Marines

Photo Information

Capt. Michael Plaisier, a logistics officer at the Warfighting Lab, tests out the Augmented Immersive Team Training system on the Medal of Honor Golf Course aboard Marine Corps Base Quantico on May 20. In the display mounted to his helmet, Plaisier is viewing enemy technical vehicles moving towards him on the golf course.

Photo by Eve A. Baker

Augmented reality technology tested at Quantico’s golf course

28 May 2015 | Eve A. Baker Marine Corps Base Quantico

Nearing the end of a five-year period of research and development on the Augmented Immersive Team Training system, the Office of Naval Research demonstrated and tested their product on the Medal of Honor Golf Course at Marine Corps Base Quantico May 20-22. The AITT system enables service members to conduct realistic training in any location by superimposing images onto a user’s helmet-mounted display and transmitting sounds to in-helmet speakers.

Dr. Peter Squire, program officer for the AITT system, said the technology will help fill the gap in simulating battlefield effects for training. Squire said, "users will be able to see simulated effects, such as virtual tanks, on a real environment."

On May 20, Capt. Michael Plaisier, a logistics officer at the Warfighting Lab, put on the headset and was able to see enemy technical vehicles rolling down the golf course toward him. Plaisier executed a call for fire and saw and heard the trucks being destroyed. Given that the only evidence of the vehicles appeared on Plaisier’s optical display and a flat-screen monitor in the tent behind him, the golfers playing through on the course had no idea what was going on and were not interrupted.

Overseen by ONR, the project is a collaborative effort among several defense contractors and government agencies.

According to Sean Cullen, senior staff software engineer for Lockheed Martin, the AITT system will be handed over to Training and Education Command and Marine Corps Systems Command’s Program Manager Training Systems at the end of the fiscal year. Cullen said that TECOM and TRASYS will further develop and ruggedize the system, enabling it to be used in various settings under potentially adverse conditions.

— Writer: ebaker@quanticosentryonline.com


Marine Corps Base Quantico