Cortona3D’s software was chosen by the European Space Agency (ESA) for spacecraft crew and astronauts training for the Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV), a fleet of 20 tonne space transport vehicles used to bring fresh food, clothes, water, fuel, experiments, and oxygen to the International Space Station (ISS).
Cortona3D RapidAuthor software was used by astronaut instructors to create animated 3D simulations showing step by step procedures with new levels of detail and interactivity. The software teaches astronauts complex tasks prior to manipulating real equipment and enables them to practice these procedures learned at the European Astronaut Centre (EAC), on their laptops over and over again, even on orbit.
Recently Cortona3D developed the 3D Procedure Authoring Tool for ESA which combines operational procedure authoring with interactive 3D animation authoring.
“The interactive learning tool has proven to be a big hit with astronauts and cosmonauts alike! When you impress an astronaut, you know you have done something really special,” pointed out the head of ATV training at EAC, Richard Moss. “Astronauts recognise the help Cortona3Ds’ interactive tools will give them. It will save time and mistakes, in an environment where errors cost lives.”