Office of Naval Research (ONR) Immersive Sciences for Training, Education, Mission Rehearsal, and Operations

Description

The Office of Naval Research, Expeditionary Maneuver Warfare and Combating Terrorism S&T Department (Code 30) is soliciting white papers and proposals for basic research in immersive sciences. The Navy and Marine Corps seeks to use augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality technologies to improve training and operations for infantry combat personnel; with a specific focus on small unit leaders (e.g. Squad Leader). This includes a range of applications, including augmented training environments that can simulate environments, assets, and friendly/opposing forces and operational tools that can overlay useful virtual information onto the real-world environment. While the Navy and Marine Corps have envisioned these applications, this research opportunity is focused more on the development of the scientific area than on capability. In support of this goal, the Immersive Sciences research program seeks to address basic research challenges in three key areas: automated methods for generating content and/or behaviors for use augmented and mixed reality technologies (with an emphasis on AR); valid, reliable, and objective measures of presence and immersion; and a human-factors based taxonomy of visualization and interaction in AR.Key Area No. 1: Automated methods for generating content and/or behaviors for use augmented and mixed reality technologies (with an emphasis on AR).This area involves automated methods for generating content for immersive environments. Current methods of content generation are slow (e.g., manual creation), expensive, or require specialized equipment (e.g., LIDAR scanners) or expertise. The goal of this research is to develop tools and techniques for processing, extraction, and identification of 3D content from easily accessible sources, such as crowd-sourced photos and videos on the Internet. This content should include terrain, roads, buildings, people, vehicles, and other relevant environmental features necessary to create immersive environments that reflect the intricacies of future operating environments such as megacities. Proposals describing new and innovative techniques are welcome, as are proposals that seek to improve currently-existing techniques, such as photogrammetry. Technologies that allow for rough estimates of behavior patterns (but not full pattern of life) are also desired.Key Area No. 2: Valid, reliable, and objective measures of presence and immersion. This area involves objective measures of presence and immersion. The current state of the art involves subjective surveys or other measurements (e.g., behavioral or physiological) that may only correlate with increased presence instead of provide a direct measure. The goal of this research is to develop valid, reliable, objective, sensitive, and minimally-invasive techniques to quantify the amount of presence a person is experiencing in an environment compared to the real world and/or other baselines; and how the level of presence influences training and learning.Key Area No. 3: A human-factors based taxonomy of visualization and interaction in AR.The third key area involves developing taxonomies and/or theories of visualization and interaction, particularly in augmented reality. The current state of the art includes a variety of prototype AR user interfaces using a variety of interaction techniques, such as gestures in the air or control via a separate device. However, these prototypes are not thoroughly evaluated from a human factors perspective. The goal of this research would examine various use cases to develop and substantiate, with evidence, which AR visualization and interaction schemes are optimal.

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