To begin with, it is worth understanding the concept of virtual reality, which we often automatically use in speech without thinking about its meaning. Virtual reality is a computer-generated model of the real world. The perception of the created reality occurs with the participation of the organs of vision, hearing, and touch, thus creating a sense of being in virtual space. Due to the high perception of the human organs virtual reality allows effective training of new skills, which is simply indispensable in the military field.
Virtual reality makes it possible to create any space, which in the end serves as a virtual battlefield, designed for realistic training of army units in combat conditions. The word “simulation” is very well suited here, because it is the simulation of real combat that takes place in virtual reality.
Virtual firing range
In this article we will not discuss all possible applications of virtual reality in military training, but rather talk about the main one – the simulation of a military training ground. It can be tacitly divided into two constituent parts.
The first one is designed for military personnel to practise combat skills with modern military equipment, and, accordingly, the main goal here is to teach the control system of that equipment itself, including its operation in emergency and non-emergency situations. The army uses such methods to train drivers, technicians, spotters and many others. But it should be noted that today such simulators are used everywhere, including in the civil area, training, for example, pilots of civil aviation. The latest models of such simulators use the method of combined reality, when in addition to a realistic environment the trainee is in a realistically recreated model of the cabin of transport or military equipment.
The second is a virtual reality system designed to simulate shooting, somewhat reminiscent of the usual training of blank firing. There are both interactive laser shooting simulators, which allow you to simulate combat holding mass-sized models of any weapon, and shooting in virtual reality goggles with 360° visibility. Both methods are good because they allow, without expending ammunition and most importantly without exposing the soldier to any risk, to teach him how to handle practically any weapon. The realism is achieved by means of, among other things, special software for such a virtual training area.
Bottom line
The introduction of virtual reality in the training process of a soldier for real combat conditions is enormous. Such technologies already today allow training with new weapons in virtual reality goggles right in the combat zone, using unprepared premises and regular computers, which means it is possible to gain advantages in combat without spending additional resources on withdrawal of personnel to familiarize and train with new weapon models.
Virtual reality makes it possible to create any space, which in the end serves as a virtual battlefield, designed for realistic training of army units in combat conditions. The word “simulation” is very well suited here, because it is the simulation of real combat that takes place in virtual reality.
