Training Dismounted Soldiers in Virtual Environments: Enhancing Configuration Learning

Abstract : For nearly a decade the U. S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences (ARI) has conducted research in using virtual environments (VE) to train dismounted soldiers. While showing that some dismounted soldiers skills can be trained in VE, the research has also identified problems in using VE for soldier training. Spatial performance deficiencies caused by disorientation and perceptual distortion have been found. This paper describes research investigating the effectiveness of various VE navigation aids in overcoming inherent VE deficiencies, thereby enhancing VE spatial learning. Sixty-four participants received a guided tour of the third floor of a virtual building, freely explored the environment visiting six named destinations along the way, and then practiced finding each destination in turn. After training, participants were asked to estimate the distance and direction to destinations not in their line of sight, to locate each destination by traveling to it after having been teleported to another destination, and to place room cut-outs on a map outline of the third floor. The only navigation aid that improved performance on these tasks was providing an aerial view of the VE. The effectiveness of the aerial view depended on how the participants used it.

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