ESA title

DreamCoder TM 2.0

  • ACTIVITYDemonstration Project
  • STATUSCompleted
  • THEMATIC AREAEducation & Training

Objectives of the service

The DreamCoder 2.0 enables end-user interactions of the ground-based Sagan Board, and ISS-based Sagan board within a virtual classroom to enable tele-education sessions. This implies the engagement of other technology providers belong to the current smart ecosystem. In addition, the space-asset relies on the multi-sensor electronic board on ISS relaying to an interactive e-learning web-platform allowing near-real-time coding experiences for students and large public involvement.

DreamCoder 2.0 takes everyone (focusing on, but not limited to students) above and beyond any ordinary coding lesson. Students/Virtual participants learn, practice, and refine real-world engineering design skills by programming and analyzing experiments in an out-of-this-world laboratory, the International Space Station (ISS).

You digitally access the ISS from your smart device!

Users and their needs

The key customer segments targeted by the DreamCoder 2.0 as product / service are related to Education (coding and curriculums about space sciences and technologies), entertainment (tech enthusiasts) and corporations (team building).

Service/ system concept

Nanoracks background is the overall Dream Coder 1.0 and has upgraded the space assets for Dream Coder 2.0 and continuing to manage this from Space to ground. Rina has developed the IT element from cloud to new web console of Dream Coder 2.0.

Space Added Value

Space technologies/space assets are on board the ISS. Specifically, a NanoLab installed in a Nanoracks’ frame contains a Space Lab mirroring the Space Lab Hardware kit used in the virtual classroom. This enables the advanced version of DreamCoder 2.0 to be run on the ISS. The link to ground is assured by the ISS communication system through TDRS satellite operated by NASA. Operationally Nanoracks uploads code and downloads data during their time on console at the Nanoracks BRIDGE (proprietary ground segment).

Current Status

DreamCoder 2.0 is an upgrade of the previous DreamCoder (1.0) which served several schools and individuals in a satisfactory way. The pandemics outbreak required the shutdown of school, and this implied the shift of paradigm from face-2-face delivery contents at school to the digital attendance at school classes. Thus, the evolution of DreamCoder 2.0 aims to meet this new requirement, which is going to enlarge the business potentials of the tool beyond the virus outbreak. In fact, the company and the stakeholders had already in plan this extension of capabilities.

To date, DreamCoder 2.0 has been used by about 100 users during the pilot phases as pioneer and explorer users (schools, individuals, and companies). In addition, DreamCoder 2.0 has been used, starting from April 2022, by the Istituto Tecnico Superiore (ITS) della Mobilità sostenibile per l’Aerospazio e la Meccatronica di Torino (Italy) as part of the regular scheduled course activities for the 2021/22 school’s year.

"Figure 1: Key elements of the DreamCoder 2.0 kit with E-learning & collaborative code editor web-platform, Sagan Spacelab hardware on Earth and on Space."


 

Status Date

Updated: 26 July 2022