Virtual Reality in Military Training

VR for Military Training 

With the nation’s security in its hands, military training emphasizes discipline, risk management, coordination, and teamwork, all very important to prepare individuals to perform physically and mentally in demanding situations with the highest levels of proficiency. The military has also been one that always keeps an eye out for the latest technologies making their way into the digital landscape. The industry is keen on investing heavily in modern technologies that can increase the skills and proficiency of military personnel effectively and efficiently. 

With technologies like AR, VR, and AI making their presence felt in recent times, the military sector has always made VR an integral part of its journey. Believe it or not, the ideas of VR in military training can be traced back up to the beginning of the 20th century, and the defense industry has played a significant role in the advancement of VR. One of the first VR projects is also defense-based, and it was developed for a US military combat system in the 1960s. VR has since tried to be one of the best digital training solutions for the military, and all the services, i.e., the Army, Navy, and Air Force, have equally adopted it. VR has also been on the list of key technologies that the US Department of Defense employs in the 21st century.

What is VR?

Virtual Reality, fondly known as VR, comes under the broader category of Extended Reality (XR) technologies, which includes AR, VR, MR, Metaverse, and Digital Twin. VR is the technology that enables users to immerse themselves in a computer-generated immersive or digital environment and interact with it in real-time. The users are removed from their physical space and are immersed in a simulated artificial environment where they can interact with the objects in real-time just as one does in real life. Often VR technology is used interchangeably with its XR counterparts AR and MR. The main distinction between AR, MR, and VR is that Augmented Reality (AR) adds interactive elements like texts, images, videos, and other digital content onto the physical space, not removing the user completely from their real environment but bringing the interactive experience to theirs. Mixed Reality (MR), on the other hand, combines both the features of AR and VR, such as overlaying the digital elements while also enabling interaction with the virtual elements. 

Let’s explore how VR is impacting military training. 

• Vehicle Simulations

Car driving simulations are already in place and are extensively used to teach and learn driving. From training laymen on riding cars to simulating race-world situations as practice exercises for rally drivers, vehicle simulators are used extensively. This same concept has also been adopted to train military personnel by creating a military-type ground vehicle simulator and mimicking the scenarios in which this vehicle could be used, such as its maneuverability on various terrains and behavior in different weather conditions. Also, the shape and feel of the vehicle are recreated by modeling the entire simulator similar to that of the specific vehicle to get the ultimate experience. Pilots can be trained in take-offs, landings, emergency procedures, and more using simulators. VR allows the trainees to train any number of times without the aid of an instructor, which cannot be possible in real life, and also enables the trainees to learn about different aircraft that the particular military location may not even have. 

It is also possible to simulate different vehicle types and assign different roles to the soldiers, like the simulation could be done by one or many soldiers, and they could be a driver, a gunner, or even a hostage. 

• Design, Optimization, and Maintenance of Defense Equipment

A lot of defense equipment is intensive, and designing, optimizing, and maintenance of these equipment can be a heavy task. And, in most cases, a lot of these equipment are used in conditions that the engineers might never have envisaged in their minds. In such cases, VR is the perfect tool to conceive and optimize military equipment. For example, some vehicles may end up being used in totally different climatic or environmental conditions. In any case, if the end users notice what parts are showing excessive wear, the information can travel back to the design teams so that the next designed model (or just the fixing parts) will be better for complex electromechanical systems, such as aircraft, spacecraft, ships, etc. 

• Weapon Manufacturing  

VR has changed the way we design products, whether from a conception or a testing standpoint. It is a powerful tool for industries embracing Industry 4.0, like the defense industry. In weapon development, VR can help engineers test the design in virtual worlds and/or with motion-tracking and operate the weapons for haptic feed to get the realistic feel. They can also gather the tactical and technical performance data. By doing so, they can enhance and speed up the weapon design process. 

• Boot Camp Experience

The gaming industry has had military games for so long that VR didn’t take so long to bring this into the platform, and this in turn has been responsible for creating a training experience for soldiers. This gaming trend has now been adopted into military training, and the current generation of soldiers is quick to transition as they have grown playing these games.

A number of VR-occupied military training bases and facilities have started to show up today, and combatants as well as civilians can experience this training. These camps use all kinds of advanced devices and VR systems, including CAVE systems, motion trackers, and real-to-life equipment like vests and guns, to simulate diverse training scenarios. 

It’s not cheap to set up these facilities, but it has been cost-efficient, as soldiers can quickly change their training type within a relatively small area. However, the best option would be to combine VR with physical training such as exercises where the benefit of both virtual and real-life experience can be maximized. 

• Medical Training

Unlike civilian doctors, military medical professionals have to often work in stressful and dangerous environments, putting their lives in danger. Before VR, it was practically impossible to simulate a real-world war situation to create a stressed and dangerous environment similar to what these soldiers are supposed to encounter. But now, you can recreate close-to-combat scenarios in virtual reality to simulate life-saving operations.

A similar work has been done by a team of researchers in the UK by simulating the interior of a Chinook helicopter. Here, a trainee is asked to join inside the helicopter with a prosthetic body lying on the floor and a VR headset, which lets him immerse himself into a real war-like-zone environment of a military evacuation scenario. 

Backed by the sounds of helicopters and gunshots, this VR setup allows medical professionals to practice various skills under very stressful conditions.

• Stress Inoculation 

Inside the VR, a platform is created where environmental stressors can be adjusted based on real-time stress indicators to provide optimized training for controlling stress levels. Psychological (subjective stress, task engagement, distress, worry, anxiety, and workload) and physiological (heart rate, heart rate variability, blood pressure, and electrodermal activity) responses are measured during this training exercise.

The integration of real-time personalized stress exposure within a VR-based military training program not only prepares individuals for high-stress situations by preemptively mitigating stress but also customizes stressor levels to the crew member’s current state, thus enhancing resilience to future stressful situations.

This training exercise could potentially reduce a soldier’s heartbeat in dangerous situations so as to remain calm and strengthen their mind to avoid worry and anxiety.

Conclusion

With VR technology evolving day by day and new VR headsets hitting the market like hot bread, the impact that VR will have on the future of military training is going to be huge. The military is also constantly seeking to add new solutions to its portfolio to enhance training and equip its troops, giving VR a stronghold in the sector. VR’s ability to train military troupes in diverse varieties of life-like situations in a controlled environment, greatly reducing the risks associated with training, and the flexibility to train anytime and anywhere for any situation without any need to travel is another added advantage that VR can offer in military training. Also, by engaging the recruits in the military, VR is sowing seeds that resonate with the new-age recruits as well. As we move forward, we can see how many new solutions will grace the military sector.