{"id":1015,"date":"2019-12-13T03:20:18","date_gmt":"2019-12-13T03:20:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.danielparente.net\/en\/2019\/12\/13\/whats-the-point-of-virtual-training-if-it-doesnt-feel-real-the-us-army-is-tackling-the-problem\/"},"modified":"2019-12-13T03:20:18","modified_gmt":"2019-12-13T03:20:18","slug":"whats-the-point-of-virtual-training-if-it-doesnt-feel-real-the-us-army-is-tackling-the-problem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.danielparente.net\/en\/2019\/12\/13\/whats-the-point-of-virtual-training-if-it-doesnt-feel-real-the-us-army-is-tackling-the-problem\/","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s the point of virtual training if it doesn\u2019t feel real? The US Army is tackling the problem"},"content":{"rendered":"

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WASHINGTON \u2014 The U.S. Army is driving realism<\/a> into virtual training<\/a> to enhance effectiveness, but it\u2019s not an easy task \u2014 even for the gaming industry.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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One of the challenges the service is facing as it embarks on developing a Synthetic Training Environment is \u201cproviding a realistic and immersive virtual training experience\u201d that portrays \u201ccomputer-generated people and objects behind real things and doing so in real time from multiple perspectives as actors and objects move around in the environment,\u201d according to an Army statement released ahead of the Interservice\/ Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference in Orlando, Florida.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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This \u201cconundrum,\u201d as the Army puts it, is improving \u201cdynamic occlusion,\u201d and the service is working with industry and academia to solve the issue.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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The Army has been building a virtual world in which to train soldiers for war, and it awarded major contracts this year <\/a>for reconfigurable virtual air and ground trainers as well as for a common synthetic environment that includes complex and real-life terrain.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Over the last two years, the components of the Synthetic Training Environment, or STE, have taken shape and will consist of One World Terrain \u2014 which compiles realistic and accurate virtual maps of territory \u2014 as well as training simulation software, a training management tool and virtual collective trainers. All of this will make up the soldier\/squad virtual trainer and the reconfigurable virtual collective trainer.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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The dynamic occlusion issue is one with which video gamers are well-acquainted. \u201cWhen virtual projections within a player\u2019s view of the world are not layered appropriately with real-world objects, the experience feels unnatural,\u201d which is an undesirable attribute for a realistic training experience, the statement noted.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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To achieve realism, the system must be able to sense dynamic changes to the mission environment, updating 3D terrain pictures \u2014 or meshes \u2014 in real time.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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