In what might be the ultimate telemedicine use case, NASA is implementing holoportation to conduct telemedicine in space. Everything you might imagine from a futuristic show is happening onboard the International Space Station. Doctors are holoported to space for doctor-patient consultations. NASA describes this as the “first holoportation handshake from Earth in space.”

Being in space significantly limits one’s ability to perform various tasks. Luxuries such as meeting in person with a doctor are neither possible nor realistic options. After the pandemic and a crash course on telemedicine, NASA felt that this was the perfect time to implement this concept to ensure astronauts’ health. The results have demonstrated that if telemedicine can be used in space, there are no scenarios where this new concept cannot be applied.

How was this achieved? NASA utilized Microsoft’s HoloLens Kinect camera and custom software from Aexa to create a two-way feed, projecting doctors as 3D models onto the International Space Station. This technology enables doctors to engage as if they were physically present, with the ability to “see, hear, and interact with remote participants in 3D.”

Telemedicine is just the beginning of NASA’s plans for holoportation. Ideas and proof of concepts are already in progress, including a virtual tour of the space station to educate the public about life in space and the International Space Station. Another use case involves bringing subject matter experts onboard to connect, collaborate, and diagnose issues as if they were physically present. NASA is already implementing and testing out this type of use case. You can learn more about it in our previous blog article.

While this solution is in use, it is not flawless. One key factor to point out is communication delays and connection issues that affect the live feed. However, this is not solely a holoportation issue; it is a broader communication problem that affects both audio and video feeds. Despite these challenges, holoportation remains a crucial tool for communication in space.