Thanks to Army’s recently acquired virtual reality (VR)-enabled simulation software, you can now practice drills without touching your weapon, or attack live enemies without ever leaving your home. .
Over the past year, a number of demonstration systems have been deployed to various combat units and training institutes, providing additional stages of training and providing rapid feedback on the use of the systems.
The 3rd Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR) used the software to carry out British traverses through EF88 handling training, reducing the time required with live guns.
3RAR Maj. David Caligari, chief of operations for 3RAR, said the unit will use VR to train the winning section of the Duke of Gloucester Cup with a British SA80 rifle before going to England for the Cambrian Patrol infantry competition. said.
“The team has been able to gain exposure to the SA80, including using it for force-on-force action in small sections,” he said.
The Army’s VR system is one of many on display at Land Forces, which features everything from flight simulators to virtual weapons programs.
The system received by Army units features eight Blue Force terminals and four Red Force terminals, plus a suite of programs for fighting in urban and rural environments.
Each set of goggles comes with two hand controllers that clip onto the stock.
“I lift the stakes like I would when I take a picture of a scene.
After completing a scenario, missions can be replayed on-screen in slow motion from different angles, allowing soldiers to see and learn from their failures.
“Perhaps they took a bounce they shouldn’t have and got shot. Or they didn’t know where their fellow soldiers were,” said Major Caligari.
Sergeant James Merkel tries out a virtual reality flight simulator.
3RAR has just confirmed the procedure for using the system, allowing corporals to sign out for team practice.
It was full of infantry minor tactics, but was also sent to many non-corps units to supplement training and promote ideas for the use of VR in their specialty.
Helping develop new ideas is Sergeant Nitin Biswas, a member of the Army’s eXtended Reality Community of Practice.
He believes the next step in VR will be procedural trainers for resource-intensive tasks like recovery and vehicle mechanics.
One idea that emerged was to train craftsmen to replace nitrogen-filled shock absorbers on newer vehicles, which require many discharge and recharge cycles.
“They learn the steps, do the sets and reps, develop an understanding and feel confident, and then do it once in the car. Instead of degrading that vehicle and leaving it there for training.” Sergeant Biswas said.
He believed that VR would not replace existing hands-on training and could be used during the backlog to keep trainees up to date while waiting for the course.
Gaming technology has been the driving force behind VR in recent years, and many companies in the Army are developing software to take advantage of it. For example, Army’s recently acquired SAF-TAC system runs on the Unreal 4 game engine.
Army Headquarters Lieutenant Colonel Yong Yi confirmed that VR will now be extended to training for dangerous or resource-intensive activities.
“If you can’t have a training ground or fire live ammunition, there are other ways to train soldiers,” he said.
“Getting ready in VR maximizes your live training opportunities.”
.
Comments
Post a Comment