Feb 2018 v01 online

eyond just cost. The flexibility and even
customisability of VR means that soldiers
are able to train in virtual environments
simulating the chaos of an active field in a
way that was previously not possible.
Taking this customisability to its full
extent, under VR it is possible that new,
undeployed soldiers could walk the streets
of a town they will soon be deployed in by
way of a VR headset. This recruit could
then explore this foreign location, getting
to know the routes, roads, infrastructure,
and shortcuts until they could recall the
entire layout by memory, and be able to
navigate the area purely on instinct. The
only better way to familiarise themselves in
this way would be to be at the actual site
itself, but by using VR, they would lose the
extra flight costs and the risk of getting shot
at.
The value of understanding the layout of
an area intimately well as a soldier is
obvious. Rather than having to rely on
maps and other navigational devices to
traverse a town or village, deployed
personnel could move around a
deployment site off their own knowledge as
confidently as if they were traversing their
own back yard. Vehicle drivers would be
able to spend large amounts of time
familiarising themselves with transport
routes and the possible dangers associated
with certain areas before they themselves
are in harm’s way. When it came to
transporting troops, weapons, supplies, or
other precious cargo through a live
battlefield, the fact that they would be able
to drive purely off instinct and memory
would mean that they could react promptly
and effectively to threats under times of
duress, possibly saving lives.
Already, some American special forces
units have been using VR to assist with
their aerial jump training and air
insertions. PARASIM, a Californian-based
company, provides this training as a
parachuting training simulator. However,
the applications and complexity of
PARASIM’s VR technology goes far
beyond just this. The set-up, comprised of
VR headset, an array of different
manufactured harnesses, and a highly
customisable digital environment means
that special forces units are able to practice
air insertions for specific sites that they are
soon to be deployed. This means that they
are able to rehearse jumps multiple times,
accounting for all the constraints and risks
associated with a specific jump site. When
they have to do the actual jump, they will
have already done it several times and be
prepared for any foreseeable incumbrances
along the way with “no surprises”.
Furthermore, the PARASIM setup allows
multiple jumpers to simulate a jump
simultaneously and interact with one
another whilst doing so, meaning that an
entire unit can practice a jump virtually,
working together to effectively execute an
insertion.
As demonstrated by PARASIM, the ability
to conduct real-time, multi-personnel
rehearsals for specific environments and
missions is an enormous current benefit of
VR technology in the military that could
become far more important in future years.
Rather than using maps, models, and
diagrams to run through an upcoming
mission, soldiers could don VR headsets
and virtually rehearse said mission at the
actual location, enabling them to develop
an almost instinctual feel for the
procedures and routes they would have to