From: Linda Long <llong@pubs.ota.gov>
Subject: OTA BP--VIRTUAL REALITY AND TECHNOLOGIES FOR COMBAT SIMULATION


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U.S. CONGRESS
OFFICE OF TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT
Washington, DC  20510

VIRTUAL REALITY AND TECHNOLOGIES FOR COMBAT SIMULATION--
BACKGROUND PAPER
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The OTA background paper, "Virtual Reality and Technologies
for Combat Simulation" was released on October 6, 1994.
Ordering information and details about electronic access are
at the end of this file.

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OTA LOOKS AT VIRTUAL REALITY AND COMBAT SIMULATION
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The congressional Office of Technology has prepared a
background paper that describes uses of synthetic-
environment technologies and virtual reality (VR) in
simulating combat.  It traces technology development from
the 1929 Link Trainer through the SAGE air defense system,
the first head-mounted display, and the Defense Advanced
Research Projects Agency's SIMNET simulator networking
project.

The background paper is available electronically now.
Published copies will be available in about two weeks.  See
end of advisory for ordering information.

Virtual reality is the popular name for an interactive,
computer-mediated experience in which a person perceives a
synthetic (i.e., simulated) environment by means of special
human-computer interface equipment and interacts with
simulated objects in that environment, as if they were real.
Several persons can see one another and interact in a shared
synthetic environment, such as a synthetic battlefield.  For
over a decade the Department of Defense (DOD) has been
developing and expanding virtual battlefields to be used for
training and to develop combat systems and doctrine.

Synthetic-environment technology is dual-use.  OTA notes
that a large commercial market has built on research funded
by DOD, and DOD is actively exploiting its dynamism and
efficiency.  Advances in synthetic-environment technologies
such as computer image generation are reducing the costs of
cockpit simulators and facilitating other applications that
some purists do not call "VR."

This paper describes technical challenges and discusses
issues of validation, standardization, scalability,
flexibility, effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, and
infrastructure.  This background paper is the first of
several publications in OTA's assessment of combat modeling
and simulation, requested by Representatives Ronald V.
Dellums (Chairman) and Floyd Spence (Ranking Minority
Member) of the House Committee on Armed Services, Senators
Sam Nunn (Chairman) and Strom Thurmond (Ranking Minority
Member) of the Senate Committee on Armed Services, and
Senators Jeff Bingaman (Chairman) and Bob Smith (Ranking
Minority Member) of Armed Services' Subcommittee on Defense
Technology, Acquisition, and Industrial Base.

OTA is a nonpartisan analytical agency that serves the U.S.
Congress.  Its purpose is to aid Congress with the complex
and often highly technical issues that increasingly affect
our society.

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              HOW TO OBTAIN THIS REPORT
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ORDERING INFORMATION:  For copies of the 64-page background
paper "Virtual Reality and Technologies for Combat
Simulation" for congressional use, please call (202) 224-
9241.  Copies for noncongressional use are available from
the Superintendent of Documents for $4.25 each.  To order,
call (202) 512-0132 (GPO's main bookstore) or (202) 512-1800
and indicate stock number 052-003-01397-5.  Or you can send
your check for $4.25 a copy or provide your VISA or
MasterCard number and expiration date to Superintendent of
Documents, P.O. Box 371954, Pittsburgh, PA 15250-7974 , [FAX
(202) 512-2250].  Federal Express service is available for
an additional $8.50 per order.

ELECTRONIC ACCESS:  For an electronic version, download via
ftp from OTA, use the following procedures: ftp to
otabbs.ota.gov (152.63.20.13)  Login as anonymous.  Password
is your e-mail address.  The files are located in
/pub/vr.military and the file names and sizes are:

01README.TXT (3K)
ADVISORY.PANEL.TXT (2K)
APPA.TXT (3K)
APPB.TXT (6K)
FOREWORD.TXT (4K)
MAIN.TXT (138K)
ORDER.TXT (4K)
REFS.TXT (40K)
STAFF.TXT (1K)
TOC.TXT (2K)
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