TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Information Systems, Human Systems

ACQUISITION PROGRAM: PMTRASYS Deployable Virtual Training Environment (DVTE)

OBJECTIVE: To develop a low-cost see through Head Mounted Display for augmented reality training environments.

DESCRIPTION: Augmented Reality (AR) systems have the potential to provide a unique ability to train infantry skills (Muller, Schmorrow, and Buscemi 2008). However, for these systems to become a practical training methodology Augmented Reality Head Mounted Displays (HMDs) must be made that are inexpensive, battery-operated, untethered, and must provide bright, wide field of view color images. Current AR HMDs are limited along each of these dimensions, but the lack of a wide FOV is a particularly significant impediment to their use in infantry training. They should also be lightweight and in a form-factor of ballistic goggles or sunglasses. The display should permit a user to wear any corrective lenses he or she may already use. The user must be able to pass a standard eye exam (e.g. Snellen eye chart at the 20/20 level) with a real eye chart while wearing the display and the display must also have less than 1.5 arcminutes of resolution (approx. 20/30 vision) for graphical imagery within the field of view. The graphics on the display must be visible in bright sunlight, whether by increasing the display brightness or by filtering the incoming light from the real world. The color depth of the display must be at least 16 bits, and the user must further be able to discern basic shades of colors from each other reliably; a test must be designed that satisfactorily demonstrates this capability. The display must allow the wearer to adjust the inter-pupillary distance, vergence angle, and focus distance. Strong proposals will seek to develop HMDs that meet or exceed these specifications as well:

Field of View: 22 degrees vertically, 40 degrees horizontally
Resolution: 1920 x 1024
Battery life of 6 hours
Brightness: greater than 30fL.
Weight: less than 0.5 kg on head
Production cost: below $10k per unit

PHASE I: Develop a concept for a low cost, high performance see through HMD.

PHASE II: Prototype the HMD in a laboratory environment. Demonstrate that the robustness, size, weight, comfort, and power requirements are sufficient for training applications.

PHASE III: Produce the HMD system at low-cost and in volume.

PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL/DUAL-USE APPLICATIONS: Successful development would be useful to many different training applications in a variety of industries. For example, maintenance workers could have instant access to repair manuals within their field of view. Games could be developed that combine virtual and real worlds.

REFERENCES:
1. Muller, Schmorrow, and Buscemi, The Infantry Immersion Trainer: Today�s Holodeck, Marine Corps Gazette, September 2008, p. 14-18

2. Muller, Cohn, and Nicholson. Immersing Humans in Virtual Environments: Where�s the Holodeck?, Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation, and Education Conference (I/ITSEC) 2004, Paper No. 1773.

KEYWORDS: Training; Tracking; Virtual Reality; Augmented Reality; Head Mounted Display; simulation