US Army Turns to Hollywood to Prepare Soldiers for Deployment

ICT FlatWorld Simulation(click to view larger) A decade ago, the US Army turned to the University of Southern California, the gaming industry, and Hollywood to develop virtual reality systems to simulate the battlefield situations and cultural interactions that soldiers would face in deploying overseas. The result was the establishment of the Institute for Creative Technologies (ICF). The institute uses technologies in artificial intelligence, graphics, and immersion to create interactive simulations that help soldiers not only see the training situation but also interact with virtual soldiers, insurgents, and civilians. To continue that work, the Army awarded the institute a $78.5 million, 7-year indefinite delivery/ indefinite quantity contract… Under the contract, ICF will continue its research on advanced modeling and simulation, capitalizing on research and development in disciplines within the entertainment industry. The research results are being transferred for implementation into prototypes of systems to be used by the current and future US military force. The institute has already developed dozens of soldier training tools. For example, the FlatWorld Wide Area Mixed Reality demonstration is a 3-D gaming environment that melds concepts of stagecraft from Hollywood, including real-world props, with projection screens, to make a virtual world soldiers can move around in […]