Research performed at Iowa State’s Virtual Reality Applications Center may help to increase the ability of U.S. armed forces to manage military engagements, including those in the current conflict in Iraq.

Adrian Sannier, associate director of the Virtual Reality Applications Center, said researchers at the facility have been working for several years with the Air Force Research Lab and the 133rd Air Control Squadron of the Iowa National Guard to develop what is termed a “battlespace.”

“The things we are trying to do revolve around Air Force efforts to command and control [an engagement],” said Sannier, professor of industrial and manufacturing systems engineering.

One of the possible uses for the battlespace simulation is to train military personnel to interpret battle situations using the immersive interface of virtual reality, he said.

“You hear about ground superiority and air superiority, but the idea of information superiority is something that is mostly unique to the U.S. military,” Sannier said.

He added that establishing information superiority is simply knowing more about everything on the battlefield than the opponent. The research at Iowa State is based on gathering and quickly transferring usable information up and down the chain of command, he said.

James Oliver, associate professor of mechanical engineering and a collaborator on the project, said this collection and rapid transferal of data is the most challenging part of the project.

“These information sources come in many different formats,” Oliver said. “For example, we might have live feeds from an aircraft or video feeds from some camera mounted on a weapon.”

Oliver said moving the information is only half the battle — after seeing data collected by the program, participants in a simulation need to be able to respond quickly and accurately to a situation.

“The environment is so information-rich,” he said. “By enabling an immersive interface, we allow them to discriminate and operate.”

Sannier said the work being done at the Virtual Reality Applications Center could be likened to the invention of a “next-generation radar screen.”

The possibilities for training of military personnel are intriguing, Sannier said.

“We can put you anywhere, places you couldn’t experience even by going to the battlefield,” he said. A trainee could be moved instantly during a simulation from a spot on the ground to a vantage point miles above the earth, he said.

While the battlespace and immersive environment research are still in the experimental stages, Sannier said in the future the researchers will work to make the principles of their work available on lower-end computer hardware so they are useful in the field.

Since the project began in 2000, Sannier said a group usually containing about 15 faculty, graduate and undergraduate students have collaborated on the project with members of the National Guard’s Air Control Squadron in Fort Dodge.

“They’ve been very generous with their time,” Sannier said of the Air Force personnel. “Our students go up and sit with them in exercises, and they also come here and participate in demonstrations.”

Sannier said part of the 133rd Air Control Squadron’s mission is to test new equipment for the military.

Bryan Walter, graduate student in mechanical engineering, is one of the researchers who has gone to Fort Dodge to work with the Air Force squadron.

“Our customers come up with specifications,” Walter said. After initial work on a project like the battlespace simulations, Walter said changes are often made.

Changes were based on input gathered from demonstrations given in Ames and from meetings with the Air Force personnel.

While Iowa State does not receive any classified information or specifications from the military, Walter said the goal of the project is to provide the military with “proof of concept.”