Virtual Reality for Ground Vehicle Survivability, Lethality, and Vulnerability

The United States Marine Corps (USMC) seeks a virtual reality (VR) platform for visualizing and interacting with computer-aided design (CAD) and modeling and simulation (M&S) data in order to reduce the cost and improve the understanding of ground vehicle survivability, lethality, and vulnerability (SLV) design and analysis. VR provides an unparalleled means of evaluating a model at 1:1 scale to perform asset management in lieu of a physical asset or to accelerate understanding of load paths and other analysis results through intuitive interaction. Corvid identified the impact VR could have in visualizing M&S results in 2017 and developed Vision as an internal VR visualization program to view Velodyne and Velodyne Integrated Toolkit for Assessment of Lethality (VITAL) simulation output. Under a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) effort, Corvid expanded on Vision’s capabilities for the USMC by creating additional support for LS-DYNA, Advanced Joint Effectiveness Model, and CAD formats used by Program Manager Advanced Amphibious Assault (PM AAA) for ground vehicle SLV analyses and developed new features to facilitate easier communication of M&S results to other stakeholders. In the Phase II period, Corvid will further expand Vision’s capabilities to address the visualization needs of the USMC by incorporating networked multi-user capabilities to allow real-time collaboration among users, increasing the number of M&S data types and CAD file formats supported by Vision, and assisting the USMC in qualifying Vision and the necessary VR hardware for classified use. Corvid will also incorporate configuration control data visualization so Vision can be used to track physical assets throughout the ground vehicle acquisition and maintenance process. At the end of this effort, Corvid will deliver Vision to the USMC as a mature VR visualization and analysis tool with broad commercial application within the M&S community. The M&S data visualization capabilities within Vision will also be adapted into a standalone mixed reality tool for test support operations.  The mixed reality tool will be deployable on the Hololens 2 headset and will aid in threat placement, instrumentation alignment, debris visualization, and viewing M&S results for pre-test prediction and post-test analysis.