Chapter 5 – THE HUMAN INTERFACE TO EMBEDDED VIRTUAL SIMULATIONS

2002

: Over the past decade, Virtual Environment (VE)-based training systems have become commonplace within the military training domain. These systems offer such benefits as small footprint, rapid reconfiguration, and enhanced training delivery. In addition, they appear to offer significant relief for a market starved for low cost training systems, and hold great potential as effective training tools. Yet, all too often the human element is taken for granted, with systems being designed to incorporate the latest technological advances, rather than focusing on enhancing the user's experience within the VE-both from a training and human factors perspective. It is precisely this shift in design philosophy, from techno centric to human centric that represents the next, greatest, challenge to developing effective VE-based training systems. Interaction with VE involves the ability of individuals to effectively perform essential perceptualsensory- motor tasks within the virtual world. More...

The DoD and NASA are considering virtual environments (VE) technology for use in forward deployable and remote training devices. Yet, many of these VE devices, particularly those which employ helmet-mounted displays, have an adverse effect on users, eliciting motion sickness and other sequelae (e.g., Pausch, Crca, & Conway, 1992; Kennedy, Lane, Lilienthal, Berbaum, & Hettinger, 1992). These symptoms, now called cybersickness (McCauley & Sharkey, 1992), could retard development of VE technology and limit its use as a training tool.

The members of a NATO Human Factors and Medicine (HFM) Panel Research Task Group (RTG) spent the last three years examining issues related to human effectiveness within embedded virtual simulations (EVS) for training. EVS is an enabling technology that provides an interface to interactive simulations that reside within or are appended to the operational equipment. It can provide links to local and/or geographically distant trainees and instructional resources. EVS enables a full range of capabilities that support training and development of individual and team knowledge and skills. The RTG evaluated four primary topics associated with EVS: military requirements, training management, human interaction and the utility of intelligent agents within embedded virtual training environments. This paper presents the group's evaluation of the human interface to EVS and the impact of human factors on learning and applications of EVS.

Current U.S. Naval doctrine places increasing emphasis on providing just-in-time training. This means training the deployed sailor when they need the training, wherever they happen to be. This differs from classic training doctrine that calls for placing a completely trained expert in the field. This shift in doctrine is a direct response to reduction in force sizes, necessitating fewer experts and more generalists. Just-in-time training requires the generalists to be somehow brought up to expert standard in the field. One way to fill this requirement is through the use of deployable training systems. In this sense, 'deployable' refers to a system that requires minimal space, demands little if any maintenance, and is easy to setup. Virtual Environment (VE) training systems, with their inherently small footprint, and fundamental reliance on software rather than hardware solutions, represent a seemingly elegant solution to many of these challenges. However, VE systems bring with them their own unique set of challenges that can negatively impact skill learning during VE exposure, as well as significantly reduce military personnel's ability to perform missioncritical tasks following VE exposure. For instance, a group of side effects collectively known as cybersickness can be especially debilitating to users during VE training. Symptoms range from the distracting, such as eyestrain and blurred vision, to the performance detracting, such as visual motor coordination and balance disturbances. Cybersickness occurs in approximately 80-95% of individuals receiving virtual training, with up to 30% of the trainees opting to terminate training before completing it. VE exposure can also produce aftereffects such as eyestrain, dizziness, and nausea, that can last more than an hour after a training session, and in about 8% of individuals symptoms can last for more than six hours post session. Prolonged exposure to VEs can lead to distinct physiological changes, such as changes in the resting point of accommodation or even recalibration of perception-action couplings following exposure to visual scenes. These issues become even more critical when using VE systems to deliver deployable, just-in-time training. When these simulations are placed aboard ship, the physical ship motion will be completely uncorrelated to the motion being visually represented in the VE. This discordance will most certainly exacerbate any already existing side/after effects. The net result of these effects is an increased likelihood of users receiving less-than-adequate training during VE exposure, and being unfit to perform their duties following VE exposure.

Present and anticipated NATO missions require highly trained and capable military personnel. It is important that policy, procedures, and technologies provide adequate means to prepare coalition forces for the full-spectrum of situations that they are likely to encounter. An important requirement is the need for units to deploy with little or no notice and for them to adapt effectively to evolving situations. This places military units in locations where they will not have the facilities and infrastructure they had at their home station limiting their ability to train for, and rehearse complex missions. The use of Embedded Virtual Simulation (EVS), within a broader Embedded Training (ET) capability, is seen as a potential tool to provide more effective deployed training. EVS is a concept that tightly integrates training and mission functionality into operational equipment. Recent advances in training concepts, agent technologies, computers, communication and display technologies off...

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The aim of this research is to examine whether the use of VR technology, which is used for military training purposes, together with the new generation technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and Industry 4.0, can be an alternative to field trainings as well as to the classical classroom trainings carried out until now and in the future. And to present conceptual information and predictions on whether it can change military units" way of training and practice. For this purpose, the infrastructure, features, applications, case studies, relationship with currently used training methods and possible advantages of the "military field VR technology" have been examined through a literature review and the results are revealed in a comparative manner. In addition, the relationship between the concept of telepresence and the experiential learning theory has been investigated. Applications of different armies using VR technology in the military field were scanned, examined and reported. The research findings show that the relationship between VR technology and the experiential learning theory, gives the predicted results in military applications. It points out that simulations and

Present and anticipated military missions require highly trained and capable military personnel. Military personnel have to be well prepared to effectively and efficiently use state-of-the-art technology under highly complex battlefield conditions. A number of factors are influencing training policies, procedures and technologies. An important factor is the need for units to deploy. This places them in locations where they do not have the facilities and infrastructure needed to optimally plan and rehearse complex missions. Recent advances in computer and display technologies make embedding training and embedded virtual simulation in highly mobile military hardware both practical and effective. Embedded training is a well-known concept, which tightly integrates training functionality into operational equipment. It allows military personnel to train and rehearse while deployed to an operational area. Embedding training allows skills to be maintained and developed close to the battlefi...

Background. In recent years, major changes occurred in the nature of military conflicts. Those changes defined a need for the development of new combat vehicles that are smaller, faster, more lethal and more survivable. Such vehicles should be able to achieve the same operational goals with lower costs in equipment and personnel. Goal. The Future Combat Vehicle (FCV) program contains the development of a lighter armored vehicle that will be operated by two operators, a commander and a warrior. Operators will be seated side-by-side in the hull with closed hatches. They will perceive the Surrounding environment through various electronic devices, and control the vehicle with integrated, hands-on controls. This new concept raises challenges for designers, especially in two domains: (1) maintaining the required level of combat task performance despite reducing team size from four to two warriors, and (2) maintaining situation awareness while operating from a closed vehicle without any direct view of the outside world. Method. The vehicle design process included various technical, operational and human factors aspects, including (a) operational concept, (b) technical design, (c) maintenance approach, (d) specifying Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTPs), and (e) task analysis and user interface design for the experimental phases. The IDF ARMY BattleLab conceptualized the operating concept, proposed TTPs and various technologies that should support the two operators of the vehicle. Two experiments were performed. In the first experiment each vehicle operated independently, whereas, in the second they operated as a two-vehicle platoon. Results. Initial results show that the new operating concept enabled the reduction of team size without negatively impacting overall performance in a single vehicle; however, some decrease was found in operators' situation awareness and performance when the tank commander had to command a platoon from FCV as compared to a traditional tank.

Immersive military training simulators have been available for over thirty years; but, most of these training simulators have been targeted at training forces on vehicle operations and missions (e.g., flight simulators). These simulators typically use a combination of physical devices, such as cockpits or cabins, with some large display, such as a dome or a tiled wall, to present the scenario to the trainees. However, the use of similar setups for the training of dismounted Soldiers has not yet been widely deployed. This is primarily due to the fact that in a vehicle simulator the trainee is stationary with respect to the physical mock-up, while for a dismounted Soldier the simulator must provide the means for the Soldier to physically move in the virtual space. Furthermore, the simulator must also provide the ability for the Soldiers to experience the physical exertion of the exercise. An additional level of complexity when developing immersive simulators for dismounted Soldiers is the creation of complex scenarios. The level of detail and fidelity is significantly more demanding than those for vehicle simulations as well as the wide variety of scenarios within the same area that the Soldiers need to be trained on.

I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand. Confucius 1. SUMMARY Vision. Just as flight simulators enable pilots to safely practice responses to emergencies, the challenge now is to develop virtual environment technology for the training together of small teams on foot-military squads, Coast Guard boarding parties, police, EMTs, emergency room trauma teams, hazmat teams, etc. Such training allows repeated, varied practice. The goal is you are there; you learn by doing with feedback; you jell as a team by doing together. First, we must clearly envision what is wanted. This we will call the Immersive Team Trainer (ITT).