Advanced Technologies (including AR/VR) for Manpower, Personnel, Training, and Education

Phase I of Xiphos Partners Navy Technology Acceleration Program (Topic 8) SBIR - Call for Fire Virtual Reality Trainer (CFFVT) research and development focused on two primary objectives; Achieve proof of concept and initial development for an embedded Call for Fire (CFF) training application, complementing the related work of the JTAC Virtual Trainer (JVT). Achieve proof of concept and initial development to utilize video passthrough capability in the Unity based Virtual Reality (VR) environment.  Additionally, this research encompassed the investigation of digitally printed and tracked replication of user/operator equipment.  These objectives (and sub-objectives) proved out successfully, not only in technical feasibility but also in market interest.  In both government and industry, it is clear that this project is providing advanced capability and cost savings to a market requirement and need for the technology product combination that we are pursuing.  The product offering enabled by this program combines high quality commercial VR software, high tactical relevance, commercial gaming designed user interfaces (UI) for intuitive use (near zero training required), in a man-portable kit that is deployment capable.  Along with other advances, this combination provides trainees and instructors with an immersive, scalable, accessible, flexible and effective training simulator at a substantially lower cost, both in procurement and sustainment.  These key features, which have been demonstrated to end customers and user communities, as well as within the S&T community, have proven to meet an emerging need in the marketplace for the next generation of simulator training.  Accordingly, Phase I also identified additional opportunities to be explored in Phase II.  The scope of work proposed here offers a combination of low risk development to advance and complete a multiplayer joint Fires VR gaming based trainer that demonstrating the advanced product features listed above as well as the opportunity to fundamentally advance Unity based simulation integration with user/operator equipment, by leveraging government application programming interfaces API (GFE) and/or advanced industry capabilities that are evolving in this space.  The combination is powerful because it applies advanced research and a test bed for rapid innovation, design, and development, directly within an end user application that is currently being used by DoN stakeholder organizations.