The U.S. Navy plans billions of dollars to use AR/VR to create earth-scale simulated environments

XR Navigation Network November 20, 2023在历次战争中，美国海军陆战队都需要在最恶劣的条件下作战。为了更好地为日益不稳定的未来做好准备，他们正在进入元宇宙。

Last month, the U.S. Marine Corps at the Marine Corps Platform Integration Center successfully deployed a "live pilot set in an Earth-scale virtual environment."

The metaverse the Marine Corps hopes to enter is one that requires spending billions of dollars to create "faithful twins" in simulated reality.

据介绍，这个试点项目涉及将美国海军陆战队平台集成中心的后勤和资产管理系统与数字孪生集成在一起。相关项目演示了美国海军陆战队如何实现增强的可视化、实时监控、模拟能力和预测分析，从而提升训练和教育，以及作战效率。

Simply put, the U.S. military places the Metaverse between future military sandbox exercises and actual battlefield planning, including weather simulations, fuel level measurements, and direction and location accurate to meters. Clearly, the potential for high-tech military applications seems endless.

Providing consulting services for the project pilot isCGI Federal. “We are focused on connecting reality more closely to the metaverse,” Victor Foulk, the company’s vice president of emerging technologies, said in an interview.

Now for the U.S. Marine Corps, that means picking up a device, scanning it, and replicating it into a large simulated environment with realistic mechanics, physics and geography.

But what will it look like in the end? Both CGI Federal and the U.S. Marine Corps said that the team is still exploring, but that an interactive map similar to "Star Wars" is not impossible to achieve.

The U.S. Marine Corps says the push for the Metaverse is driven by a pressing need. As the U.S. military sets its sights on the Pacific, their need for distributed planning is becoming increasingly important, said Maj. Jeff Planteen, a combat officer.

普兰廷以太平洋的岛链为例，这里面临的规划挑战与内陆不同。他补充道：“我们需要一种方法来支持当地指挥官可视化后勤物品，以及它们如何装载运输。”

The simulated environment will be first tested on logistical aspects and will be used to plan, package and deploy items for the U.S. Marine Corps. Related items can be transformed into replicas in the Metaverse, providing the same real-time tracking.

Planting said the Marine Corps Platform Integration Center already uses passive radio frequency identification tags to tag items. The Marine Corps can then track items and statistics related to the vehicle and its maintenance status. With this tracking, he noted, the Marines can upload "realistic replicas" of items into a vast simulated environment.

So, supply leaders thousands of miles away can see in real time how ships are packing items, vehicles or equipment is oriented, and then find the best way to unload and deliver supplies in the theater.

"If I could put a VR headset on a U.S. Marine and help them see how the ship is being loaded... I could do that from anywhere in the world. I don't need to put the Marine in advance," Planting said. Send it to the ship... find out where everything is, or look at the 2D loading plans one by one. We don't need to keep doing that. I can show you the current situation through the metaverse."

Two U.S. Marine Corps logistics officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, shared their thoughts on the Metaverse.

"You reduce the risk of unknown events, damage to equipment or loss of personnel," one officer said. "If I lose an operator, when they're unloading equipment or moving items in a tight space, their fingers or toes could break. Injury. This is a certified person with hundreds of hours of experience. I can't simply replace them."

Officers also pointed out that rehearsing large-scale operations in the virtual world will be beneficial to commanders deploying U.S. Marines. Additionally, it could be used for training, helping U.S. Marines get accustomed to real-world scenarios until they reach the fleet.

Another officer said: "We're talking about planning and execution and real-time uploads within 15 meters of anywhere in the world. I would even take it back to a school setting for the military careers that U.S. Marines learn about Professional. It will help the Marines better understand what they are doing in a practical sense."

As for the hidden worries of the Metaverse, the U.S. Marine Corps stated that when transporting the equipment needed for the Metaverse, severe weather may cause damage to the equipment.

One Marine asked how you could power a Metaverse device if you took it to an actual battlefield: "Would it be as strong as a hammer...or would it fall apart after the third shot?"

Another issue is data security and encryption. For uploading large amounts of data on U.S. Marine Corps assets, does this pose a security risk, especially if it is a high-priority data target for an adversary.

Scott Prowse, automation systems group supervisor, Command Data and Analysis Office, U.S. Marine Corps Logistics Command ProUse) said: "There is indeed a problem. But I can tell you that the U.S. Marine Corps Platform Integration Center is a fully recognized platform. We comply with all security protocols specified by the U.S. Department of Defense." He further added that the U.S. Navy The data processed by the Team Platform Integration Center is not "particularly sensitive."

Poulos added: "We're moving to the cloud so we can be more secure. So your point is a good one, but we're following all the strict guidelines."

Planting is hopeful that the U.S. Marine Corps will enter the Metaverse. "We're talking about action plans, like a tabletop exercise, based on actual asset management and force readiness, not just assumptions," he said. "This is definitely an exercise planning tool that enhances the sandbox and can be used on a larger scale." function within the scope and have higher fidelity of reality-based information.”