of a black hole, depending on the type of star.

In addition we plan to add a tab that leads the viewer to research what the sky looked like in a certain place years ago, from the night a couple met to the night of the Declaration of Independence of Brazil, for example.

Accessibility

We believe that this is a key point in our differential, bringing the best learning experience, leisure and comfort to the largest number of people possible. In this regard, we have thought about the following interventions:

High contrast mode

High Contrast mode is an accessibility feature that changes the look of our website and Windows applications by replacing the color of the different elements (like background, buttons, or text) with some user’s set up colors. This has multiple purposes, like increasing readability, reducing a website’s visual noise by removing certain elements (and by extension, allowing them to have a better focus), and giving users full control of the website’s contrast. (Díaz, 2022)

This type of adjustment benefits people who are blind or have low vision, making them better use the platform and creating a control experience that fits uniquely and perfectly.

Text-to-Speech, Audio Signals, and Visual Features

Any information presented only visually is not available to blind people. To overcome this discrepancy, we thought of transmitting this information by sound through the Text-to-Speech option, with languages available initially in English and Portuguese, but later covering many other languages.

On the other hand, if you are deaf, hard of hearing, or need to listen at a lower volume or without sound, information represented only in audio would not be useful. Therefore, we have chosen to transmit various contents in visual form with images and texts, which can be changed in terms of size, color and contrast background.

Navigation

Ad Astra is a platform that aims to make learning interesting by making the person behind the screen interact with the world that is in front of them, i.e. space. The user will be able to touch all kinds of stars, nebulae and black holes, click here and there, and have the best visual experience possible. So the Navigation Assistant, which activates the on-screen narration mode of menus and texts, will help the students to be guided in the right way and not get lost among the themes.

Motion sickness

Simulated 3D motion can cause motion sickness in many people. Since there will be no shortage of 3D simulations of stellar events on the site, we thought about how to make the visual experience as comfortable as possible for these users. Therefore we intend to adjust the options for object movement, motion blur, camera distance and even the field of view. We also want to include a permanent white point option in the center of the screen, which can help alleviate the feeling.

Space Agency Data

We use several images from the NASA website to use as a reference on our website. Some specific and technical articles served as inspiration for the construction of the theoretical content.

Hackathon Journey

How would you describe your Space Apps experience?

Innovative and stimulating. With the Hackathon we were able to visualize different perspectives, explore ideas and, of course, gain knowledge.

What did you learn?

The team was able to better understand various aspects of accessibility and socio-environmental issues. In addition, there is a better understanding of the members with regard to space and, especially, the variability of the stars.

What inspired your team to choose this challenge?

Initially, the team – already interested in stellar variations – brought the challenge of visualizing the stars even from so far away. How could we contribute, in an accessible way, so that young space lovers, lay people and photosensitive people could see the stars with their own eyes? So, we chose the challenge to solve this main problem.

What was your approach to developing this project?

As a team, we discussed our ideas, always open to possibilities that were interesting for the solution of the challenge. We build a path where creativity and information go together, valuing the playful and accessible.

How did your team resolve setbacks and challenges?

The team was organized so that, separately, the members could use their strengths and skills to develop the platform in the best possible way. We deal with doubts and pending issues as a team, holding meetings full of productive dialogues.