NASA Autonomous Air Mobility Prototype
Overview
Kaiwen Yang — founder of Skape Innovations — served as a VR/UX subject-matter expert consultant for a NASA initiative investigating how immersive simulation can enhance the study of passenger comfort, trust, and human–machine interaction in next-generation autonomous air taxis.
This collaboration brought together disciplines rarely in direct dialogue: aerospace engineering, human factors research, and immersive design. The project’s aim was to prototype how future passengers might perceive orientation, control, and spatial awareness within autonomous flight systems — long before any physical aircraft is built.
Approach
Kaiwen led the development of the user experience testing framework and research blueprint that guided NASA’s human-in-the-loop evaluation process. His work focused on bridging two complex ecosystems — VR development and aerospace systems design — translating human-centered insights into a domain traditionally driven by technical performance and engineering precision.
By creating a unified testing model and facilitating communication between VR specialists, engineers, and behavioral scientists, the team was able to explore comfort, motion cues, and trust calibration under controlled immersive conditions.
Outcome
The resulting prototype provided NASA with a repeatable testing environment capable of simulating flight scenarios with fine-tuned sensory feedback and human-factor measurement. It became a proof of concept for how virtual reality can operate as both a design tool and a scientific instrument, enabling early-stage decisions about ergonomics, interface layout, and perceptual safety before physical implementation.
The insights derived from this work continue to influence Skape Innovations’ research methodology, reinforcing the company’s commitment to applying immersive technologies toward high-stakes, data-driven innovation in aerospace, healthcare, and beyond.
Testimonial
“Kaiwen served as the VR/UX subject matter expert for a NASA research project exploring passenger comfort in autonomous air taxis. He bridged communication between VR specialists and aerospace engineers, developing a custom UX testing framework and detailed research plan. I’ve also worked with him at the Nikkei National Museum, where he led the creation of an immersive virtual museum experience during the pandemic. His contributions were thoughtful, reliable, and of exceptional quality.”
Trisha Epp -- Director of Innovation, Freelancer.com, NASA Tournament Lab