Virtual World, Real Understanding: Using Virtual Reality to Visualize Disasters, Climate, and Extreme Weather Impacts

As cities grow and new technologies and data collection capabilities flourish, cities are inundated with information regarding risk and resilience. How can cities understand the vast amounts of Earth observation data available to them at a cityscale level? Navteca, along with the NASA Applied Sciences Disaster Applications Group, within the Earth Science Division of NASA's Science Mission Directorate, and the NASA Information Technology Communications Directorate (ITCD), has been researching virtual reality (VR) technology for the next generation of Earth science technology information systems and advanced data visualization. Through a Navteca custom-developed VR interface displaying three-dimensional virtual city models and accurate terrain, the end user is able to order and view data from relevant NASA and NOAA data sets in an immersive, interactive VR environment. This immersive visualization provides a different perspective from traditional 2D displays and allows users to experience simulated flooding virtually, as well as access related datasets from the NASA Disaster Applications portal online. Simulated inundation is overlaid on land surfaces and 3D buildings using realistic water textures (rather than color-coded visualization or simple numerical data) and is an intuitive way for users to visualize flooding threats dynamically. Time series are also effectively communicated by combining Earth observation data and VR immersion -- users from disparate backgrounds can see how an area looked before, during, and after a high-impact event. This type of visualization tool could also be scalable to many types of disasters and extreme weather events, potentially improving the use of geospatial and Earth observation data for disaster applications, city planning, and resilience efforts. Using VR may bring better understanding and communication of Earth data to a variety of end users, from scientists to city planners and decision makers, and could enhance decision-making tools for disaster planning, recovery, and resilience. VR also engenders unique collaboration opportunities by allowing multiple users to look at the same datasets and interactive maps simultaneously without necessarily being in the same physical location. By demonstrating the utility of VR to present interactive datasets layered with accurate city models and terrain, the investigation team has shown the potential for VR as a tool beyond simple visualization and a way for cities to envision and prepare for future disaster, climate, and weather events.