Kratos to introduce Mixed Reality Military Training Platform at I/ITSEC
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc., a leading National Security Solutions provider, announced that it will introduce its new Mixed Reality (MR) Simulation Platform at I/ITSEC, the world's largest modeling, simulation and training event held this week in Orlando, Florida.
(Illustration source: Kratos)
To meet the challenge of increasingly sophisticated weaponry, tactics and readiness demands, DoD’s goal is to improve training effectiveness, deploy it rapidly and increase affordability while enhancing fidelity, content and safety. An increasingly popular solution is Mixed Reality (MR), the next step in human, computer and environmental convergence that goes beyond virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) to incorporate a wide variety of advanced technologies for sight, sound, smell, haptics and more to provide high fidelity training in a safer, more cost-effective environment.
Until now, MR’s usage in military readiness training has been limited because of the challenges of integrating these multiple sensory technologies as well as limitations on when and where MR training could be delivered. Kratos has broken down those barriers by enabling a platform-based approach to immersive environments that embraces commercial market components, requires a smaller footprint and delivers training virtually anywhere it will be most effective and efficient.
The Kratos Platform integrates best-of-breed COTS devices, such as virtual reality headsets and stereoscopic cameras, unifying and coordinating their performance. For example, pine forest imagery in a simulated environment will trigger a pine tree aroma, or the pull of a trigger in a gunnery training scenario will initiate muzzle flashes. Course developers can choose the scenarios that best suit their training goals without having to reinvent the wheel with each new course. They can rely upon the pre-integrated platform to speed development and incorporate new technologies without having to architect the solution each time.
To be clear, the Kratos Platform is not a development environment or toolkit. Instead it is a complete, turnkey training delivery foundation that allows educators to apply the most immersive MR technology to achieve training objectives.
Beyond facilitating course creation, one of the greatest advantages of the Kratos Platform is that it enables MR-based courses to be delivered in any suitable environment including the cockpit of a stationary rotary aircraft, a ground vehicle cabin in the desert, a simulator in a schoolhouse or in the flexible Kratos Holodeck, a turnkey delivery environment that will be demonstrated in booth 1223 at the I/ITSEC conference.
The Kratos Holodeck consists of an image generator, host, and VR Headsets with stereoscopic cameras providing a dynamic viewpoint and Head Tracking system. It is easily and quickly reconfigured to new applications and courses simply by loading a new mission scenario and adding or removing desired training hardware such as weapons, controls or instrumentation. At I/ITSEC, Kratos will use the Holodeck to show mixed reality-based soldier field tactics training.
Jose Diaz, Senior Vice President of Kratos Training Services (KTS), said: “A platform-based solution in addition to creating an enhanced immersive environment reduces investment and life-cycle costs by providing a solution set that embraces commercial market components, requires a smaller footprint and delivers greater ease of technology infusion concurrency.”
Kratos helps military trainers meet the challenges of increasingly sophisticated and contested environments by employing the latest in VR, AR and MR technology with its state-of-the-art simulation systems and instructional design approaches to address a broad spectrum of military training disciplines.
