From the
forums regarding the future plans for the Java SDK
There is no feature roadmap written down.
What's troubling me today is not that NASA isn't elaborating on their goals for the WWJ SDK other than what they've already said ("The goal is 100s of World Winds, not one.
That's why NASA created WWJ as a Java component.
NASA has no plans to create a World Wind Java client similar to World Wind .Net.
They plan only to continue to develop and expand the SDK." -
WWJ FAQ) though that statement is a bit ominous (open source, vague/unstated patch & development process), but the minor technical discoveries I'm making as I use the SDK. There's a real overuse of static members and methods that is complicating the process of trying to douse how NASA intends the use of this SDK. For example, layer classes have a construtor that requires a LayerSet or PlacenameSet to have already been created. That means a static method. This makes it appear that almost all their AbstractLayer derived code isn't designed for extension or reuse but as an example of how to create a Layer - and that means a lot of redundancy. The options are to change the source and allow for a constructor that doesn't require LevelSet/PlaceNameSet (cons: changing the code means changing
their SDK code) or copy wholesale and reproduce what appear to be core SDK classes, such as. TiledImageLayer and PlaceNameLayer.
The other thing that irks me and irks me bad is the variety of OGL implementations on various video cards. Though this appears to be a case of "it's the video card manufacturer's issue, not NASA's" it becomes a very large barrier to adoption when an example works perfectly on one machine (ATi X1500), partially on another (ATi FireGL 5200), and is an abysmal failure on a third (Intel Extreme). To me, this is a massive user acceptance issue. I see a lot of people (primarily through failed demos or inability to see their own houses with ease) discounting a WWJ-derived app due to driver issues.
Unbeknownst to me, NASA
had a proposal to develop a MMO (massively multiplayer online) environment a la SecondLife or World of Warcraft with a budget of $3M that was cancelled or tabled before it was reviewed. Word got out enough for John Carmack to propose assistance.
(from the Proposal)
Intramural Call for Proposal Ideas (ICPI)
Fiscal Year 2007
Internal Call for Proposal Ideas
NASA Learning Technologies
ICPI Schedule
Release of ICPI: March 20, 2007
Notices of Intent Due: April 20, 2007
Notices of Intent Decisions: April 30, 2007
Final Proposals Due: June 29, 2007
Selection: July 31, 2007
Announcement of Awards: September 1, 2007
Massively multiplayer online games (MMOG) have characteristics that set them apart from other games. They are shared spaces where hundreds, thousands and even millions of players can experience the same game. They are persistent and evolving online environments. For example, with a stand-alone game, the game environment turns on and off at the user's whim and is essentially loaded with all of its potential states when it is shipped from the factory. If there is a sequel, the new game comes with a brand new, though probably familiar, game environment. MMOGs, in contrast, run continuously. Actions by players can alter the game world and the game creators can change features of the world through expansions or patches. The persistent and evolving nature of MMOGs makes them more like the real world and less like the static, intermittent nature of stand-alone games. The game setting in MMOGs, is thus a synthetic world, while the game setting of a stand-alone game is not.
A massively multiplayer online NASA game can be built with the primary goal of engaging young people in NASA’s mission. The power of games as educational tools is rapidly gaining recognition (Gee, 2003). NASA is in a position to develop an online game that functions as a persistent, synthetic environment supporting education as a laboratory, a massive visualization tools and collaborative workspace while simultaneously drawing users into a challenging, game-play immersion. Innovative university faculty are already holding classes and taking fieldtrips to synthetic worlds like Star Wars Galaxies and Second Life (Thomas, 2005). A NASA game built on a game engine that includes full physics capabilities will support accurate in-game experimentation and research. It will present real NASA engineering and science missions in a medium that is comfortable and familiar to the overwhelming majority of students in the United States today. A NASA-inspired game will provide opportunities for students to investigate Science, Technology, Engineering and Technology (STEM) career paths. A NASA game can contribute to the development of the critical skills and capabilities needed to build a pipeline of qualified scientific and technical employees required to fulfill the Vision for Space Exploration. Recently, both Time and Fortune have recognized synthetic environments and robust and significant technology entering mainstream society. The MacArthur Foundation, the Federation of American Scientists and National Science Foundation have all identified computer games as significant educational tools. A Horizons of Technology report marked massively multiplayer online games as one of the technologies with the greatest potential to impact education in the next decade.
A game-quality synthetic environment will be a vital element of NASA's cyberstructure. The synthetic world will be a collaborative work and meeting space of a kind familiar to increasing numbers of Americans. Games and challenges in the synthetic environment will engage students in a way that is both familiar and comfortable for them. In turn, success in the games will build increased student awareness of STEM fields. The synthetic environment will allow immersive career exploration opportunities in a much deeper way than reading alone would permit and at a fraction of the time and cost of an internship.