SBIR-STTR Award

Direct to Phase II

There is an opportunity to enhance United States Air Force (USAF) mission training functions by implementing an immersive Virtual Reality (VR) simulation environment with embedded learning management training support aids. As the USAF’s technological and operational capabilities advance, it has never been more paramount to continue educating and developing personnel using the most effective tools and processes. To facilitate the reimagined Air Force training effort, innovative concepts, techniques, and the adoption of a proven VR collaborative training environment is vital. Lt. Gen Steven Kwast, head of Air Education and Training Command (AETC) sited “cognitive repetitions” as the key to quickly learning new skillsets, and the importance of leveraging VR as a means to cheaply and efficiently take airmen through these repetitions. Maj. Scott Van De Water, deputy director of the Pilot Training Next program, during a recent interview, when asked about the why behind utilization of VR for training, stated, “The overall objective [is], how do we expedite learning, how do we increase the durability of the learning As they’re learning these concepts, how do we arrive at the end point faster How do we become more efficient with our resources, not for the sake of resources, but for the sake of student time — getting them out to the Air Force … quicker...” Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson and Chief of Staff Gen. Dave Goldfein have stated their investment in determining how to use this kind of a model throughout the Air Force, beyond just pilot training. The number of Joint Terminal Attack Controllers has more than tripled from about 450 in the 1990s to more than 1,500 today, yet according to Gen. Herbert Carlisle "we're still not meeting the requirement." "The demand for training ... and producing those guys and keeping them current has gone up. That's part of the challenge." Live JTAC training is expensive, potentially dangerous, and presents many logistical hurdles, and as such is a prime candidate for a VR simulation training solution. Unfortunately, the simulation solutions that exist today require a building, a dedicated sim operator, and complex hardware; they have low fidelity software, lack data collection capabilities, and are extremely expensive; they’re not cross platform compatible, mobile, or fully immersive.