Military 3-D Visualization Utilizing Gaming Technology

3D Interfaces for Military Command and Control (C2) systems have the potential to be of great assistance to the military planning and C2 process. Computer generated 3D graphics is a natural and effective way to view information about terrain, unit locations, sensor coverages, routes, and urban features. Many video games offer 3D user interface capability that gives the gamer the ability to control game forces on a 3D battlefield representation. What is lacking in current military 3D visualization systems is the ability to interact with and control the 3D elements in a useful way. In addition, ways that such capability can be effectively embedded into a warfighter’s operational environment must be developed. The proposed C3D system will offer breakthrough user interaction and 3D graphics technologies to bring operationally useful 3D command and control to the warfighter at all levels. Utilizing state of the art COTS-based portable 3D rendering hardware suitable for deployment into Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) and smaller form factor computers, industry standard graphics APIs, and rapid software development tools, the C3D system will combine networked C2 feeds, innovative software architecture, and cutting edge 3D graphics to implement 3D user interfaces and demonstrate their integration into embedded systems.