Virtual reality for defence less about ‘reality’ than results
However, the need for realism has different connotations for the defence customer than for the average consumer. Experts say high-end graphics are in less demand than true operational outcome. But despite this key difference, the defence world is relying heavily on the entertainment industry to advance its leading solutions.
“Because we use commercial gaming technology, we can exploit the investments that industry has made,” says Simon Luck, head of systems and information assurance at BMT Defence Services (BMT).
Engage has been used to immerse users into an environment of explosive ordnance disposal in order to familiarise them with the right controls and procedures for that environment.
The company’s latest effort is the QEC Walkthrough, a virtual guide to the Royal Navy’s brand new Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier. With 3,000 compartments, this gigantic platform requires those stationed inside it to have a deep, working knowledge of how to navigate their way around. As users can form a working knowledge of the quickest escape routes and emergency operating procedures that would be costly to attempt to perform on the real vessel, the program is touted as a major benefit to mariner safety.
“The most important part of the design is determining what the training objectives are, what the users’ roles are, and what the outcomes need to be. We develop simulation around that.”
“So the end product doesn’t have to be identical to the real world. Much of it comes back to the experience and engagement of the provider. If we understand the customer and can deliver enough that they meet their goals, when it comes down to it, that’s all that matters.”
Meanwhile, QinetiQ is also embracing the incremental developments of consumer technology – including the recent elimination of ‘simulation sickness’ – as a means of expanding the overall scale of its offering.
See the full story here: https://www.defenceiq.com/news/virtual-reality-for-defence-less-about-reality