Interactive Dismounted Soldier Training and Body Awareness System

This proposal describes a system consisting of 1) a full-body motion capture system with integral communications data link and sensor suit and 2)a full-face mask with integral display, 3D sound system, facial expression capture subsystem, and olfactory stimulator. This system will support dismounted soldiers in combined arms simulation based training exercises and provide both the functional and sensory components of the phenomena called "presence". The proposed motion capture system will leverage the multi-billion dollar investment that has been made in GPS technologies and components to produce a motion capture system which is much less sensitive to occlusion, interference and multi-path contamination than existing solutions. Multiple, 10 KBPS communication channels will be integrally provided by this design and millimeter-level tracking from a low-cost, credit-card-sized device will be achieved. Additionally, a head-mounted mask system will be developed which augments existing HMD and 3D audio technologies, olfactory stimulators and facial expression analysis subsystems to increase the soldier's body awareness. Extensions to the DIS protocols which will support these additional body awareness capabilities will be proposed. The online industry is actively constructing immersive virtual worlds which improve upon video conferencing because people "enter into" the media for interaction. The described body awareness capabilities are cornerstone technologies for this new virtual communications market.