Above The Dismounted Soldier Training System. Image credit: Intelligent Decisions, Inc.
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ISSUE 5.2011
tical Trainer (AVCATT) and others for training with other combat units. The Dismounted Soldier Training System will also be tied into the Army's Live, Virtual and Constructive Integrating Architecture (LVC-IA), Foster said. The one-year Dismounted Soldier Training System contract with four option years is for a total of 104 suites to be delivered to 50 locations. After the September Fort Benning demonstration, followed by a full-up one at I/ITSEC 2011 this year, the first two suites will be delivered to Fort Benning in January 2012, West said. "The Dismounted Soldier Training System will focus on all of the tasks unit members will do, from IED training to that for cultural and language training, as well as for learning enhanced decisionmaking that was formerly made at the officer level," Foster said. "We are trying to build a system that is flexible for today and tomorrow, where we bring training to the soldier, which is a shift from that in the past. Although we have selected one of the best gaming engines on the market today, we plan to leverage the technology as it advances. As the computer technology continues to miniaturize, we will take advantage of that to reduce the weight of the soldier's backpack, for example." According to West, Dismounted Soldier Training System partners include L-3 Link Simulation & Training for the supportability aspects of the program; AVT Simulation for training scenario development; Advanced Simulation Research for the man-wearable equipment support and RealTime Immersive, Crytek's Orlando studio.
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was the only one capable of such photorealistic image fidelity, he said. Both Foster and West pointed out the new technology now makes it possible for the first high-fidelity immersive training simulator training for soldiers on the ground who are not crew members of vehicles or aircraft. While the Dismounted Soldier Training System can be employed for all scenarios an infantryman might encounter, initial funding for the trainer came from the US Joint IED Defeat Organization (JIEDDO) for IED training. The primary use for the system will be Home Station training, Foster added, although the trainer can be deployed as well. The Dismounted Soldier Training System consists of 10x10-foot modular units, one for each member of a ninemember squad. Each soldier wears a helmet-mounted display (HMD) through which they view the simulated operational environment, themselves and fellow squad members as avatars, along with other projected virtual entities in the environment. There also are a number of interface options, including sensors mounted on a simulated weapon. Each squad member also wears body sensors that transmit motion data to the wearer's avatar and a self-contained backpack computer that wirelessly projects the wearer's data onto the visual 360-degree display seen by each squad member through their HMDs. The units also feature surround sound and afteraction debriefing capabilities. According to Foster, the initial Dismounted Soldier Training System will be a standalone unit. However, after it is fielded, work will be conducted so that it will become a part of the Army's LVC environment. This will be accomplished by linking it with such existing trainers as the Close Combat Tactical Trainer (CCTT), Aviation Combined Arms Tac-
05/09/2011 15:02