Simulated warfare gets real for ground troops.

• Author: Tadjdeh, Yasmin

At a test range on the southern edge of Marine Corps Base Quantico, troops prepared for battle. Helicopters flew overhead, tanks roamed the field and the echoes of artillery fire could be heard. These threats, however, were simulated.

The Office of Naval Research organized exercise, which took place in early August, used augmented reality--a method of overlaying simulated images onto the real world, usually through goggles or a tablet--to create a comprehensive training environment. It represents a growing trend in the Army and Marine Corps as they look to shed some costs associated with expensive live exercises, experts said.

Using ONR's augmented immersive team trainer (AITT) system, Marines enrolled in the infantry officer course at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, tested the system that comprises a laptop, software, battery pack and helmetmounted display, said Peter Squire, a program officer with ONR's expeditionary maneuver warfare and combating terrorism department and lead for the AITT program.

"Instead of just having their imagination to visualize what may be occurring there, they can now use simulation and actually see events and effects occurring on top of the real environment," he said.

AITT is loaded with a variety of scenarios, and in this case, simulated live-fire training, he said. The system is part of ONR's future naval capabilities science and technology program that identifies sailors' or Marines' capability gaps. AITT addresses a gap known as the "squad immersive training environment."

During the demonstration, ONR researchers monitored the students for immediate feedback such as whether any of them became ill from motion sickness or if the brightness of the simulated images was at an appropriate level.

ONR also hosted another demonstration at Quantico in October. It was larger in scale than the previous exercise and included officials from the Army.

With both exercises considered successes, the AITT system will soon be handed off to the Marine Corps for additional research, development, testing and evaluation, Squire said.

While AITT is the only funded augmented reality effort at the office, Squire said there are plans for future research.

Augmented reality is "a priority for me," he said. "Really in order for a Marine... to train, they need to go be out in the real environment, and in order to support that from simulation you need augmented reality."

Atul Patel, director of advanced technology for Lockheed...