Iowa State’s virtual reality chamber is giving researchers the opportunity to test unmanned flight technology and reduce the risk of deaths in air combat scenarios.

The virtual reality center has received a $2.8 million grant from the United States Air Force Office of Scientific Research. The goal of the grant is to use Iowa State’s six-screen Virtual Reality Applications Center, called a C6, to test drone aircraft.

“The end goal is to protect the lives of American soldiers,” said Jim Gibbons, Public Relations Liaison for the United States Air Force.

If successful, the project could pave the way for future military research grants, said James Oliver, professor of mechanical engineering.

One of the project’s primary objectives is to upgrade from existing technology, where several operators control a single, unmanned aircraft, to more advanced technology, where a single operator can control multiple aircraft simultaneously.

The air force is hoping to have unmanned aircrafts fly the most dangerous missions in the future. The drones could be piloted via remote virtual reality centers similar to the C6.

Oliver is leading a team of researchers who are planning to work on the new Air Force technology, creating virtual reality environments similar to those encountered by real life pilots. These environments, combined with the addition of surrounding airspace, vehicles and instrument panels could give remote operators the training necessary to use the technology in real life situations.

The C6 virtual reality room opened in 2000 and has not received any major infrastructure improvements since its opening.

Most of the grant money is planned to be used to upgrade the facility and to carry out the new research.

Oliver said some research would be done next year while the upgrades are being set into place in the virtual reality center. In the second year of the project, the majority of research can be completed in the newly upgraded virtual reality center.

If Iowa State can successfully provide the research the Air Force hopes to receive from the grant, it would be a huge lift for future military funding, Oliver said.

He hopes to receive new grants and commissions from the U.S. Army and Navy, as well as future grants from the U.S. Air Force. If this project is successful, Iowa State could see many new military commissions and technological upgrades to its virtual reality research center, he said.

— Dan Brauer contributed to this article.