Bryson Lawton is a master’s student and XR researcher in the SEER lab with bachelor’s degrees in both Computer Science and Astrophysics. With a passion for space and experience in scientific computation, data visualization & analytics, computer graphics, and extended reality UI & UX design, his research interests are aimed at helping improve our understanding of the Universe and how we analyze and explore it through the application of extended reality (XR) technologies.
One example of this is ExoAR, his undergraduate Computer Science capstone project, which uses NASA’s exoplanetary database and augmented reality (AR) technologies to visualize any exoplanetary system known to man as interactable holograms floating in the real world around the user. This allows people to walk around and through these planetary systems to gain a better understanding of them and the many planets beyond our own. By doing so, this research explores how XR technologies may be used to better understand, analyze, and interact with astronomical data, like these planetary systems and their properties.
In addition, his master’s research Maveric has been investigating how the strengths of XR technologies may be best utilized to improve upon the limitations of conventional ground control stations for monitoring and controlling multiple robotic vehicles with a single person. Having potential applications in emergency response, large-scale photogrammetry, and space exploration to name a few, this research aims to evaluate in what ways extended reality can make ground control stations more scalable, adaptable, portable, and easy to use than methods currently available.
From January 2020 to August 2022, he was also the SEER Lab’s research team lead for the Extended Reality Innovations for Reservoir Engineering project and the SIERA project, which were both multi-disciplinary projects conducted in collaboration with industry partners and other research labs. Prior to this, he was also a main software developer on the AESO Immersive Control Room project as well.