Multiuser Portable Virtual Reality Training Simulator for Submarines

With the escalating pace of tactical submarine operations as well as the increasing strategic deployment of naval assets to distant locations, opportunities for the use of land-based mockup and pier-side simulation training has been greatly reduced. In order to maintain appropriate training levels at remote locations, the U.S. Navy is seeking a portable virtual reality training tool to enable data and imagery from land-based simulations to be satellite-relayed and superimposed on crew station consoles via head-mounted displays. In response to this need, MetroLaser Inc. proposes to develop the Remote Access Multiuser Portable Augmented Reality Training Simulation (RAMPARTS) system. RAMPARTS is a highly flexible augmented-reality simulation client and multiuser augmented reality system incorporating voice over internet protocol (VoIP), timestamped digital recording and playback for after-action reports, and High Level Architecture software compliance. RAMPARTS will employ passive infrared (IR) encoded fiducials integrated with IR cameras to provide optical-position determination coupled with inertial sensing to refine and smooth the resulting measurements. This tracking will be joined with state-of-the-art GPU hardware and data-parallel programming to produce a registered superposition image on the HMD system. Finally, a combination of local and remote processing will be employed to mitigate the high latency of satellite channels.