Final image

Above is just my first diffuse study to get the base colours correct.

 Here is an image of my final Piece, unfortunately something went wrong went it came to combining my normal maps and some areas look bad e.g. the gold bit. However with my diffuse/ambiant occlusion I feel it much improved. Adding the specular map has made it better too but may need toning down as the wood comes across too shiny at some angles.

Final Diffuse Map

Looks okay from these three angles if seen on the corner you can see that the wood textures do not match up, due to bad UV design. I feel my ability to paint stylised textures has improved as I went along.

Notchs ( modeled in or baked)

 Above is a notch in the wood that I have baked in  which does not change the silhouette, however does not need to if its going to be placed in an area where you cant see it from an angle.

 Here is a notch that is more on the edge of the Box so does change the silhouette and can be seen from the edge.

High Poly Model To First Bake

 Above is my final high poly model that I then used to create my normal map in x-normal to put in my low poly which is below. Looks awesome (from this distance), looking closer i found minor problems that could be fixed by changing the UV's.

Heres an example of some UV's I detached to get rid of a black line, unfortunately I forgot to take a photo before I fixed it but there was an edge and it was black and looked bad, there was a few of these on the overall model I fixed them in  the same, by changing the vertexes.

Below is the fixed Version, YAY! Looks much better.

Lighting!

 Above shows my complete lack of knowledge when it comes to lighting. I came back to it later after having a talk with Nigel in how I could Improve it. We talked about how the upper edge of the edge would be the lightest and how the sun would have seeped in forming a kind of glow on the underneath of the edge. The edge is shown below, along with the girder which I tried to apply lighting too, using different shades of grey to give it the illusion. By making it more shadowy under the bends in the metal.

UV Mapping (Failure & Success)

Above is the final UV map for the final version of my model, to start with I though I had done well in terms of using up most of the space and getting the parts I wanted large. However it could be much improved! I went over it many a times, separating edges in order to Fix areas within the normal map for baking, so that the dark lines on the edge didn't appear. I learnt how to fix these from George's very helpful troubleshooting pages from his file on baking. "This is likely to happen when you have an acute angle in your low poly that your normal map can’t compensate for or is struggling with because of the UV seam Where the UV edges meet, the extreme colour from one poly to the other may blend creating an artefact new colour that creates this line."

Also although I felt that I learnt a lot and improved as I worked when it came to painting the stylised textures of my diffuse map, the design of my UV map let me down hugely! As I had not thought about the textures enough when designing and thus I have wood grains that don't match up and create a very bad effect. They kind of ruin the Chest, It looks okay from the front, well ok'ish.

Setting A Project (easy peasy)

Probably one of the most fundamental basic maya knowledge to make life a little bit easier that I have only just got round to learning, turns out its really easy once someone shows you. Should have learnt it much earlier.
Allows me to keep all my files (scenes and images) in one place that i can easily transport around.

Virtual Martyrs: Jihadists, Oculus Rift, and IED Drones

Commercial Drones (UAVs) and Terrorism 

December 14, 2014, Robert J. Bunker

Non-Resident Fellow, Counter-Terrorism

Terrorists and insurgents, specifically radical Islamists but not just limited to such groups, have been considering the merits of taking commercial and gray-area (modified and with military components) drones and placing explosives on them for attack purposes since the early-to-mid 2000s. Other uses, such as for surveillance and as weapons platforms, have also been considered. About twenty terrorist and insurgent drone related incidents—procurement of components, seizure in raids, attempted use, and actual use—have now either taken place or been reported (but not fully confirmed).

Unmanned aerial vehicles in the possession of these groups, which now includes Al Qaeda (and affinity adherents), the Taliban, Islamic State, Hamas, and Hezbollah, have been documented in a growing list of media articles and think tank reports [8]. Al Qaeda affinity linked drone plots in the United States include the April 2007 Christopher Paul (Colombus, Ohio) [9] and September 2011 Rezwan Feradus (Ashland, Massachusetts) incidents [10]. The latter incident is of note because the IED drones to be used—F-86 Sabre and F-4 Phantom scale model jets—also had GPS and high speed (+150 miles per hour) attributes giving them significant precision targeting and kinetic kill capabilities 11].

Such drone incidents have not subsided with three taking place in the last six months. A homemade Hamas drone, armed with what appears to be small rockets, was shot down in Ashdod, Israel in July 2014 [12], an Islamic State drone (a quadcopter) appears to have provided imagery of a Syrian army base prior to a ground assault in August 2014 [13], and Hezbollah released a video of what is said to be a drone attack on al-Nusra Front (Al Qaeda linked) personnel near Arsal, North East Lebanon [14].

http://trendsinstitution.org/?p=762

The US Military Wants a Piece of Virtual Reality

NOVEMBER 19, 2014 BY MATTHEW TERNDRUP

The Oculus Rift and related virtual reality gear are going to be used for a lot more than games. Here’s four ways that the US military is getting in on the VR space…

Surprise: The US military is as fascinated with virtual reality as gamers and utopian dreamers. Here’s four ways that the military is implementing or planning on implementing VR…

1. Simulations for Flight, Battlefield and Vehicle Training

Technology in the military is always on the cutting edge; so much so that proper training is needed in order to operate these items. The Air Force, for example, has recently acquired fifth generation fighter jets like the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II, that are so powerful that the generals are unable to unleash realistic combat experiences during training. Shooting off live missiles in the skies during large training events is not possible in real life. These limitations can be addressed by creating virtual reality simulations where people can test the equipment without the constant fear of crashing new and expensive planes, thus burning everything down to a crisp.

As reported in Air Force Times, military officials are using virtual flight simulators to try out all the “bells and whistles” before sending soldiers into the air. The experiences are getting so good that it’s beginning to get hard to tell whether the person is in a real environment or a simulated one. Granted, the sensory inputs that are felt during physical combat haven’t been replicated yet, but the technology is rapidly approaching that ability.

The 101st Airborne also utilizes VR by strapping their trainees into custom wearable suits that connect wirelessly to computer servers. The headsets and motion capture sensors attached come complete with a vast range of replica weapons. These guns provide haptic feedback, and have all the functionality of a real weapon, short of firing actual bullets.

2. Medical Training

Another area of training is preparing medics for the unpredictable aspects of war.

Plextek Consulting and Bespoke VR have created simulations for medics who are about enter battle; the UK’s Defense Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) funded the project. In the virtual simulation, the trainees have to negotiate and prioritize the needs of virtual soldiers who have sustained injuries in the war. It is designed to teach the importance of teamwork in stressful situations that can be found when under fire from the enemy. The system records respiratory rates, pulse counts, blood pressure to ensure that person inside the experience does overexert themselves.

3. Controlling Drones

Sending out unmanned vehicles into a war zone is a fantastic way to scout out the environment. It reduces the risk of death by replacing a person with a robot. Instead of putting soldiers in direct danger during the surveillance process, military officials can use drones controlled by VR headsets and command devices to check out the area.

Quadcopter companies like Parrot have recently been showcasing the combination of UAVs and VR headsets, mostly as marketing stunts. This intermingling of virtual reality technology and remote-controlled drones produces something that naturally fits well in the military.

Looking at controlling UAVs in a more abstract way shows that VR can train drone operators within a simulation. No longer do the trainers have to worry about weather conditions or other uncontrollable factors. With virtual reality, they can simulate a drone and operate it inside a computer generated experience. The MxR Lab at USC has a demonstration that does just that: It’s called BlueShark, and puts the person in a virtual “War Room” where one can navigate a virtual Navy destroyer. In addition, with the use of motion capture gloves, the person wearing a custom headset named the Wide5 can inhabit an unmanned drone from within the simulation.

4. Overcoming PTSD and Other Mental Injuries

PTSD is typically managed with a combination of several types of therapy and/or medication. However, with the advancement of virtual reality systems, simulations can now be created to help the soldier overcome the traumatic event.

Researchers at USC have developed a form of VR exposure therapy which is effective enough in reducing PTSD symptoms that it’s been adopted by over 60 facilities, including military bases, universities, and VA hospitals.

There is also a Virtual Reality Medical Center based in San Diego, California that has been exploring the use of simulation technologies for over ten years. Their website shows that they focus on three main areas: “1) treating patients with anxiety disorders, 2) training for both military and civilian populations, and 3) enhancing various educational programs.” In regards to treating people with anxiety, they provide military treatment for those affected by PTSD.

Holograms, Virtual Reality, And Artificial Intelligence — Here’s What The Future Could Look Like With Gigabit Internet

Healthcare is a major topic for the report, with its predictions of “continuous health monitoring” through a variety of sensors and personal devices. “Having a personal healthpod you strap yourself into daily will become normal,” suggested Rangaswami.

“You will be able to purchase health-monitoring systems just like you purchase home-security systems,” claimed Google’s chief economist Hal Varian. “Indeed, the home-security system will include health monitoring as a matter of course.”

“Tools will monitor us from birth and predict sickness and heal us faster. Genetics will be patented and evolve to have cures to current and new disease that will arise,” said Breanne Thomlison, president of BTx2 Communications. “People will be able to connect with others who share similar DNA and experience a personal connection to focus on prevention versus treatment.”

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/heres-what-the-future-could-look-like-with-gigabit-internet-2014-10#ixzz3SETFFils

Found this really interesting, but couldn't really link any of the infomation to my essay

Do We Live in the Matrix?

In the 1999 sci-fi film classic The Matrix, the protagonist, Neo, is stunned to see people defying the laws of physics, running up walls and vanishing suddenly. These superhuman violations of the rules of the universe are possible because, unbeknownst to him, Neo’s consciousness is embedded in the Matrix, a virtual-reality simulation created by sentient machines. 

The action really begins when Neo is given a fateful choice: Take the blue pill and return to his oblivious, virtual existence, or take the red pill to learn the truth about the Matrix and find out “how deep the rabbit hole goes.” 

http://discovermagazine.com/2013/dec/09-do-we-live-in-the-matrix

Glitch's in the Matrix

Wikipedia Definitions: AR & Telepresence

Augmented reality (AR) is a live direct or indirect view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented (or supplemented) by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data. It is related to a more general concept called mediated reality, in which a view of reality is modified (possibly even diminished rather than augmented) by a computer. As a result, the technology functions by enhancing one’s current perception of reality. By contrast, virtual reality replaces the real world with a simulated one. Augmentation is conventionally in real-time and in semantic context with environmental elements, such as sports scores on TV during a match. With the help of advanced AR technology (e.g. adding computer vision and object recognition) the information about the surrounding real world of the user becomes interactive and digitally manipulable. Artificial information about the environment and its objects can be overlaid on the real world

Telepresence refers to a set of technologies which allow a person to feel as if they were present, to give the appearance of being present, or to have an effect, via telerobotics, at a place other than their true location.

Telepresence requires that the users' senses be provided with such stimuli as to give the feeling of being in that other location. Additionally, users may be given the ability to affect the remote location. In this case, the user's position, movements, actions, voice, etc. may be sensed, transmitted and duplicated in the remote location to bring about this effect. Therefore information may be traveling in both directions between the user and the remote location. A popular application is found in telepresence videoconferencing.

Battlefield visualization and VR

During a battle the army needs an overview of the battlefield. First, commanders need to have insight in current and future combat situations to make good strategic decisions. This is referred to as command and control. Second, commanders need to plan and evaluate possible movements of forces which is called planning and shaping. Currently command and control as well as planning and shaping are primarily accomplished with paper maps and acetate overlays. Some data is entered into a computer system where it can be analysed and used by a battlefield visualisation system. New developments make it possible to use digitalised information without the use of manpower directly into a battlefield visualisation system called Dragon (see Figure 5/ below).

 The Dragon battlefield visualisation system uses a virtual reality responsive workbench. This workbench provides a 3D display with a tabletop environment in which battlefield information can be used. This information includes a terrain map, entities that represent different units (e.g. friendly, enemy, unknown and neutral), obstructions, key points of the battlefield and other features. Dragon receives feeds with the current status of the battlefield like the number of units, their position, heading, speed and damage and makes sure the situation stays up to date. Users of Dragon can view the map in different angles and can query en manipulate entities.

Video games have been popular since the 1970's.

The U.S. military has tried to capitalize on this trend by creating a training program for their military members after realising the gamer culture has become ingrained into this and future generations of citizens.
That change transformed most major simulation training in the military to create a fighting force capable of handling their real-world counterparts.
Practicality has always been an issue with training military members: scheduling for ranges, transportation to the sites, acquiring necessary equipment such as ammunition, and most important--time.
Time is something the students at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center need in order to pass their classes and ultimately the Defense Language Proficiency Test.
Training around seven-hour school days that require another several hours of study or homework can be hard on the students here who have to keep up with not only their academic work but their tactical prowess.
So the Army brings in the next best thing, simulators. For the Presidio of Monterey and DLI, they are the Engagement Skills Trainer (EST) and the Virtual Convoy Operations Trainer (VCOT).
Located behind one of the barracks, the EST and VCOT are easily accessible, near-authentic training aids for the students and other military members who need to brush up on specific tactical tasks -- as long as Lisa Jewett knows about it.
Jewett, a former Army pilot currently working as the POM/DLI training/instructor, coordinates and operates the virtual simulation systems.
"We see a lot of students just getting out of basic training that have probably only touched their weapon once their entire career," she said.
The EST can simulate most of the military's firearms, from the basic rifles to the heavy duty machine-guns, said Jewett.
"They have sound and recoil so that the Soldiers can have a reaction like real weapons fire," Jewett said.
Jewett said that the EST has more functions than just "practice fire" for marksmanship qualification.
"There's more to it that just marksmanship, there's scenarios like "shoot - don't shoot," where they test their ability to not fire on non-combatants, urban operations in Iraq, domestic disturbances and even Naval Maritime Operations on a boat," Jewett said.
After months of training with the simulators and basic rifle marksmanship tasks, the 229th Military Intelligence Battalion accomplished something noteworthy in Army student marksmanship: 133 out of 135 Soldiers qualified with their weapon, with 50 percent of the battalion making it past the Sharpshooter level of marksmanship (hitting over 30 out of 40 targets).
The simulator is limited only by what type of program has been uploaded into it and is tailored somewhat to the Joint arena, language-skills-based atmosphere and current wartime activities, Jewett said.
"Especially good for the students here, we have the enemy combatants speaking foreign languages, like Arabic," said Jewett. "So it can help with their listening skills to understand what the enemy is saying."
"It is also a collective trainer, where you can have all the lanes participate in all types of weather like snow or rain," Jewett said. They can also progress from there and plan out things like sectors of fires."
The VCOT takes collective training a step further by allowing the military members to assume different roles in combat scenarios. From driver to convoy commander, turret gunner to dismounted combatant, the students do all this in real time in a virtual scenario, using communications and tactical prowess to get them through the course.
"We can simulate the operations in places like Baghdad, Tikrit and set up the scenarios by levels, novice to expert," Jewett said. "Drivers and gunners are also in a 360-degree real-world scenario."
The training is used for the students' familiarization in those roles, so when they get to their units after graduation they won't get lost Jewett said.
Staff Sgt. Nathan Early, a F Co., 229th Military Intelligence Battalion platoon sergeant, said he believes the simulators present themselves more realistically versus just going out to a field and pretending you are in a vehicle or out in the desert.
"It gives the Soldiers a small taste of what it's like to be in a hostile environment in combat," Early said
Because of the interactive nature of the simulators, most of the students of the "X-box" generation expressed their preference for using the simulators, rather than playing with their own game consoles, Jewett said.
"They aren't using joysticks for control, but have an actual (weapons) station."
However, Jewett said the simulators are used basically as stepping stones for students to help build confidence.
Experienced platoon sergeants can watch the students as they perform and give advice or correct actions via a video wrap-up style after actions review.
"(Plus) it's fun, because it is like a video game," Early said. "Even though it is not, it is a training tool."
"It is (hard to get away) from the fact that it is like a video game," he added.
Even with all the advances that technology has to offer the newer generation of military members, Jewett said that the value of going to ranges or participating in a vehicle convoy can't be replaced.
"Nothing beats the real thing. Hands-on training is the best way to teach," Jewett said.
"But if you can't have that, this is the next best thing."

http://www.army.mil/article/19599/simulators-always-valuable-in-military-training/

Tricking Your Brain

Project HoloLens’ key achievement—realistic holograms—works by tricking your brain into seeing light as matter. “Ultimately, you know, you perceive the world because of light,” Kipman explains. “If I could magically turn the debugger on, we’d see photons bouncing throughout this world. Eventually they hit the back of your eyes, and through that, you reason about what the world is. You essentially hallucinate the world, or you see what your mind wants you to see.”

To create Project HoloLens’ images, light particles bounce around millions of times in the so-called light engine of the device. Then the photons enter the goggles’ two lenses, where they ricochet between layers of blue, green and red glass before they reach the back of your eye. “When you get the light to be at the exact angle,” Kipman tells me, “that’s where all the magic comes in.”

Thirty minutes later, after we’ve looked at another prototype and some more concept videos and talked about the importance of developers (you always have to talk about the importance of developers when launching a new product these days), I get to sample that magic. Kipman walks me across a courtyard and through the side door of a building that houses a secret basement lab. Each of the rooms has been outfitted as a scenario to test Project HoloLens.

http://www.wired.com/2015/01/microsoft-hands-on/

Augmented Reality Helmets

You Tube Research (1 in 3 military air craft are unmanned)

This Robot Dog is the best! Its so realistic when the makers kick it to show how it can keep balance I feel sorry for it as it reacts like a real dog, definitely worth a watch.

These new "Iron Man Suit's" aka as the Talos suit are made of a New substance called Liquid Armour which acts like a liquid but instantly hardens when hit by a bullet. The suits constantly moniter the vital signs of the soldier and are able to warm them if cold, as well as evenly distribute weight to make loads easier to carry. Could be used in the field sometime soon perhaps paired with a device such as google glass allowing soldiers to keep in constant contact with their commanders.

This was pretty interesting, theres another robot similar to the one above that has a long neck and flings IED bombs away.

An App used to fire rockets, cool but worrying!
extra info =
The Pentagon currently deploys some 11,000 UAV's and 12,000 ground robots across the world.

Directors Corner: Soldier of the Future

Science-fiction writers envision technologies that scientists and engineers often create in the future. Consider the smartphone. Once firmly in the realm of science fiction, we use our “communicators” to not only talk to someone on the other side of the globe, but also to schedule our calendars, check e-mail, or access the Internet. Forty years ago, this seemed unattainable.

Yet Army researchers within the Army Materiel Command and Research, Development and Engineering Command team achieve innovation by imagining something and then creating an idea or concept that can change the nature of the fight.

In the future, quantum communications will enable entangled atoms to pass information with no apparent connection. This means bandwidth will not be an issue. It also means secure communications. We are working on this with the University of Maryland.

We are also working closely with the U.S. Special Operations Command on the Tactical Assault Light Operator Suit, or TALOS. Sensors will give Soldiers a wealth of information, and the suit will provide better protection, enhanced performance and improved situational awareness.
Army Chief of Staff Gen. Raymond Odierno wants us to focus on the squad and individual Soldier, and we are focused on lightening the load both physically and cognitively.

 As Soldiers access more data, it becomes a constant stream of information. Those of us who remember the early Internet went through this as it matured from a novelty to a vital, yet sometimes overwhelming connection to the world. During the early days of the Internet the trick was to find information. Then it became finding good information. The same is happening to Soldiers. We need to provide the right information at the right time in a form Soldiers can use. After all, Soldiers use information to make decisions in a split second and often under dire circumstances.

When I served on a submarine in the U.S. Navy, my boat had the latest sonar and torpedo fire-control system. The system could easily overwhelm the crew with the number of screens and the amount of information it provided, but it enabled each of us to configure the output to best support our decision-making process. I see this in the same way. Military technology must provide the Soldier with information best suited to an individual’s decision-making process. As researchers and engineers, the more thought put into designing a streamlined, configurable information flow, the better off our Soldiers will be. We will help our Soldiers to make the best decisions with the best information at the speed of battle, which can be the difference between life and death, victory and defeat. To achieve this end as we move forward with an even more technology-oriented Soldier, our scientists at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory are developing a helmet that can sense who’s wearing it. This helmet will provide information contextually tailored by its wearer. Smart helmets are just one of the technologies that will help provide warriors with information they need. If it takes too long for our Soldiers to evaluate the information, we may lose the fight. Time is critical to their success.

We envision a day when squad leaders will have an app that outlines missions and mission requirements. Imagine a squad leader sharing information with his or her team by laying out the mission and specifying the required equipment. Instead of needing a briefing to be told what to do, Soldiers will customize their kit and meet for the first time, ready to execute the mission.

 Future American warriors will depend on technologies that better protect them and prepare them for the fight. RDECOM’s technology development strategy ties everything together, from lethality to protection.
This integration is critical to the chief of staff’s vision of a future Army that will be technologically competent and feature enhanced combat power with fewer Soldiers. Connectivity and integration are critical attributes to enable our technologies to be greater than the sum of their parts, just as the Internet and cloud applications are helping mobile devices rival the power of desktop computers of a few years ago. We have this firmly in mind for the goals of the Army Brigade Combat Team Modernization program for Army 2025 and continuing toward the Army of 2040.

We are focused on developing technologies that give our Soldiers the advantage of an unfair fight. That’s our primary motivation. With AMC, RDECOM has tremendous capabilities. Between what we develop and what we help industry modify to meet our specific requirements, there is no one better positioned to accomplish this mission. We will continue to do the necessary work to enable our leadership’s vision for the Army of the future.

Interview with Lt. Gen. Keith C. Walker IRON MAN

Army Technology: What role will technology play for future Soldiers?

Walker: Technology will play a key role in fundamentally changing the Army to realize the CSA vision. In the area of human science, there are exciting opportunities to enhance human performance, both cognitive and physically. Admiral McRaven, the SOCOM commander, spoke of developing an “Iron Man” suit for special operations forces. What was comic book fiction yesterday is a possibility in the next 10-15 years. Advanced computing combined with next generation of wireless communication offers mobile command centers on the move with unprecedented access to information at the lowest tactical level that includes connectivity across the entire joint force. The individual Soldier in 20 years could coordinate and deliver a lethal attack that exponentially exceeds today’s force capability, as well as deliver humanitarian aid and assistance to the exact location where most critically needed. The area of material science offers the potential to deliver the same lethality, protection and mobility of an Abrams tank, but only half the weight. Robotics can reduce risk to Soldiers by performing some of the more dangerous and physically demanding tasks such as clearing routes and lifting heavy objects. Technological advances are available today to allow for driverless trucks. Lessons we have learned in through manned and unmanned aviation applications can be further expanded in our aviation units and be applied to our ground combat vehicles as well. A lighter, unmanned tank, fighting as part of a combined arms team is a great possibility in the near future. These areas, along with other research efforts, will change the way the Army fights, trains, sustains and deploys as the leaner, more expeditionary, more capable and resilient force as described in the CSA vision for the future. However, we must not forget the most important point that sometimes gets lost in our exuberance and fascination with technology… technology enables the Soldier, not the other way around.

Soldiers of the Future

So i wanted to see what the military are actually up to in terms of the technical advancements and what new state of the art things they were testing and I found this magazine which was really helpful.
It has some really amazing things and some information that ill probably try and get into my essay. There is so much stuff, i'm going to try not and post it all.

Low Poly Chest Model

Above shows my Chest Model completed,  I went on to triangulate it. The model itself worked however the topology could have been better as I am pretty sure the top image still had n-gons in. Later on I went and created a better low poly so that I could create a cleaner high poly more easily using the edge loop tool (its all about the edge loop tool).

AMERICA'S ARMY: NOT JUST FOR TRAINING/ War is not a game!

On July 4, 2002, the U.S. Army rolled out a project that it had worked on in conjunction with theU.S. Navy for four years. The project cost $7 million in initial costs, and thousands of man-hours had been dedicated to its development. The government hopes that it will serve as a new and effective tool for the expansion and sophistication of America's military strength. But this project is not a new weapon or a new type of armor. It's a video game.

"America's Army" is a first-person tactical shooter video game that realistically simulates aspects of combat faced by the United States' real-life troops. It has all of the quick response, challenge and graphics of a high-end major-release video game. But it has the added punch of being created with all of the resources and research capabilities of the U.S. military behind it.

The result? Players are hooked. Since its introduction, the game has developed a worldwide following, except in those countries against which the United States has embargoes. Countries like Syria and North Korea are banned from importing or downloading the game. But elsewhere around the globe, serious clans-- teams of gamers who play together -- have formed to take part in competitions and tournaments to see who's the best at rooting out evildoers. So far, the Army says 7 million users have registered their downloaded copy.

The realism of the game didn't come by accident. Before it was released in 2002, the developers brought in a Navy experimental psychologist to advise on how to increase the game's psychological effects (like fear) on the physiology of its players (like changing their heart rate) [source: Webb]. Even the game's developers were put through training applications and combat simulations in real life before they created "America's Army." And the game was released in double Dolby digital sound -- all to create a more realistic experience.

Perhaps the best part about the 3-D graphics game is that it is absolutely free. Anyone over the age of consent (which varies by state) in the United States can visit the "America's Army" site and find a number of download sources. Depending on bandwidth, the 2.5-gigabyte file might take an hour or three to download. After installation, however, gamers aren't allowed directly into battle. First, a player must prove his worth through training.

A screenshot of “America’s Army" taken by Dr. Joseph DeLappe during his “dead-in-iraq” protest

Courtesy Joseph DeLappe

America's Army Controversy and Protest

On the surface, "America's Army" looks like any of the other successful first-person shooter video games available for gamers. It features firefights, terrorist enemies, blood and earned a "Teen" rating for violence. But unlike other popular combat games, "America's Army" was developed and distributed by theU.S. government. Because of this, the game has generated some controversy. To opponents of the game, the use of "America's Army" as a recruiting and propaganda tool is reproachable. To others, it's a poor use of millions of taxpayer dollars.

The fact that the game glorifies violence carried out in the name of the United States is cause enough for some to protest. In August 2007, a group of anti-war Iraq War veterans demonstrated against an Army recruiter who showed the crowd gathered at the Black Expo in St. Louis, Mo., how to play "America's Army." "War is not a game!" the protestors shouted [source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch].

Another opponent to "America's Army" prefers to protest in solitude. University of Nevada, Las Vegas professor Dr. Joseph De Lappe spends about three hours per week online in the midst of "America's Army." But rather than take part in missions, De Lappe spends this time typing the name of each of the 3,817 American troops killed in Iraq since 2003 [source: iCasualties.org as of Oct. 9, 2007]. De Lappe calls his "online gaming intervention" campaign dead-in-iraq. By naming the troops who were lost in Iraq, De Lappe hopes to remind players of the real-life consequences of war [source: DeLappe].

By agreeing to the terms of use and license agreement for "America's Army: Special Forces," a player allows the completed maps he submits to become property of the U.S. Army.

These completed maps are used in conjunction with an online tracker the Army developed for "America's Army" to glean a clear picture of what type of combat situations and weaponry individual players excel at. This information is stored in a database maintained by the Army. One of the game's developers told journalist Gary Webb that those players who stand out from the rest may receive an e-mail from the Army offering information on going from gamer to soldier, if the player is interested [source: Webb].

So does this mean that "America's Army" is quietly training the soldiers of tomorrow today? It looks that way. It would be incredibly beneficial to the U.S. military for new recruits to arrive at basic training with experience. Gary Webb reported that the Army sought to double the size of its Special Forces unit and changed the name of the game to help aid with recruitment.

At least one department in the Army considers the game real enough for other real-life applications. TheArmament Research, Development and Engineering Center has begun testing conceptual weapons in the game to get a better understanding of the weapons' properties before any prototype is actually constructed.

http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/americas-army2.htm

Military applications of virtual reality

Author: Jim Baumann

One of the first areas where virtual reality found practical application is in military training and operations. In this article, we will explore three views of military applications of virtual reality; as a simulation of reality, as an extension of human senses through telepresence, and as an information enhancer through augmented reality.

Virtual Reality in military simulations

One of the earliest uses of simulators in a military environment was the flight trainers built by the Link Company in the late 1920's and 1930's. These trainers looked like sawed-off coffins mounted on a pedestal, and were used to teach instrument flying. The darkness inside the trainer cockpit, the realistic readings on the instrument panel, and the motion of the trainer on the pedestal combined to produce a sensation similar to actually flying on instruments at night. The Link trainers were very effective tools for their intended purpose, teaching thousands of pilots the night flying skills they needed before and during World War II.
To move beyond the instrument flying domain, simulator designers needed a way to produce a view of the outside world. The first example of a simulator with an outside view appeared in the 1950's, when television and video cameras became available. With this equipment, a video camera could be 'flown' over a scale model of the terrain around an airport, and the resulting image was sent to a television monitor placed in front of the pilot in the simulator. His movement of the control stick and throttle produced corresponding movement of the camera over the terrain board. Now the pilot could receive visual feedback both inside and outside the cockpit.
The logical extension of the video camera/television monitor approach was to use multiple monitors to simulate the entire field of view from the airplane cockpit. This method is still in use for transport aircraft simulators, where the field of view needs to be only about 180 degrees horizontally and 60 degrees vertically. For fighter aircraft simulators, the field of view must be at least 180 degrees horizontally and vertically. For these applications, the simulator consists of a cockpit placed at the center of a domed room, and the virtual images are projected onto the inside surface of the dome. These types of simulators have proven to be very effective training aids by themselves, and the newest innovation is a project called SIMNET to electronically connect two or more simulators to produce a distributed simulation environment. [McCarty, 1993] Distributed simulations can be used not only for training, but to develop and test new combat strategy and tactics. A significant development in this area is an IEEE data protocol standard for distributed interactive simulations. [IEEE, 1993] This standard allows the distributed simulation to include not only aircraft, but also land-based vehicles and ships. Another recent development is the use of head-mounted displays (HMDs) to decrease the cost of wide field of view simulations. [McCarty, 1993]

Telepresence for military missions

Two fairly obvious reasons have driven the military to explore and employ telepresence in their operations; to reduce exposure to hazards and to increase stealth. Many aspects of combat operations are very hazardous, and they become even more dangerous if the combatant seeks to improve his performance. Prime examples of this principle are firing weapons and performing reconnaissance. To perform either of these tasks well takes time, and this is usually time when the combatant is exposed to hostile fire. Smart weapons and remotely- piloted vehicles (RPVs) were developed to address this problem.Some smart weapons are autonomous, while others are remotely controlled after they are launched. This allows the shooter and weapon controller to launch the weapon and immediately seek cover, thus decreasing his exposure to return fire. In the case of RPVs, the person who controls the vehicle not only has the advantage of being in a safer place, but the RPV can be made smaller than a vehicle that would carry a man, thus making it more difficult for the enemy to detect.

Military information enhancement

In a dynamic combat environment, it is imperative to supply the pilot or tank commander with as much of the necessary information as possible while reducing the amount of distracting information. This goal led the Air Force to develop the head-up display (HUD) which optically combines critical information (altitude, airspeed, heading) with an unobstructed view through the forward windscreen of a fighter aircraft. With the HUD, the pilot never has to look down at his instruments. When the HUD is coupled with the aircraft's radar and other sensors, a synthetic image of an enemy aircraft can be displayed on the HUD to show the pilot where that aircraft is, even though the pilot may not be able to see the actual aircraft with his unaided eyes. This combination of real and virtual views of the outside world can be extended to nighttime operations. Using an infrared camera mounted in the nose of the aircraft, an enhanced view of the terrain ahead of the aircraft can be projected on the HUD. The effect is for the pilot to have a 'daylight' window through which he has both a real and an enhanced view of the nighttime terrain and sky.
In some cases, the pilot may need to focus totally on the virtual information and completely exclude the actual view. Work in this area has been pioneered by Thomas Furness III and others at Wright Laboratories, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. This work, dubbed the Super Cockpit, involved not only a virtual view of the outside world, but also of the cockpit itself, where the pilot would select and manipulate virtual controls using hand gestures. [Furness, 1986]

References

Furness, T. A. (1986). The Super Cockpit and Its Human Factors Challenges. Proceedings of the Human Factors Society. 30th Annual Meeting, (pp. 48-52). Santa Monica, CA: Human Factors Society.
IEEE Standard for Information Technology - Protocols for Distributed Interactive Simulation Applications, 12 May 1993.
McCarty, W. D., Sheasby, S., Amburn, P., Stytz, M. R., and Switzer, C., A Virtual Cockpit for a Distributed Interactive Simulation Environment, Air Force Institute of Technology, unpublished paper, 30 September 1993.
Platt, P. A., Dahn, D. A., & Amburn, P. (1991). Low-Cost Approaches to Virtual Flight Simulation. Proceedings of the IEEE 1991 National Aerospace and Electronics Conference NAECON 1991 Vol. 23, (pp. 940-6). New York, NY: IEEE.

http://www.hitl.washington.edu/projects/knowledge_base/virtual-worlds/EVE/II.G.Military.html

Do gamers make good soldiers?

As game technology develops, some games use the latest in graphics and artificial intelligence to make the game seem more interactive and real. This can help you develop skills that will translate to the real world, even if the game isn't targeting a real-world activity.

Video games have also morphed into tools to develop professional skills. This is great for jobs where real-life situations are too costly or risky to replicate for new trainees. Piloting an aircraft is one such situation, and flight simulators are a common training tool for both military and civilian pilots. Since before the Microsoft Flight Simulator game was released in 1982, pilots and astronauts have used flight simulators to replicate flying an aircraft in certain conditions to accomplish certain tasks. Technological developments continue to make these simulators more comprehensive and realistic.

Military Training Goes Digital

Military training across time and cultures has included developing physical strength, endurance, tactical readiness and specialized combat skills. With the technological developments in weapons and warfare, soldiers require an increasing amount of "book learning" as part of military training. With so much for new soldiers to learn, some military groups have used game-inspired technology to make the process easier and more efficient.

Beyond the flight simulators used to train pilots, the U.S. military branches use other virtual reality military applications to put soldiers in virtual war scenarios. For example, the Army's Engagement Skills Trainer (EST) gives each student the sound and feel of the different firearms he or she might use on the job. Beyond practice firing, the EST provides real-life scenarios to help soldiers determine when to shoot and when not to shoot. Another simulator, the Virtual Convoy Operations Trainer (VCOT), puts a team of soldiers in different roles in combat scenarios, training them to communicate and work together.

With an increasing demand for simulator technology, developers have put soldiers in a position to tweak a simulation to fit their needs. One product, "DARWARS Ambush," is in wide usage by the Army today. Soldiers stationed around the world are taught how to add modifications to DARWARS. Then, the soldiers change the simulated scenarios to best fit their current location and mission. Some simulators go beyond combat to create medical scenarios and cultural interaction.

How do soldiers respond to this training? Soldiers who might have a game console at home prefer the military simulators to their home games. The soldiers describe the simulators as fun because they are like a video game, but even better because they often have actual simulated weapons instead of a game controller

Soldiers and Recreational Video Games

The military has embraced video games as simulators for training, but how does recreational gaming impact current or potential soldiers?

Potential soldiers may benefit from mental skills developed during certain gaming experiences. Studies have found that video games stimulate learning at all levels. Simulation games such as Sim City enhance strategic thinking, planning and decision-making [source: BBC]. Video games can also improve hand-eye coordination. Even the elderly could benefit, as researchers at North Carolina State University and the Georgia Institute of Technology study how video games can boost memory and thinking skills in their joint project Gains Through Gaming [source: Hamilton].

http://science.howstuffworks.com/gamer-soldier2.htm

The Blurred line between War and Simulation

Enders Game is a recent film based on the sci-fi book by Orson Scott Card, ill explain the plot a bit. Earth has begun to be attacked by Aliens from a far of planet, these aliens are ant like and seem to have a hive like mind. The earths military forces have failed at stopping all there attacks except one in which one of the mother ships was destroyed causing all its "children" to die. There has been vast civilian casualties, knowing more about the aliens the army wishes to attack them as the best line of defence. They gather a number of kids with extreme intellect, these then run through trials and simulations to see who has the best mind as a leader and tactician.

The protagonist called Ender wins and becomes captain or something and has to complete the final simulation. In which he controls an entire fleet of human space ships. He has one change to destroy the planet in the simulation using this huge layzer gun however it has to reach the surface of the planet. There is a blockade of alien craft in its way, as if they knew what it did. Ender sacrifices half of his battalion to punch a hole through the blockade allowing the layzer to be fired and destroy the whole planet and so all the queens and so the whole alien race.

Once he completes the test he is then told that it was not a simulation and that he just won the war and saved the world. Everyone treats him as a hero, but he can not feel like one as he sacrificed thousands of lives to do it, and also had been having second thoughts about doing it after finding evidence to support that the Aliens were sentient creatures that couldn't talk but could communicate telepathically. They had only gone to earth in search of water or a new home world as theres was about to blow up i cant remember which.

Anyway the point is, at some point in the future war and simulation may be so similar that they cannot be told apart by those who fighting in them. So if you cant tell when your fighting real enemies or simulations, who is held culpable for the killing. Future casting here, the idea that the best gamers would be in control of real world military technology such as a drones or robots to fight the enemy, (like in Gamer) but may just think there playing a game so would not feel anything toward killing but that they are succeeding in their game.

Self-steering bullet researched by US weapons experts

An LED attached to a prototype bullet shows its flightpath during a night-time field test

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A self-guiding bullet that can steer itself towards its target is being developed for use by the US military.

The bullet uses tiny fins to correct the course of its flight allowing it to hit laser-illuminated targets.

It is designed to be capable of hitting objects at distances of about 2km (1.24 miles). Work on a prototype suggests that accuracy is best at longer ranges.

A think tank says the tech is well-suited to snipers, but worries about it being marketed to the public.

Work on the project is being carried out by an Albuquerque-based subsidiary of defence contractor Lockheed Martin on behalf of the US government.

The current prototype involves a 4in (10cm) bullet which includes an optical sensor in its nose to detect the laser. This information is then processed and used to move motors within the bullet which steer tiny fins, altering the ammunition's path.

"We can make corrections 30 times per second," said researcher Red Jones.

"That means we can over-correct, so we don't have to be as precise each time."

Accuracy

The team has carried out both field tests and computer simulations, and says "engineering issues" remain. However, they add that they are confident of bringing the product to market.

Experts say there would be great demand for the innovation on the battlefield.

"One of the big successes in Libya was that the accuracy of the munitions used was much higher than in previous campaigns," Elizabeth Quintana, senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute think tank told the BBC.

"97% of Nato's weapons hit their target to within about 2m (6.5ft). But that was achieved through air munitions.

"This would be a revolution for ground forces, and may help further cut down on civilian casualties in future conflicts."

Unlike most bullets the self-guided prototype minimises spin, aiming to fly like a dart.

Researchers say special gunpowder may be needed to help the bullet achieve faster speeds

Normally small calibre rifle bullets are spun at over 2,000 revolutions per second to stabilise their flightpath and maximise speed.