Taking military training up a notch with Simulation technology

Augmented and Virtual Reality in Military training

Augmented reality is being increasingly used to tackle challenges like scarcity of information & resources and the challenge of compromised safety. Tactical Augmented Reality (TAR) overlays crucial information within a pilot or soldier’s vision so that it eliminates the need to constantly look at the available panels or devices, thereby increasing situational awareness. Helping soldiers gauge their exact location, as well as the positions of the enemy forces are some of the crucial advantages of TAR. Synthetic training environment or STE combines AR, VR and MR to train soldiers in an immersive manner. As a part of STE, soldiers are put through physically and mentally stressing operational environments, to ingrain a higher level of readiness among them. Additionally, Augmented reality development helps soldiers in getting familiar with sand tables that are used in location based planning of military operations, as well as night vision and thermal sensing.

On the other hand, Virtual reality is used for immersive battlefield recreation and for imparting on-ground medical training. VR is also used to familiarize soldiers with the most complex of vehicles (air, ground and water) by creating an immersive environment, through which they learn navigation and maintenance skills. For battlefield visualization, soldiers are made to wear glasses that create an illusion of depth, thereby enabling them to think of battle strategies. Gamification also presents opportunities to create realistic scenarios to help the soldiers acclimate to combat environments and situations. To reinforce concepts and techniques in the right manner, equipment such as head mounted displays and treadmills are used.