Courtesy Photo | (1) Team Hot Zone hazard area visualization in AR environment. (2) ARGo’s symbol...... read more read more
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New augmented reality (AR) applications can make it easier to locate a chemical and biological (CB) threat by using real-time data, critical for warfighters on the “tactical edge”—an area where they may not be able to proceed safely and may be limited in communications connectivity. This technology is a new area of interest for the Defense Threat Reduction Agency’s (DTRA) Chemical and Biological Technologies Department in its role as the Joint Science and Technology Office (JSTO) for the Chemical and Biological Defense Program (CBDP).
The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory developed these AR technologies for DTRA-JSTO through their annual summer intern contest to provide a configurable and immersive operating picture for the warfighter at the tactical edge, as well as provide information back to various echelons of command. This work will enhance the warfighter’s situational awareness and provide valuable information to command for more informed decision making.
It is envisioned that AR capabilities will adapt decision-aid and situational-awareness capabilities previously developed by DTRA-JSTO, as well as research and develop entirely new capabilities. There will also be a push to develop CBDP AR capabilities to larger AR platforms in the Department of Defense and integrate with them, allowing the warfighter to use a suite of interoperable capabilities with one AR device. With this overall goal in mind, the three intern teams (Navit, Hot Zone, and ARGo) were encouraged to provide innovative and unique ways of using AR in the following scenario:
Sensors alert the command center to the presence of a chemical threat. A team goes to locate, investigate, confirm, and then eliminate the threat. The team must navigate through unfamiliar territory that is potentially contaminated from the chemical weapon incident.
Each team had six weeks to develop an AR tool for this scenario, focusing on different aspects, as well as incorporating similar AR visuals and capabilities in different ways. Each of the apps provided an augmented view of the world as seen through the lens of a smartphone camera as well as the ability to view a map of the environment with AR elements marked. While the three applications had many similar AR aspects, what varied across the teams was the implantation, visualization, and thoughts about using them operationally.
One common feature the three teams implemented into their AR application was the ability to use symbols to tag points of interest, hostile entities, and potential threats. This feature uses familiar NATO symbols and can share a picture of the location on a network with descriptive text. Both the AR and map views provide location and distance information to marked
sites, which enables sharing information about threats in real time.
When combined with hazard visualization and information, this is a powerful tool for warfighters on how to avoid CB hazards to reach potential destinations or which protective gear to use if they must move through a hazard to reach a point of interest. All the applications had the ability to see symbols tagged in AR as well on an overhead map view of the area.
The groups had unique ideas and uses for data that would help warfighters in their AR applications:
| Date Taken: | 01.21.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 01.21.2022 14:34 |
| Story ID: | 413229 |
| Location: | FT. BELVOIR, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 387 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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