US Army Creates Virtual Reality Dome To Assess Soldier Thinking During Combat

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US Army Creates Virtual Reality Dome To Assess Soldier Thinking During Combat

Posted by timothy on Wednesday March 23, 2016 @12:12AM from the next-step-is-freezing-a-guy-for-a-year dept.

HughPickens.com writes: Bryant Jordan reports at Defense Tech that the Cognitive Science and Applications Team at the US Army's Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center is creating a computer-generated reality "dome" to immerse warfighters in a virtual environment that not only tests their skills, but allows Army researchers to assess soldier cognitive abilities and study the impact of real-world operational situations on decision-making, spatial memory and wayfinding. The dome is a concave virtual-reality system that provides a full 180-degree horizontal field, using high-density, front-projection to create a high-resolution, visual world where the simulations will be modeled on real-world locations. "The integration of multiple input modalities, along with multisensory feedback, increases the realism, immersion and engagement on behalf of users subjected to prolonged, workload-intensive activities," says Dr. Caroline Mahoney. "These novel integrations provide unprecedented opportunities to monitor and optimize human behavior during real-world task execution, and to evaluate and predict the impact of innovative human-systems technologies on operational performance." In the virtual dome, users can interact and alter the environment through hand-held and weapon-based devices, which control movement, orientation and weapon aiming. Future additions to the dome will include whole-body motion tracking, low-frequency vibration and directional wind. Vibro-tactile collision feedback — which combines vibration and touch to help give participants a physical sense of constraints in a virtual environment — will also be included.

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Sounds like a science fiction show by jfdavis668 · 2016-03-23 00:17 · Score: 3, Interesting

Star Trek holodeck? Maybe Ender's Game?
1. Re:Sounds like a science fiction show by dsmatthews9379 · 2016-03-23 11:20 · Score: 1
  
  It is just an up-to-date variation of the sort of training simulators that many first world defence forces have been using for several decades, or longer.
one step closer by old+and+new+again · 2016-03-23 00:31 · Score: 1

to the hunger games

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Live Electronic Music
1. Re:one step closer by AHuxley · 2016-03-23 12:10 · Score: 1
  
  Back to the new thinking of the 1920-30's. Every squad or smaller team tried to ensure every person could do the tasks of every other member to a very good skill level. If out of communications or needing support, the full skill sets for most of the common equipment was at least part of the expected work load. The mission could go on without direct orders and without questioning orders. ie nothing would be unexpected and the team would always be ready to follow any order and reach the objective as any member could carry on with most tasks.
  The only down side to such advanced methods is that every member of the team is way too smart and becomes of great interest to other nations intelligence services.
  Any rank now has interesting information to a high level vs the traditional limited need to know work load for that limited mission.
  The other question is why the rush for each member to such a high level vs having other "real" expert units to support them?
  A lack of lots of troops showing every member has to be expected to do a lot more? A system top heavy with outside consultants and contractors in distant support roles with too few real troops now expected to do many tasks rather than just be troops.
  The other issues is the ongoing mindset of low ranks with a lot of new skills. They expect easy promotion with the advanced work they have put in or the ability to sell their unique skills back as wealthy private sector contractors soon. If they feel they are been overlooked at an individual level their lack of promotion and wealth is a wide opening to other nations intelligence services.
  Thats why other nations are much more careful about any skill sets or advanced methods until total trust is ensured or a long term role is ready. Creating elite like units without the mass of a large standing army sounds neat but its hard to keep a long term win with just up skilled units.
  
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  Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
Re:Holy Holodeck, Batman! by Coisiche · 2016-03-23 00:31 · Score: 1

Well that would just put them on equal footing with pilots.
Re:Translation by dlt074 · 2016-03-23 00:34 · Score: 1

in the military, a major objective of weapons training is to desensitize the shooter to shooting people.
democracy is not worth spreading. freedom is but not democracy, people always get the two confused. however, even freedom is not worth spreading if people don't want it.
Thinking or Indoctrination.... by Lumpy · 2016-03-23 00:35 · Score: 1

Several friends of mine that are war vets all have said they don't trust the current recruits because they follow orders without question. One friend that has been a life time warrior and has went back for 3 tours of duty mustered out because of how the new guys act.
So will their simulator be used to get rid of the guys that don't blindly follow orders? will they put in scenarios where the best and correct course of action is to frag the CO?

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Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
1. Re:Thinking or Indoctrination.... by rmdingler · 2016-03-23 00:56 · Score: 1
  
  The US military, by and large, isn't interested in a soldier who questions authority. A large part of basic training involves assuring quick compliance to orders.
  If the 20-something year old won't charge a machine gun nest on the hill quickly and without question, he probably won't charge it at all.
  
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  Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.
  Ernest Hemingway
2. Re:Thinking or Indoctrination.... by drinkypoo · 2016-03-23 00:57 · Score: 1
  
  Several friends of mine that are war vets all have said they don't trust the current recruits because they follow orders without question.
  It would be nice if those guys would be active on social networking, because a lot of people seem to think that soldiers are supposed to Do What They Are Told No Matter What, and they need another think to come to them.
  
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  "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Re:Just like military intelligence is an oxymoron by jfdavis668 · 2016-03-23 00:45 · Score: 3, Insightful

You have obviously never been in the military. Getting soldiers to think on their feet and solve problems is the majority of training. Knowing how to technically use and maintain weapons and equipment is a small part. If you check, you will discover that privates are a small minority of soldiers. Modern warfare requires people who can think.
Duke's DiVE system does it better by Quantus347 · 2016-03-23 00:48 · Score: 1

This is interesting. Duke University has an immersive VR room that works on similar principles but does it a bit better. Rather than a top-only dome with an external display, it is a 3 meter cube, with the display projected on all six sides including the floor. It even tracks your point of view (via a set of lightweight powered VR glasses) to calculate the proper perspective so that object that are supposed to appear inside the room do so properly. It's really an amazing experience, and just a little bit creepy. http://virtualreality.duke.edu...

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Common Sense isn't as Common as people think...
meh by sociocapitalist · 2016-03-23 01:29 · Score: 1

It's never going to be "real-world" until there's a real element of real shit hitting the real fan.
If there is no real danger of being killed then this is nothing more than a (probably very cool) video game.

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blindly antisocialist = antisocial
1. Re:meh by angel'o'sphere · 2016-03-23 03:12 · Score: 1
  
  Did not know that the training in the US military is so hard that you can get killed during exercising.
  
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  Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
2. Re:meh by sociocapitalist · 2016-03-23 04:26 · Score: 1
  
  Did not know that the training in the US military is so hard that you can get killed during exercising.
  Yes I am aware (been there, done that) but training in a sim dome isn't going to be that way if for no other reason than live fire would destroy the dome itself.
  
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  blindly antisocialist = antisocial
3. Re:meh by twotacocombo · 2016-03-23 08:09 · Score: 1
  
  It's never going to be "real-world" until there's a real element of real shit hitting the real fan.
  If there is no real danger of being killed then this is nothing more than a (probably very cool) video game.
  Untrue. Our local Sheriff's department has a huge screen/wall that they use for shoot/don't shoot training scenarios. I was able to participate in one of the drills as a guest a few years back. Even though I knew it was just a video, and the gun in my hand was empty, when the drill began everything got weird. When your whole field of vision is filled with a realistic-enough video, part of your brain treats it as if it was real. Heart rate and blood pressure went up, a bit of tunnel vision set in. I wound up shooting the guy as he pulled a gun, but only got one shot off and froze. If that had been real life, I probably would have died. I certainly saw the value in the simulator after that. It's nowhere close to a real combat situation, but it does let you asses how you'll react to one without the actual threat of injury, and adjust your training accordingly.
Re:Just like military intelligence is an oxymoron by ranton · 2016-03-23 02:09 · Score: 1

You have obviously never been in the military. Getting soldiers to think on their feet and solve problems is the majority of training. Knowing how to technically use and maintain weapons and equipment is a small part. If you check, you will discover that privates are a small minority of soldiers. Modern warfare requires people who can think.
This is why indoctrination is so important in the military, because you need soldiers that both follow (lawful) orders blindly but also show initiative and problem solving in the moment. It is quite the feat to train soldiers to do both, as free thinking and blind obedience tend to not work together well IMHO.
When working with people with military backgrounds it is often mystifying that they can be so efficient with strong independent problem solving skills, but also blindly follow very poor business processes just because they were told to. Even when they hold a position where they have the autonomy to change bad processes. This is obviously not universal for all ex-enlisted personnel, but it is strikingly common.

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-- All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. -- Edmund Burke
Wasted tax dollars by s.petry · 2016-03-23 02:24 · Score: 1

As a veteran I can tell you that this is a huge waste of money. Every situation is different, every reaction is different, and every outcome is different. This is yet another attempt to develop the ability to have thought police.
PTSD research should explain and back my assertion.

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-The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.
Re:Just like military intelligence is an oxymoron by jitterman · 2016-03-23 02:37 · Score: 1

Thank you! As the grandson, son, nephew, and cousin of many military members, past and present, officers and enlisted, it's nice to read comments like yours and know that not everyone's opinions are formed by movies.

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For conscience is the wound, and there's naught to staunch it
Re:Translation by tchdab1 · 2016-03-23 05:50 · Score: 1

Grand Theft Planet.
Re:Translation by peragrin · 2016-03-23 06:16 · Score: 1

You can't give some one freedom. You can't make a giant freedom cake and put up a mission accomplished banner and be done. The people have to want freedom. Most people forget it took 20 years after the American Revolutionary War before we had a stable repeatable government.
1783 revolutionary war ended.
1801 Jefferson replaces Adams as president which set the precedent for others to follow.
You need several leaders to be rotated through to set the presence that future generations follow.

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i thought once I was found, but it was only a dream.