SBIR-STTR Award

To address Air Force""s need for high fidelity training and rehearsal environments in next-generation multirole aircraft, Third Dimension Technologies (TDT) proposes to develop a new low-cost Warfighter 3D Gaming Environment (W3DGE). The W3DGE is a game-based, networked, reconfigurable trainer that can travel anywhere and be assembled in hours. An innovation of W3DGE is a unique quick-change displaytrue 3D or high acuitydepending on training needs. The true 3D (unaided, naked eye) display is a new variant of TDT""s Angular Slice 3D Display (AS3D), a holographic stereogram-based display that recreates all human visual cues, including no-glasses-required stereopsis, head-motion parallax and matched vergence-accommodation (viewer""s eyes are focused where they are lookingcontrary to typical stereo 3D displays). TDT is partnering with Lockheed Martin to integrate W3DGE with Prepar3D, a professional training and simulation environment, and thereby directly addresses the Air Force""s requirements for training, evaluating and preparing personnel on fifth-generation aircraft. In Phase I, TDT will analyze relevant fifth-generation missions, then design the W3DGE for training these missions and demonstrate feasibility with a proof-of-concept testbed. In Phase II, TDT will optimize the design and fabricate a full low-cost prototype to evaluate and quantify training effectiveness and mission readiness.

Benefit:
An anticipated benefit of the W3DGE (Warfighter 3D Gaming Environment) platform is the ability to simulate all human visual cues, including stereopsis, head motion parallax and vergence-accommodation, for unaided, naked-eye (true 3D) visualization. The W3DGE uses the new Curved AS3D (Angular Slice 3D Display), which is a major technology innovation as it reduces system complexity (lower cost) and improves rendering budgets (better performance) without loss of fidelity. Thus, the W3DGE, as an affordable game-based platform, offers a major cost-savings opportunity for the Department of Defense (DoD) in simulation, modeling and training. The ability for no-glasses-required true 3D viewing opens new avenues of DoD research and development in supervisory control interfaces, battlespace visualizations, immersive and collaborative environments, human factors, human vision, etc. Additionally, commercial applications in medical imaging, 3D CAD engineering, scientific visualization and over the long term entertainment (gaming and movies) are highly probable offshoots of this technology.

With the tremendously successful Phase I effort, Third Dimension Technologies (TDT), in collaboration with Lockheed Martin, Rickard Consulting Group and APTUS, plans in Phase II to create, test and evaluate a gaming-based training and rehearsal environment known as the W3DGE (Warfighter 3D Gaming Environment). The Air Force has a need for a lower-cost, more deployable tactical training and rehearsal environment for fifth-generation multi-role fighters. To address this need, TDT proposes the W3DGE as a stand-alone/networked (individual/teams) gaming environment that can travel anywhere and be assembled in hours. W3DGE integrates TDT’s advanced Holographic Angular Slice 3D Display (HAS3D) with Lockheed’s Prepar3D, a game-based professional training and simulation environment. HAS3D reproduces all human visual cues—including head motion parallax and vergence-accommodation cues—and will provide W3DGE with true 3D, high acuity visuals. Lockheed’s Prepar3D with it’s new SimDirector tool will allow Air Force training and operations personnel to create scenarios to simulate, train and analyze classified fifth-generation missions and tactics. TDT plans in Phase II to demonstrate and deliver a fully functional hardware and software W3DGE prototype that offers the Air Force a sustainable architecture to enhance fidelity and maintain concurrency as needed.

Benefit:
TDT sees significant commercialization potential for the products resulting from Phase II. TDT’s first planned product will be the W3DGE, a low-cost, high fidelity, game-based, deployable F -35 Lightning II mission training and rehearsal simulator. Potential customers include the Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, eight international partner nations and twenty-three other allied countries. TDT has also identified important commercialization potential for TDT’s HAS3D display technology, which will be integrated with W3DGE. In particular, Lockheed Martin has expressed interest in TDT’s display technology for simulator applications (particularly cross-cockpit configurations), and other prospective strategic partners have shown interest in the technology for collaborative environments, oil & gas reservoir management and robotic surgery. TDT has identified future opportunities in geospatial intelligence analysis, diagnostic radiology, medical training, satellite tracking, computer-aided design and command and control applications. Phase II will allow TDT to showcase its 3D display capability and secure funding for development of the W3DGE and 3D display products.

Keywords:
game-based training systems, high fidelity tactical training, tailorable training environments, performance based deployable training, true 3D display