AR Space Trash TrackAR

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKms8GQgVO0

https://github.com/leeenglestone/SpaceTrashTrackAR

The code was written in C#, and uses Xamarin to target Apples Augmented Reality framework (ARKit) and deploy to/ run on an iOS device. In this case my iPhone.

The first challenge I found was calculating the radius of the orbit as while height was shown in the Celestrak table, it was not included in the underlying data. I worked out how to determine the height of the orbiting item based on its rotations per day, the mass of the earth and the radius of the earth. Using the right ascension and radius to determine the position along its orbit was also tricky.

Once I had managed to plot the items and rotate them in their orbit I began adding additional functionality including..

• Click to see more information
• A thin torus (looks like a circle) with the same radius and rotation inclination as the item to denote the orbit path
• Additional datasets
• Speeding up the orbits options
• Filtering of datasets
• Double clicking of screen to hid/show the buttons (not shown on video but helps with the immersive feel)

Restrictions.

1. I got the orbit positioning calculations wrong and along with using right ascension to denote position along an orbital plane, simply inclined a plane for the inclination. I'm told that is incorrect and should have used an existing satellite position package.
2. All my orbits are perfectly circular while in reality the orbits of some of the items are elliptical

I used the Celestrak csv data of different orbital item types in csv format including

• Active items
• Weather satellites
• Cosmos 2251 debris
• Space Station

And could very easily extend my app to use all the other datasets available.

I learnt that orbiting has 1 t's and not 2! (After typing orbitting everywhere!)

I am very pleased with the way I managed to plot the items, them add additional functionality.

I had to dust off my trigonometry!

I am disappointed that I discovered that the way I was animating the orbits and their positions was incorrect and that to replace my method with using a satellite positioning package would mean completely changing my approach.. I had to make the hard decision to submit my current approach.

Whilst the orbits may be wrong, I think the concept is a useful, novel, engaging and innovative one.

I also struggle to find team members for these sorts of hackathons.. as

• Having a family I can only commit so many hours to the project so it's unfair to ask another to work more or risk a project that might fail
• My requirements are very precise (there's not many C#/Xamarin/ARKit Augmented Reality knowledgeable people around!)

I miss read the submission instructions and initially created a 2 minute video demonstrating my app before creating the final 30 second version. I don't think 30 seconds is long enough for participants to describe their project. I struggled to describe it in 30 seconds.

Overall i'm very happy with what i've accomplished over such a short period.

• https://xamarinarkit.com (my site)
• https://celestrak.com
• Visual Studio for Mac
• C#, Xamarin
• Apple iPhone 10
• www.OrbitSimulator.com (I think) to get the formula for determining height.

#SpaceTrash, #AR, #AugmentedReality, #Mobile, #iOS, #XR, #MixedReality, #Innovation, #App

This project has been submitted for consideration during the Judging process.