VISUALIZATION

Fakespace Systems today announced that it is working with Lockheed Martin and the U.S. Army's Command and Control Directorate at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey in support of research in the Directorate's C4ISR Automated Virtual Environment and ROVR laboratories. C4ISR, which stands for Command Control Communications Computers Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance, is an initiative in support of the U.S. Army's command and control operations. Fakespace has delivered reconfigurable and portable visualization systems and is providing Fakespace's Conduit software enhancement and application development services as part of the Lockheed Martin team. The Fort Monmouth Directorate uses Command and Control applications that can generate three-dimensional (3D) models of the battlefield. While these applications can present 3D images, they have been limited to display on two-dimensional monitors and projectors. The Directorate believes they need a more advanced viewing capability to immerse commanders in a virtual environment. Their goal is to simultaneously increase the overall comprehension of Command and Control (C2) information through intuitive visualization and to improve the mechanisms for user interaction. This may improve future commanders' ability to make command and control decisions by permitting virtual 3D course of action analysis, mission rehearsals, and mission planning so they may act decisively in the face of quickly changing circumstances. Fakespace is applying its Conduit software technology as well as other application enhancement to help Fort Monmouth in two stages of development; immersion and advanced interaction. Conduit, a breakthrough middleware, can enable virtually any graphics-based applications to work natively in immersive visual displays by making non-stereoscopic applications generate stereoscopic views. At Fort Monmouth, Conduit has already enabled stereoscopic projection of C2 data. "Stereoscopic display is a critical step in immersing commanders to make them feel present in the situation," said Ray Schulze, Battle Command Interface Branch Chief of the U.S. Army's Command and Control Directorate. "Fakespace was able to create stereoscopic views of our C2 software without requiring access to source code." Conduit will also be applied to enable advanced immersion and interaction capabilities, such as projection in the walk-in Fakespace FLEX display environment, with full motion tracking and working with a variety of virtual input devices such as wands, gloves and tablets. The FLEX consists of three, self-contained 8-ft x 10-ft wall screens that can be quickly reconfigured to form a flat PowerWall wall display, an immersive theatre or an enclosed immersive room for life size images. Configured as an immersive room in the C4ISR Lab, the FLEX is integrated with C2 software to give battlefield commanders a complete look-around view giving the illusion of a complete sense of presence in a battlefield situation. "We will be evaluating the benefits of stereoscopic vision and complete immersion in helping commanders make decisions quicker and more accurately," said Schulze. The U.S. Army's first demonstration in the C4ISR Lab, developed by subcontractor JB Management, was an immersive view of a fictitious replica of Baghdad presented using Boston Dynamics D.I. Guy software, which enabled commanders to locate friendly and enemy forces on the battlefield. Using this technology, commanders can quickly gain an understanding of evolving situations, explore their options and communicate their plans. "We're pleased with the initial evaluation results," said Schulze. "Future commanders have been receptive to virtual scenarios, and there is every indication that those who have grown up playing video games will be comfortable in the virtual reality environment." In the C4ISR Lab is a motion platform, which supports a replica of a High Mobility Multi-purpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) shelter to enable research on information access and input while commanders are operating on the move. Operators will be able to interact with C2 software presented in the HMMWV using new methods of interaction, such as touch input, keyboard, mouse, or speech recognition, while the vehicle is in motion. The interaction tools will also be managed by Fakespace Conduit. Networked battlefield operations is a future focus of the Command and Control Directorate. The C4ISR Lab, networked with the Army's ROVR lab, a portable version of the C4ISR Lab, will allow collaboration between the labs, so that software viewed in the C4ISR Lab can also be viewed in the ROVR Lab. In the ROVR Lab, 3D virtual representations of battle scenarios provide commanders with a more reliable and accurate means of viewing information on the battlefield in real-time. The ROVR Lab consists of three Fakespace ROVR (Rapidly Operational Virtual Reality) transportable visualization systems configured as an immersive room. Each ROVR large screen can be presenting stereoscopic images in as little as 15 minutes. Both laboratories are currently being supported by on-site Fakespace personnel for application development and related services. "We are pleased to be working directly with the Directorate to be able to accommodate and accelerate their current and future research," said Chris Clover, President and CEO of Fakespace Systems Inc. "Their C4ISR project demonstrates the potential Conduit has to enable people to work with their applications in new ways."