Summer 2003
Summer 2003 Abstracts

Donald Charity

Willie Gilchrist
L. Creekmore
Vincent Davis
Danielle Graves
Carl Seward
Eunice Smith
Nelson Veale
A. Anderson
Zaccheus Eley
Cory Hill
Karitsa Williams
Tracey Ward
Golar Newby
 

Donald Charity
email: dcharity@lotek.net

Mentor: Simon Julier
Internship:
Naval Research Laboratory (Advanced Information Technology)
Title:
BARS (Battlefield Augmented Reality System) Application Developer

Embedded training (ET) is the integration of training scenarios within a relatively similar environment in which an actual operation will occur. ET equipment is commonly used to train tank and airplane operators in the field, but it is not ratably available for ambulatory individuals. To overcome this disparity, we adapted the US NAVY Battlefield Augmented Reality System (BARS) for embedded training. BARS is a mobile augmented reality platform that displays heads-up battlefield intelligence information to dismounted infantry personnel. BARS consist of a wearable computer, a wireless network connection, and a tracked see-through head mounted display (HMD). The computer generates graphics that, from the user's perspective, appear to exist in the surrounding environment. For example, a building could be augmented to show its name, a plan of its interior, icons to represent reported hazard locations, and the names of adjacent streets. The BARS embedded training system operates in natural environments (as compared to an artificial laboratory virtual reality simulation) with simulated forces that appear to exist and interact with the real world.