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The great extra capacity that IVAS brings to the table is its augmented reality functionality. This means that additional data can be projected onto the visor, such as map information and waypoints, locations of potential enemy forces or innocent bystanders, etc. The way IVAS is designed, this type of symbology could be presented in a way that appears more directly overlaid on the object in question, such as a building or other feature of the terrain, rather than just an icon on a flat screen.
“The system also takes advantage of augmented reality and machine learning to create a realistic mixed reality training environment so that the CCF can rehearse before engaging opponents,” the military noted in its release. hurry. What the service is talking about here is developing capabilities so that simulated adversaries and other objects, including vehicles or buildings, can be virtually inserted into actual training exercises. It’s an ability that a company called Red 6 is also developing for air combat training, as you can read more about in these past stories.
Augmented reality training promises to be able to conduct larger-scale exercises involving a wider range of enemy capabilities without having to physically simulate all aspects of an exercise. This, in turn, presents potential cost savings and opens up the possibility of using less robust facilities for more complicated training.
It could also help simplify more complex training exercises involving ground and air personnel. Dan Robinson of Red 6 explained this potential use of distributed augmented reality to aid in training, as well as in operational contexts, to The war zone in an interview last year, saying:
Let me give you an example, if there’s a special forces guy on the ground calling for an attack on, say, a tank, or a farm, or something like that, and that’s a scenario training, well, wouldn’t it be great if this tank was synthetically generated and the guy on the ground is in our AR system, talking to the individual on his plane that’s about to drop a smart bomb on this tank or something? Wouldn’t it be great if they could see the same common picture in the augmented world? And we call it the Augmented Joint Battlespace because you’re absolutely right. We solve, probably the most complex challenge of all, because planes flying at several hundred kilometers per hour in three dimensions, well, if we solved it for that, we certainly solved it for a tank. , a boat. , anything on the ground. The ability to connect these individuals together is something that represents a truly exciting and massive market opportunity. And it does not stop there. I touched on this a little earlier because I think that while there are massive training applications for this, there are also massive operational applications thanks to this technology.
Let me give you an example of the guys and girls on the ground fighting for their lives trying to bring in close air support. For the individual in the cockpit who’s about to press that button, it’s a tremendous amount of stress, especially if he’s in some sort of near-danger scenario where there are troops. in touch. You want to make sure you are doing this correctly. So we all just used the traditional “nine line” to call in close air support, and stuff like that. What if we were connected in an augmented world? And we could paint clearly demarcated targets, baddies and goodies through any visuals you want to use. It would remove the ambiguity, it would massively shorten the chain of destruction and it would absolutely save lives, and there are multiple applications that we could think of and discuss, but I think there are also huge operational aspects to this. technology.
It is not immediately clear when the military, along with the US Marine Corps and elements of US Special Operations Command, could expect to achieve initial operational capability with the IVAS system. The service says there are still tests and evaluations to be done even after the signing of this new contract. Future budgets could also have an impact on the project. In particular, Congress slashed research and development for IVAS by $ 230 million under the National Defense Authorize Act (NDAA), which was passed and enacted earlier this year.
It’s also worth noting that Microsoft has faced some controversy for this work in the past. In 2019, employees sent a letter to company executives requesting a halt to work on the project due to criticism of helping make war a “video game” and helping the U.S. military to “Increase lethality”.
Yet the military’s ability to switch over the span of about two years from the CS1 version of the system to the much more recent, much better model it has been using in experiments for months is already showing considerable progress. have already been accomplished to make this potentially revolutionary capability a reality.
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