{"id":38069,"date":"2020-11-09T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-11-09T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2020\/11\/09\/mixed-reality-systems-can-bring-soldier-feedback-into-development-earlier-than-ever-before-heres-how-the-us-army-is-using-it\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T18:30:49","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T18:30:49","slug":"mixed-reality-systems-can-bring-soldier-feedback-into-development-earlier-than-ever-before-heres-how-the-us-army-is-using-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/training-sim\/2020\/11\/09\/mixed-reality-systems-can-bring-soldier-feedback-into-development-earlier-than-ever-before-heres-how-the-us-army-is-using-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Mixed-reality systems can bring soldier feedback into development earlier than ever before. Here\u2019s how the US Army is using it."},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. \u2014 The U.S. Army\u2019s Combat Capabilities Development Command has made clear it wants to introduce soldier feedback earlier in the design process, ensuring that new technologies are meeting users&#8217; needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWithin the CCDC, the need to get soldier feedback, to make sure that we\u2019re building the appropriate technologies and actually getting after the users&#8217; needs is critical,\u201d said Richard Nabors, acting principal deputy for systems and modeling at the command\u2019s C5ISR Center (Command, Control, Computers, Communications, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance).<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/artificial-intelligence\/2020\/09\/25\/the-army-just-conducted-a-massive-test-of-its-battlefield-artificial-intelligence-in-the-desert\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/6358213.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Inside the Army\u2019s futuristic test of its battlefield artificial intelligence in the desert<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">At Project Convergence, U.S. Army Futures Command tested a number of emerging AI capabilities, including Prometheus, Dead Center,  FIRESTORM and more.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere\u2019s a concerted effort within the C5ISR Center to do more prototyping not just at the final system level &#8230; but to do it at the component level before the system of systems is put together,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But how can the service accomplish that with systems still in development?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One answer: virtual reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Army\u2019s CCDC is testing this approach with its new artificial intelligence-powered tank concept:<a href=\"https:\/\/www.c4isrnet.com\/artificial-intelligence\/2020\/10\/29\/how-the-army-plans-to-revolutionize-tanks-with-artificial-intelligence\/\" target=_blank> the Advanced Targeting and Lethality Aided System, or ATLAS<\/a>. While tank operations are almost entirely manual affairs, ATLAS aims to automate the threat detection and targeting components of a gunner\u2019s job, greatly increasing the speed of end-to-end engagements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Using machine-learning algorithms and a mounted infrared sensor, ATLAS automatically detects threats and sends targeting solutions to a touch-screen display operated by the gunner. By touching an image of the target, ATLAS automatically slews the tank\u2019s gun to the threat and recommends the appropriate ammunition and response type. If everything appears correct, the gunner can simply pull the trigger to fire at the threat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The process takes just seconds, and the gunner can immediately move on to the next threat by touching the next target on the display.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">ATLAS could revolutionize the way tank crews operate \u2014 at least in theory. But to understand how the system works with real people involved and whether this is a tool gunners want, CCDC needed to test it with soldiers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Army has set up an ATLAS prototype at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland, and it hopes to conduct a live-fire exercise soon with targets in a field. However, to collect useful feedback, CCDC is giving soldiers a more robust experience with the system that involves multiple engagements and varying levels of data quality. To do this, the command has built a mixed-reality environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt gives us the opportunity \u2026 to get the soldiers in front of this system prior to it being here as a soldier touchpoint or using the live system so we get that initial feedback to provide back to the program, to get that soldier-centric design, to get their opinions on the system, be that from how the GUI is designed to some of the ways that the system would operate,\u201d explained Christopher May, deputy director of the C5ISR Center\u2019s Modeling and Simulation Division.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>The virtual world<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the new virtual prototyping environment \u2014 itself a prototype \u2014 users are placed in a 3D world that mimics the gunner station while using a physical controller and display that is a carbon copy of the current ATLAS design. The CCDC team can then feed simulated battlefield data into the system for soldiers to respond to as if they were actually using ATLAS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Like most virtual reality systems, the outside looks less impressive than the rendered universe that exists on the inside. Sitting down at the gunner\u2019s seat, the user\u2019s vision is enveloped by a trifold of tall blue walls, cutting the individual off from the real world. Directly in front of the chair is a recreation of ATLAS&#8217; touch-screen display and a 3D-printed copy of the controller.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Putting on the virtual reality headset, the user is immersed in a 3D rendering of the ATLAS prototype\u2019s gunner station, but with some real-world elements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019re leveraging multiple technologies to put this together. So as the operator looks around \u2026 he has the ability to see the hand grips. He also has the ability to see his own hands,\u201d May said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">All in all, the mixed-reality environment creates the distinct impression that the user is in the gunner\u2019s chair during a real-life engagement. And that\u2019s the whole point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s important to note the virtual reality system is not meant to test the quality of the AI system. While the system populates the virtual battlefield with targets the same way ATLAS would, it doesn\u2019t use the targeting algorithm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019re not using the actual algorithm,\u201d May said. \u201cWe\u2019re controlling how the algorithm performs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>Switching up the scenarios<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another advantage to the mixed-reality environment: The Army can experiment with ATLAS in different vehicles. CCDC leaders were clear that ATLAS is meant to be a vehicle-agnostic platform. If the Army decides it wants ATLAS installed on a combat vehicle rather than a tank \u2014 like the current prototype \u2014 the CCDC team could recreate that vehicle within the simulated environment, giving users the opportunity to see how ATLAS would look on that platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe can switch that out. That\u2019s a 3D representation,\u201d May said. \u201cThis could obviously be an existing tactical vehicle or a future tactical vehicle as part of the virtual prototype.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/intel-geoint\/2019\/11\/26\/the-air-force-may-have-found-new-imagery-it-needs-at-a-pitch-day\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"193\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Academy-VR-pilot-training.JPG.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">The Air Force may have found new imagery it needs at a pitch day<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Capable of &quot;seeing&quot; through inclement weather and in any lighting conditions, SAR imagery has a number of military applications and provides an alternative to traditional optical sensors.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But is the virtual reality component really necessary to the experience? After all, the interactions with the ATLAS surrogate take place entirely through the touch screen and the controller, and a soldier could get an idea of how the system works without ever putting on the headset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">May said that, according to feedback he\u2019s received, the virtual reality component adds that extra level of realism for the soldier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThey thought it added to their experience,\u201d May said. \u201cWe\u2019ve run through a version of this without the mixed reality \u2014 so they\u2019re just using the touch screens and the grips \u2014 and they thought the mixed reality added that realism to really get them immersed into the experience.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019ve had over [40 soldiers] leveraging the system that we have here to provide those early insights and then also to give us some quantitative data on how the soldier is performing,\u201d he added. \u201cSo we\u2019re looking from a user evaluation perspective: Again, how does the [aided target recognition] system influence the soldier both positively, potentially and negatively? And then what is the qualitative user feedback just of the system itself?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In other words, the team is assessing how soldiers react to the simulated battlefield they are being fed through the mixed reality system. Not only is the team observing how soldiers operate when the data is perfect; it also wants to see how soldiers are impacted when fed less accurate data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Soldiers are also interviewed after using the system to get a sense of their general impressions. May said users are asked questions such as \u201cHow do you see this impacting the way that you currently do your operations?\u201d or \u201cWhat changes would you make based off your use of it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The virtual prototyping environment is an outgrowth of CCDC\u2019s desire to push soldier interactions earlier in the development process, and it could eventually be used for other systems in development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019re hoping that this is kind of an initial proof of concept that other programs can kind of leverage to enhance their programs as well,\u201d May said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis is a little bit of a pilot, but I think we can expect that across the C5ISR Center and other activities to spend and work a lot more in this virtual environment,\u201d added Nabors. \u201cIt\u2019s a great mechanism for getting soldier feedback [and] provides us an opportunity to insert new capabilities where possible.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The U.S. Army has built a new mixed-reality environment to test user interactions with it&#8217;s new automated targeting system.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":81422,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":26,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[160,14,36,26,164],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3385],"class_list":["post-38069","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-land","category-newsletters","category-training-sim","category-training-simulation-report"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"CCHRG62YKRANLETW4FTUBRBPDU","arc_canonical_url":"\/artificial-intelligence\/2020\/11\/09\/mixed-reality-systems-can-bring-soldier-feedback-into-development-earlier-than-ever-before-heres-how-the-us-army-is-using-it\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Mixed-reality systems can bring soldier feedback into development earlier than ever before. Here\u2019s how the US Army is using it. - Defense News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The U.S. Army has built a new mixed-reality environment to test user interactions with it&#039;s new automated targeting system.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/artificial-intelligence\/2020\/11\/09\/mixed-reality-systems-can-bring-soldier-feedback-into-development-earlier-than-ever-before-heres-how-the-us-army-is-using-it\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mixed-reality systems can bring soldier feedback into development earlier than ever before. Here\u2019s how the US Army is using it.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The U.S. Army has built a new mixed-reality environment to test user interactions with it&#039;s new automated targeting system.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/training-sim\/2020\/11\/09\/mixed-reality-systems-can-bring-soldier-feedback-into-development-earlier-than-ever-before-heres-how-the-us-army-is-using-it\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Defense News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-11-09T12:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T18:30:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Nathan Strout\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Nathan Strout\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/training-sim\\\/2020\\\/11\\\/09\\\/mixed-reality-systems-can-bring-soldier-feedback-into-development-earlier-than-ever-before-heres-how-the-us-army-is-using-it\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/training-sim\\\/2020\\\/11\\\/09\\\/mixed-reality-systems-can-bring-soldier-feedback-into-development-earlier-than-ever-before-heres-how-the-us-army-is-using-it\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"Mixed-reality systems can bring soldier feedback into development earlier than ever before. 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