Virtual environment cultural training for operational readiness (VECTOR)

Abstract : An immersive training system, called Virtual Environment Cultural Training for Operational Readiness Training Delivery (VECTOR-TD), was developed to provide scenario-based virtual environments to support cultural familiarization. This paper describes the cultural-training application, the architectural design, and the associated implementation of the immersive environment and intelligent agent technology to control game non-player characters (NPC). One of the innovative features of the virtual environment is the use of executable cognitive models and emotion models which play significant roles in the overall reactions and behaviors of NPCs toward the trainee. In addition to influencing the behavior of the active NPCs, the emotion models constrain interactions with NPCs encountered later in a scenario. Recent additions to the VECTOR system include a scenario authoring capability that utilizes a graphical programming paradigm to enable scenario content authoring for execution within the VECTOR training system. The significance of VECTOR-SE is twofold. First, it dramatically reduces the time and skill required to develop VECTOR scenarios. Second, VECTOR-SE makes scenario development or modification accessible to a wider audience of professionals. VECTOR-TD and SE are currently being evaluated at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

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