Abstract
While my technical capstone and STS research are loosely connected, they share a foundation in user-centric design. The motivation for Orbital Surveillance & Collision Assessment Radar (OSCAR) comes from my background in computer science education. Specifically, my work with the Global Teaching Project and previous research experience in CSEd informed my interest to design and build accessible learning tools. Combined with my general fascination for aerospace and how the world works, culminated into an educational platform that works precisely while maintaining intuitive interaction. On the other hand, my advisor’s recommendation to read Don Norman’s The Design of Everyday Things (2013) inspired my STS research paper on user interface (UI) design. Not only has this book changed the way I evaluate usability, but also aligns well with my natural interest in visual design and art. The design principles I analyzed in my thesis influences OSCAR’s interface.
Orbital Surveillance & Collision Assessment Radar (OSCAR) tracks and visualizes Earth-orbiting satellites and near-Earth objects (NEOs) in an interactive, 3D web application. The objective of the project is to bridge three values: accessibility, technical accuracy, and instruction, and lowers the barrier to entry. As a result, OSCAR serves students, educators, and space enthusiasts who typically must choose between having either overly dense professional software that lacks intuition, or gamified applications that lack precise and accurate physical calculations.
OSCAR’s architecture is split into two modules—a robust backend and a responsive, aesthetic frontend. The backend utilizes Python 3.14+ through the FastAPI framework, which offers REST endpoints. Meanwhile, the project uses a modern uv package manager for rapid dependency resolution, which aids the system’s responsiveness. For accurate and real-time rendering, OSCAR employs a custom physics propagation engine inspired by mathematics-based libraries including sgp4, skyfield, and jplephem. Methods in these libraries help process Two-Line Element (TLE) datasets which calculate telemetry data including but not limited to positional and velocity vectors for satellites and NEOs. Additionally, a local sqlite database handles database operations. Celestrak and NeoWs are registry organizations that offer Satellite and NEO data, but place very strict limits on the number of data pulls per day. OSCAR handles this by using the local database to cache data for an interval of time before a new data pull is allowed. The caching of data achieves two things: (1) features such as temporal scrubbing compute on this cached data, which speeds up calculations, and (2) orbital data degrades rapidly due to the nature of fast-traveling objects in space, necessitating constant data pulls. In summary, OSCAR continuously fetches, parses, and synchronizes fresh TLE text files from external registries to be accurate. Meanwhile, the frontend is developed with React (Vite) and uses three.js to portray elements in a 3D fashion. These elements were developed in-house using Blendr. The frontend enables OSCAR’s two core features:
Observer-Oriented Simulation: This simulation mode orients the camera on the ground looking up at a simulated sky. It provides a dynamic UI compass and allows users to pick a specific location on a cartesian map to project upwards into the atmosphere.
Temporal Scrubbing: OSCAR includes a feature that draws the calculated orbital trajectory of a specific satellite over time.
My research paper explores Apple’s user interface (UI) redesign in 2013, specifically focusing on the transition from skeuomorphism to minimalism. Prior to iOS 7, Apple used skeuomorphism in their software, which is described by realistic textures, depth, and lighting to act as “training wheels” for unfamiliar customers. This lowered the barrier to entry from foldable phones to touchscreen smartphones. But the rollout of iOS 7 marked a transformation in Apple’s design language; the years Apple spent familiarizing its users with skeuomorphic elements were thrown away in favor of flat, minimalistic design. While the move was largely driven by the practical need to scale interfaces across varying, high-resolution screen sizes, this research paper studies the unexpected consequences of this shift on both the designer and the user.
I cover how this shift redefines the identities of both the “ideal” designer and the “ideal” user. Through comparative discourse and historical analysis, I show how the designer’s role transforms from a crafter of digital artistic artifacts to one that architects scalable design systems. Meanwhile, I demonstrate that the “ideal” user used to be a “digital novice” (Yunes, 2014) and that iOS 7 redesign promotes users by removing the “training wheels” and prioritizes responsiveness and minimalism. Finally, I claim that this UI shifts the cognitive “burden of design” from the designers onto the users. By applying Don Norman’s design principles and Jakob Nielsen’s (1993) usability heuristics, I argue how the aesthetic shifts signify a rebalancing of power, and that while society shapes the tools it uses, the tools in turn shape society.
Working on my STS research paper and the technical capstone at the same time provided a perspective that I would lack had I worked on them individually. OSCAR was proposed and developed after I finished writing the prospectus but before writing my thesis, so I applied to OSCAR the usability and design principles I learned in between writing both papers. Instead of over-engineering complex design hierarchies and layers in minimalistic design or placing intricate, art-heavy elements borrowed from skeuomorphism, our team prioritized intuitive design. We implemented clear visual cues, guided tooltips, and interactive metadata panels. Furthermore, we confirmed our project’s vision through an extensive quality assurance test by interviewing a representative sample of our project’s intended demographic.
Finally, I’d like to thank Aaryan, Kyle, and Thomas, for their initiative and technical contributions. I also thank my advisors Dr. Mark Sherriff and especially Dr. MC Forelle for their guidance throughout my thesis portfolio.
Works Cited
Nielsen, J. (1993). Usability Engineering. Morgan Kaufmann.
https://doi.org/10.1016/C2009-0-21512-1
Norman, D. A. (2013). The Design of Everyday Things (Revised and Expanded). Basic Books.
Yunes, N. D. (2014, May 29). The Influence of iOS 7 and Designing for Mobile in an
Omnichannel World.
