Military

This DailyMail article reports the Ministry of Defence unveiled its latest piece of equipment, a parachute jump simulator, which is designed to bridge the gap between dry training and live jumps. From the article: "State-of-the-art technology costing £500,000 is helping parachute troops leap into the virtual world.

The Ministry of Defence today unveiled its latest piece of equipment, which is designed to bridge the gap between dry training and live jumps.

The 'pivotal piece of equipment' will help members of the Armed Forces master the art of parachute jumping by showing them exactly what it is like lining up in the back of the plane, jumping out and landing safely.

This Los Angeles Times article looks briefly at the projects of the USC’s Institute for Creative Technologies. Here's an overview video. From the article: "Computer-simulated battlefields, three-dimensional video teleconferencing and sprawling virtual worlds are just a few of the tools being developed at USC’s Institute for Creative Technologies.

The cutting-edge research institute, known as ICT, recently opened a facility in Playa Vista where it develops virtual environments used to train U.S. military personnel.

From this Science Daily article: "A researcher at the University of Granada has designed a new system for the mobility of military troops within a battlefield based on the mechanisms used by ant colonies to move using a commercial video game.

This work, developed at the department of Computer Architecture and Technology of the UGR, has designed several algorithms that permit to look for the best route path (this is, to find the better route to satisfy certain criteria) within a particular environment.

This Dayton Daily News article talks about the Virtual Army Experience at the 2009 Vectren Dayton Air Show. From the article: "The Virtual Army Experience was one of the most popular attractions at the air show this year. After all, the huge grey tent holding nearly 20,000 square feet of virtual reality entertainment was hard to miss.

The attraction launched in 2007, said Public Relations manager Amy Lindstrom, and this is the second time it has been featured at the Vectren Dayton Air Show.

ZEN TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED (ZEN), incorporated in 1993, is a pioneer in the design, development and manufacture of world class, state-of-the-art training simulators. Our mission is to provide to our customers, the highest level of products and services in our areas of expertise. ZEN is an ISO 9001:2000 (QMS) and ISO/IEC 27001:2005 (ISMS) Certified Company.

ZEN has been at the forefront of applying new technologies and developing new products and is actively involved in indigenization of technologies, which are helpful for Indian security forces. ZEN was the first company in India to commercialize PC-based visual simulation technology for small arms training simulators.

This Northlands Newscenter article reports a controversy is brewing over the army combat simulator which will be showcased at the Duluth Air Show. From the article: "The Duluth Air Show doesn't start until next Saturday, but controversy surrounding the event has already taken flight.

It involves a realistic combat simulator used by military recruiters that will be showcased at the Airshow. As Joel Runck explains, the U-S Army is taking the world of virtual reality to a whole new level.

"It's not the same as plopping a couple quarters into a game," said David Boe, Duluth Air and Aviation Expo, public relations director.

It's called the Virtual Army Experience. According to the U-S Army, the technology creates a life-sized combat zone.

From Positive Technology Journal:
"Virtual reality exposure therapy using a virtual Iraq: Case report."
J Trauma Stress. 2008 Apr 10;21(2):209-213
Authors: Gerardi M, Rothbaum BO, Ressler K, Heekin M, Rizzo A

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been estimated to affect up to 18% of returning Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) veterans. Soldiers need to maintain constant vigilance to deal with unpredictable threats, and an unprecedented number of soldiers are surviving serious wounds. These risk factors are significant for development of PTSD; therefore, early and efficient intervention options must be identified and presented in a form acceptable to military personnel. This case report presents the results of treatment utilizing virtual reality exposure (VRE) therapy (virtual Iraq) to treat an OIF veteran with PTSD. Following brief VRE treatment, the veteran demonstrated improvement in PTSD symptoms as indicated by clinically and statistically significant changes in scores on the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS; Blake et al., 1990) and the PTSD Symptom Scale Self-Report (PSS-SR; Foa, Riggs, Dancu, & Rothbaum, 1993). These results indicate preliminary promise for this treatment."

This press release reports the U.S. Marine Corps has selected Rockwell Collins to provide more than 3,000 ParaNav units, a helmet-mounted navigation system for parachutists. From the press release: "araNav is a personal, GPS-based, flight management system with an integrated head-up display. It provides parachutists with accurate navigation capabilities and enhanced situational awareness, allowing them to fly to their designated landing zones. The system also allows the parachutist to divert to alternate sites with the same level of accuracy.

This CNNMoney.com press release reports VirTra Systems announced delivery of the first ten small arms training simulators of a 24-system order from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). From the press release: "he ten small arms training simulators delivered are part of a larger 24-system sale to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) totaling nearly one million dollars. The full-featured use-of-force/marksmanship IVR(R) simulators are manufactured by VirTra Systems and marketed through Ti Training Corp under the trade name Training Lab(TM).

Major General Dalby commented, "Our sales partner, Ti Training Corp, has continued to win important business with many domestic law enforcement customers bolstering VirTra Systems' growing sales volume.

This press release reports VirTra Systems will be demonstrating the most technologically advanced dismounted infantry simulator yet developed at this year's Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation & Education Conference (I/ITSEC), in Orlando, Florida.

VirTra Systems, in conjunction with Christie, EON Reality, Inc., and InterSense, Inc., has developed advanced tactile infantry training simulation technology, using high-quality head tracking, allowing interaction in real-time with dismounted infantry warfare content.