BYLINE: Keith Brawner, PhD, Program Manager, ICT; Senior Scientist/Engineer, US Army DEVCOM Soldier Center
AI-generated artwork iterated by Dr. Keith Brawner using MidJourney* w/prompt: military magical runes, virtual reality, holodeck for the military, military technology, magical, futurism aura, partially robotic runes, magical orange and yellow light swirls around the floating HMD, military manipulation of technology magic star trek ::1 wizardry holodeck with daedric magical futurism world, magical orange and yellow light swirls around the floating HMD, military manipulation of technology magic star trek ::1
Dr. Keith Brawner is the Program Manager of the Institute for Creative Technologies University Affiliated Research Center (ICT UARC) for the Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, as managed by the US Army DEVCOM Soldier Center, where he is also the lead for AI initiatives. In this essay Dr. Brawner dispels the myth that technology advancements are “magic” (or emerge from mythical garages in Silicon Valley or other tech-park environs) but, instead, have deep research backstories, many within Department of Defense sponsored UARCs such as, well, ICT.
In his book Profiles of the Future: An Inquiry Into the Limits of the Possible (Victor Gollancz Ltd, 1962), Arthur C. Clarke wrote Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. This quote is a fascinating concept, and one that has captivated the imagination of scientists, philosophers, and the general public alike. However, innovations we marvel at today are, in fact, the culmination of human ingenuity, perseverance, and collaboration.
Consider, for instance, Apple Vision Pro; Microsoft’s deliverable under the Army’s Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS); or Meta’s Quest VR headset range, which has been referred to as a “magic hat” that can transport us to any time and place. But, as we delve deeper, we find that this technology is not the result of magical incantations, supernatural interventions, or even inevitable technological progress. Rather, it is the product of meticulous research, development, and refinement, often building upon the foundation laid by earlier pioneers.
So, to update, Arthur C. Clarke’s quote in my own words: Sufficiently advanced technology isn’t magic. Technology comes from somewhere.
SIRI
One of my favorite examples to tell is the story of Siri, the intelligent personal assistant from Apple.
While the company’s marketing campaigns may have created the illusion of magic, the reality is Apple acquired Siri’s natural language technologies for $200 million in 2010, from Siri, Inc., a spin-off from SRI International (Stanford Research Institute). SRI International had, in turn, developed these technologies with funding from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Personalized Assistant that Learns (PAL) program since the early 2000s.
This narrative underscores the fact that even the most advanced technologies have a pedigree, a lineage that can be traced back to the contributions of both individuals and organizations; technology comes from somewhere.
In the case of Siri – at least a decade of academic research, funded primarily by defense agencies.
OCULUS RIFT
There are many other examples of highly-celebrated “sufficiently advanced technologies” which were, on closer inspection, developed by defense-funded academia-based research.
And yet those companies portray their acquisitions as “magic” because, well, that works as a branding strategy.
Here’s another fascinating example: the metamorphosis of Facebook into Meta, with its rebranded logo in the shape of an “infinity headset” and newfound focus on virtual reality, and the rebranding of the Oculus VR as the MetaVR.
In March 2014, America’s sixth largest company by market capitalization acquired Oculus Rift, a leader in immersive virtual reality technology, for a staggering $2 billion, marking a significant turning point in the company and the industry itself.
However, as we examine the history of (what was then known as) Oculus Rift, we find that its CEO, Palmer Luckey, had previously raised capital via Kickstarter. The platform did not originate inside Meta. Moreover, Luckey had demonstrated the technology to John Carmack, the legendary creator of Doom and Quake, who then did the first demo of Oculus at E3 in 2012. Carmack soon signed on as CTO of Oculus. Let us not forget the importance of collaboration, innovation, and strategic partnerships in driving technological advancements; the technology comes from somewhere.
But let’s go further back, shall we? The story of Oculus Rift is deeply intertwined with the work of the University of Southern California Institute for Creative Technologies (ICT), a Department of Defense (DoD) University Affiliated Research Center (UARC) run by the Simulation and Training Technology Center in Orlando, Florida. The ICT’s Mixed Reality (MxR) Lab, under the direction of Mark Bolas, formerly a senior advisor to the military’s IVAS program, had been conducting research to advance the state of the art in virtual reality. It was in this context that Palmer Luckey, working in the MxR Lab as a lab technician at the time, realized the commercial potential of low-cost virtual reality headsets and went on to found Oculus Rift in 2012.
As I said before, “sufficiently advanced technology” isn’t magic, it comes from somewhere.
INSTITUTE FOR CREATIVE TECHNOLOGIES
ICT’s work, in turn, was built upon a foundation of research funded by the US Military, which had been exploring the applications of virtual reality in various domains, from maintenance training to immersion and realism, and even therapy. Mark was directing at the MxR after he had been recruited for his terrific work involving the Wide5 head-mounted display (HMD) that he built with his partner Ian McDowell, at their company, Fakespace Labs… with funding from the DoD’s Office of Naval Research. It was in this context that Dr. Jim Blake, the US Army’s Program Executive Officer for Simulation, Training, and Instrumentation visited the Mixed Reality Lab in early 2011, he recognized 3D visualization capabilities as “the holy grail” of VR, but warned that unless ICT could figure out how to exponentially reduce the cost, immersive technology would die on the vine. He tasked Mark and the lab with the mission of “disrupting the supply chain” under ICTs STTC-managed funding.
And indeed they did! The confluence of funding sources across the STTC and the ICT’s innovative research efforts ultimately led to the development of low-cost headsets, such as the foam core headsets that won the 2012 IEEE Virtual Reality Best Demonstration award, which later inspired the launch of Google Cardboard in 2014. Mark then served as senior advisor to the Army’s IVAS program.
Technology Comes From Somewhere
The story of the Army and its Dismounted Soldier technologies, intertwined with the ICT and its Mixed Reality Lab, intertwined with the Oculus Rift and its Oculus headset, and Facebook-now-Meta and its Meta VR, and the military needs serves as a testament to the power of human innovation, collaboration, and perseverance in shaping the technological landscape.
The anticipated growth of the virtual reality industry, projected to reach $400 billion by 2030, is a direct result of the cumulative efforts of researchers, developers, and entrepreneurs who have worked tirelessly to advance the state of the art.
Sufficiently advanced technology isn’t magic. The true magic is in the innovation of that technology, and that technology comes from somewhere – often a research laboratory funded by the Department of Defense, like ICT.
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FURTHER READING: The Unique Nature of ICT by Dr. Keith Brawner