An Augmented Reality System for Military Operations in Urban Terrain
Mark A. Livingston, Lawrence J. Rosenblum, Simon J. Julier, Dennis Brown, Yohan Baillot, J. Edward Swan II, Joseph L. Gabbard, and Deborah Hix. An Augmented Reality System for Military Operations in Urban Terrain. In Proceedings of the Interservice / Industry Training, Simulation, & Education Conference (I/ITSEC '02), December 2002.
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Abstract
Many future military operations are expected to occur in urban environments. These complex, 3D battlefields introduce many challenges to the dismounted warfighter. Better situational awareness is required for effective operation in urban environments. However, delivering this information to the dismounted warfighter is extremely difficult. For example, maps draw a user's attention away from the environment and cannot directly represent the three-dimensional nature of the terrain. To overcome these difficulties, we are developing the Battlefield Augmented Reality System (BARS). The system consists of a wearable computer, a wireless network system, and a tracked see-through head-mounted display (HMD). The computer generates graphics that, from the user's perspective, appear to be aligned with the actual environment. For example, a building could be augmented to show its name, a plan of its interior, icons to represent reported sniper locations, and the names of adjacent streets. This paper surveys the current state of development of BARS and describes ongoing research efforts. We describe four major research areas. The first is the development of an effective, efficient user interface for displaying data and processing user inputs. The second is the capability for collaboration between multiple BARS users and other systems. Third, we describe the current hardware for both a mobile and indoor prototype system. Finally, we describe initial efforts to formally evaluate the capabilities of the system from a user's perspective through scenario analysis. We also will discuss the use of the BARS system in STRICOM's Embedded Training initiative.
BibTeX
@InProceedings{IITSEC02-bars,
author = {Mark A. Livingston and Lawrence J. Rosenblum and Simon J. Julier
and Dennis Brown and Yohan Baillot and J. Edward {Swan~II}
and Joseph L. Gabbard and Deborah Hix},
title = {An Augmented Reality System for Military Operations in Urban Terrain},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the Interservice / Industry Training,
Simulation, & Education Conference (I/ITSEC '02)},
location = {Orlando, Florida, USA},
date = {December 2--5},
month = {December},
year = 2002,
abstract = {
Many future military operations are expected to occur in urban environments.
These complex, 3D battlefields introduce many challenges to the dismounted
warfighter. Better situational awareness is required for effective operation in
urban environments. However, delivering this information to the dismounted
warfighter is extremely difficult. For example, maps draw a user's attention
away from the environment and cannot directly represent the three-dimensional
nature of the terrain.
To overcome these difficulties, we are developing the Battlefield Augmented
Reality System (BARS). The system consists of a wearable computer, a wireless
network system, and a tracked see-through head-mounted display (HMD). The
computer generates graphics that, from the user's perspective, appear to be
aligned with the actual environment. For example, a building could be augmented
to show its name, a plan of its interior, icons to represent reported sniper
locations, and the names of adjacent streets.
This paper surveys the current state of development of BARS and describes
ongoing research efforts. We describe four major research areas. The first is
the development of an effective, efficient user interface for displaying data
and processing user inputs. The second is the capability for collaboration
between multiple BARS users and other systems. Third, we describe the current
hardware for both a mobile and indoor prototype system. Finally, we describe
initial efforts to formally evaluate the capabilities of the system from a
user's perspective through scenario analysis. We also will discuss the use of
the BARS system in STRICOM's Embedded Training initiative.
},
}