Introduction to Innovative Military Technology
The U.S. Army is leveraging gaming environments to boost the event of turret systems for armored and tactical vehicles. Soldiers are working alongside engineers on the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Armaments Center at Picatinny Arsenal to enhance lethality, survivability, and situational awareness for gunners.
The Role of the Armaments Center
The Armaments Center at Picatinny leads the event of turret systems, performing in-house designs, engineering evaluation, and prototype fabrication. Recent developments include the Objective Commander’s Weapon Station (OCWS) for the brand new Armored Multipurpose Vehicle (AMPV), which provides protection and firepower to the AMPV commander.
The Challenge of Prototyping
When designing recent gunner protection kits (GPKs), similar to the OCWS, constructing prototypes early on for evaluation with users is crucial. However, physical prototypes take time to fabricate and could be costly. To address this challenge, engineers at Picatinny have adopted a more modern approach to visualizing their designs using virtual and augmented reality tools.
Virtual and Augmented Reality in Military Evaluation
The integration of virtual reality (VR) testbeds in military evaluation provides an economical and controlled technique of assessing Soldier-in-the-loop system performance, user behavior, and decision-making under simulated combat conditions. The testbeds provide a mixed reality experience, allowing users to see their real-world hands controlling a physical mock weapon to interact virtual targets in a simulation environment.
The Tactical Behavior Research Laboratory (TBRL)
Armaments Center engineers on the TBRL, in collaboration with the Gaming, Interactive Technologies, and Multimedia (GITM) branch, developed a sensible, full-scale, virtual, and augmented reality simulation environment for the next-generation of GPKs. This environment significantly enhances the operational evaluation of turret designs.
Testing and Evaluation
With the help of Soldiers, engineers on the Armaments Center’s TBRL conducted a study collecting and analyzing data on Soldier immersion, physiological stress responses, and performance outcomes across two VR testbeds. The study involved 26 Soldiers who provided feedback on realism and validity, in addition to improvements to future interactions of the testbeds.
Key Findings
The results indicate that the Octagon system elicited higher stress levels and improved situational awareness in comparison with the VR headset, while the headset facilitated greater engagement and lethality. These findings suggest that an optimal testbed would integrate elements from each VR approaches to boost realism, immersion, and stress induction.
Real-World Applications
The OCWS turret was trimmed down significantly from its initial configuration following virtual and physical prototype evaluations. The armored side partitions were optimized to cut back weight and material usage, while additional transparent armor windows were included on the request of soldiers to boost situational awareness. The OCWS is currently in full-rate production for all five variants of the AMPV and is being fielded to units in Fort Stewart, GA.
Conclusion
The use of gaming environments and virtual reality technology is revolutionizing the event of military equipment, allowing for more efficient and effective testing and evaluation. The collaboration between Soldiers and engineers on the Armaments Center is enhancing the event of turret systems, ultimately improving lethality, survivability, and situational awareness for gunners. As the military continues to speculate in modern technologies, we are able to expect to see much more advanced and effective equipment being developed to support our troops.
