Virtual-reality training plunges soldiers headlong into combat

Colleagues,

As reported in Defense Systems ...A new high-tech, helmet-mounted training system measures heart rate, pumps out smells and releases an electrical jolt when a soldier virtually dies. It might sound like a video game, but this is military-grade virtual reality, and it aims to save lives by priming service members scheduled for deployment to make sound decisions when they come under fire in combat....

...The Future Immersive Training Environment (FITE) was developed by the Joint Forces Command (JFCOM) in coordination with the military services and a team of cognitive psychologists and human behaviorists to incorporate biofeedback into the system...

... During system testing at military installations such as Camp Lejeune, N.C., supervisors have been able to monitor how immersed, excited or stressed a soldier or Marine equipped with multiple sensors on helmets, knees and weapons becomes...

... “We want to focus on how young men, ages 18 to 24, think in complex environments," said Jay Reist, FITE operational manager at JFCOM. "Through this virtual experience, we can engage that and prepare them for deployments. We want their first firefight to be no worse than their last
simulation."...

... The helmet-worn system toggles through a virtual world that features the smells, sounds and imagery of war, in addition to a shock device — all designed to realistically simulate the terrain of the southwest Asia theater of operations...

MedTech-IQ Commentary: Imagine how this might be used in medical training?

Read on at: http://defensesystems.com/articles/2010/06/07/defense-it-3-virtual-...

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