Development Project of Space Globe using Game Engine

Revised version in Jun. 2018

Abstract

In order to know a celestial body, a star chart disk and a planetarium are used, but these are universes as spherical surfaces viewed from the earth, and it is impossible to three-dimensionally understand the relative sense of distance between the celestial bodies. Therefore, we created a teaching material to capture celestial bodies three-dimensionally by arranging stars in a three-dimensional virtual space. In this study, we developed a system that can freely move in large-scale space using the game engine Unreal Engine 4 as a development environment. This system is capable of viewing space in three dimensions using a head-mounted display. By grasping the arrangement of the stars and constellations seen from the earth in three dimensions, it has become possible to intuitively grasp the relative distances of stars, etc., which are difficult to understand by the information of the star chart disk and the planetarium. In addition, since the users can move freely in outer space, it is not just a material for appreciating universe, but a content that users can operated and enjoyed by themselves.