Augmented reality (AR) is a concept in daily use in the modern technology vernacular. In one popular form, AR enhances football broadcasts with overlaid information such as the first down line. A much more robust capability for application in high-performance navigation systems uses accurate GPS and heading sensors to geographically register a virtual world accurately over a real-world, real-time view. In a military context, AR can provide critical context to situational awareness.
AR for military use was originally developed as a maritime equivalent to the aviator’s heads-up display. Evaluations using a task-load index function showed a 342 percent improvement in side-task operator performance when using AR. Operators do not have to make the mental conversion from 2D (map or chart view) to 3D real-world view. This translation is where errors can be made in high-stress scenarios and forms the root cause of many accidents. AR provides a game-changing capability to enhance warfighter performance when it matters and is invaluable during high-stress, dynamic operations.
In this navigation context, AR was developed for use in low-visibility situations, such as navigating in dense fog or at night during lights-out missions. The technology can provide a visual depiction of critical points of interest, regardless of real-world visibilities. AR provides the means to integrate sensors and supporting geographic information system and related systems into a cohesive visual display that overcomes environment limitations or such things as closed-hatch operations on military vehicles.
AR delivers two important military capabilities to the warfighter: situational awareness and precision piloting capabilities, both key to survival on the battlefield.
Situational Awareness. Any information with a geographical registration component can be overlaid on the real-world view in a single composite display format. This can track data, threat locations, friendly-force locations, obstacles, and safe havens; the list grows each day. This information adds immensely to the operator’s understanding of the environment. This fused information, over a real-world, real-time view, is functionally an enhanced Common Operational Picture (COP). Operators can be more cognizant of the tactical situation day, night, or in any visibility condition.
Precision Piloting. The faster one drives in an automobile, the further down the road one must focus to stay on the highway. AR provides this look-ahead drive-to-position based on accurate GPS positions. This extends the importance of GPS to high-speed operation or very close maneuvering situations where humans cannot cycle through a chart or map display, then place themselves in the real world to make maneuvering decisions.
AR enables a rich suite of functions supporting the access and maintenance of a COP, and demonstrated maneuver accuracy. For the Augmented Reality Visualization for the Common Operational Picture (ARVCOP) system, any situational awareness information available can be overlaid on the real-world view in a clear and organized way. Operators do not have to go through the process of translating what they see on a map to what they see in front of them, a translation process that often incurs error. AR then delivers this to warfighters through a human-cognition friendly, integrated display of sensor data and geographically registered overlays, as Figure 1 illustrates. The AR view is shown along with a two-dimensional view on the right side of the display.