2010 Ames CONTACT:
Special Sessions

Friday - March 26, 3:00-4:30

Human-rating Automated and Robotic Systems -
How can HAL work safely and efficiently with people?

Organizer - Lynn Baroff
Co-Organizer - Andrew Mishkin
Panelists - Bill Clancey, Darrel Jan, Mark Lupisella, and Carol Stoker

Long duration human space missions will not be possible without unprecedented levels of automation to support the human endeavors. The automated and robotic systems must carry the load of routine "housekeeping" for the new generation of explorers, as well as assist their exploration science and engineering work with new precision. Fortunately, the state of automated and robotic systems is sophisticated and sturdy enough to do this work - but the systems themselves have never been human-rated as all other NASA physical systems used in human space flight have.

Our intent in this session is to introduce a variety of perspectives on requirements and architecture for the interfaces and interactions between human beings and the astonishing array of automated systems; and to identify approaches to create human-rated systems and implement them in the human space program.

Saturday - March 27, 3:30-4:30

AVATAR: The Good, the Bad and the Beautiful

Organizer - Jim Funaro
Panelists - Chris Ford, Gus Frederick, Jim Funaro, Joel Hagen, Howard Heard, Ken Koenig, Bruce Damer and Seth Shostak.

The panelists will each talk for about 5 minutes from their own perspectives of expertise and interest on what they liked, didn't like and the aesthetics or whatever. Then we open discussion to the audience.

We have a remarkably appropriate and talented group of pros to make up this panel. Joel is an artist who teaches computer graphics, Gus is a film buff and a visual technical wizard, Seth has made films and recently wrote a paper on Avatar, Chris is an expert on cinematic image rendering at Pixar, Howard is a film editor with many years of experience in the LA industry, Ken is a psychiatrist who has been making films over the past few years, Jim is an anthropologist, and Bruce is a digital animator and project designer.