Army Researchers Explore Benefits of Immersive Technology for Soldiers

The emergence of next generation virtual and augmented reality devices like the Oculus Rift and Microsoft HoloLens has increased interest in using mixed reality to simulate training, enhance command and control, and improve the effectiveness of warfighters on the battlefield.
It is thought that putting mission relevant battlefield data, such as satellite imagery or body-worn sensor information, into an immersive environment will allow warfighters to retrieve, collaborate and make decisions more effectively than traditional methods.
However, there is currently little evidence in the scientific literature that using immersive technology provides any measurable benefits, such as increased task engagement or improved decision accuracy.
There are also limited metrics that can be used to assess these benefits across display devices and tasks.
Researchers at RDECOM’s Army Research Laboratory, the Army’s corporate research laboratory (ARL), in collaboration with the University of Minnesota and the U.S. Army’s Institute for Creative Technologies at the University of Southern California, have set out to change this.
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