INTRODUCTION

Human beings experience reality through the key senses such as taste, touch, smell, sight and
hearing. Human brains have special processing mechanisms of sensory information to respond to
input information. Unlike the above-mentioned ‘real reality’, virtual reality technology makes
humans a real part of the simulated artificial virtual world other than traditional user interfaces.
Virtual reality immersed virtual environment and give the ability to manipulate objects or perform
a series of actions to interact with 3D worlds in virtual environment by recreating a real life
environment or situation instead of viewing a screen in front of them.
VR applications are used in main industries such as medicine, education, entertainment and the
military. Besides the entertainment industry, Virtual Reality is widely used in military operations.
Major countries in the world invest millions of dollars in research and development projects in the
military based on VR.

SPECIALIZED MILITARY TRAINING IN VIRTUAL REALITY

Virtual reality training is a common use case for VR technology. It helps for training
exercises that are too rare, too expensive, or too dangerous to be done in real life. Training
simulation in the military field fosters the combat skills of small-scale units or single soldiers by
simulating actual vehicles, soldiers, and combat environment.

Virtual boot camp and combat training. Some military bases in the US are using immersive
rooms to train their soldiers. Virtual Squad Training System (VSTS) located at Schofield
Barracks in Hawaii uses HMD with motion trackers, full-body tracking system and wireless
weapon controllers that matches the size, weight, and shape of real military weapons. Such virtual
reality systems teach participants how to work interdependently and the impact they can have on
their colleagues on a battlefield.

Virtual training for medical personnel. Practically it’s very difficult to train military medical
personnel under war-like conditions. But besides medics play the most important part in a
battlefield they have to work in stressful and dangerous environments, putting their lives at risk.
Virtual Reality helps to recreate close combat scenarios in virtual reality to simulate life-saving
operations. That help to practice various skills under very stressful conditions. Such as battlefield
triage, specific trauma treatment, helicopter rescue and tactical rescue procedures.
Maintenance and assembly technicians’ training. In this sector, there are very few
experienced support personnel, and their knowledge must be transferred somehow. The use of
virtual and mixed-reality technologies is a solution for this challenge. As an example, in the
marine corps, each boat can have specific engineering constraints, leading to a different
maintenance scenario from a boat to another. To be immediately operational, technicians can
view the CAD model in VR and get an army specialized training program “on the boat” before
their operation.

VIRTUAL SIMULATIONS FOR THE MILITARY AND DEFENSE

Advanced flight simulation. Military flight simulators are critical for training pilots.
High-fidelity simulations help to safely expose and prepare pilots-in-training for challenging real-
world scenarios. For instance, you can have a flight simulator overlaid with a virtual world
rendering an actual battlefield for a complete pilot training. All the user’s senses can be
stimulated to fully recreate the pilot training.

Advanced ground vehicle simulation. Ground vehicle simulators provide a harmless

environment for drivers, by immersing them in a replica of a military vehicle. Virtual training can
help you simulate different events like vehicle collisions or hostile armed forces. But it can also
help you check the ergonomics of the cockpit you’re simulating, by seeing in a real situation
(almost), if the instrument panel is comfortable to use, and if all the buttons and commands can be
reached out.

Equipment familiarization training. A lot of heavy equipment and military vehicles are
intensive and complex electromechanical systems. Knowing how they function and how to
operate them safely is an essential training for participants who need to familiarize themselves on
a particular piece of equipment, to help refresh and develop their existing skill set.

DESIGN, OPTIMIZATION, AND MAINTENANCE OF DEFENSE EQUIPMENT

Maintaining and optimizing military equipment with virtual reality. A lot of defense
equipment are intensive complex electromechanical systems, such as aircraft, spacecraft, ships…
And, of course, not all equipment is used in the conditions the engineers had in mind when they
conceived it. Virtual reality is the perfect tool to conceive and optimize military equipment. For
example, some vehicles can end up being used in other climatic or environmental conditions. In
any case, if the end users notice what parts are showing excessive wear, the information can travel
back to the design teams, so that the next designed model (or just the fixing parts) will be better.
Manufacturing new weapons in VR. Virtual reality has changed the way we design
products, whether from a beginning or a testing standpoint. It is a powerful tool for industries, like
the defence industry. During weapon development, immersive virtual reality helps engineers to
Test the design in virtual worlds or with motion-tracking. VR speeds up product development for
new weapons or military installations and betters their overall effectiveness and quality. This is
particularly effective when developing large-scale products such as aircraft or a ship. Virtual
reality technology helps visualize designs at a 1:1 scale and make changes in real-time.

Besides, with cloud technologies and 5G becoming more and more common, military research
labs will also need to collaborate seamlessly with one another, even when they are distant from
thousands of kilometers. This particular use case happened with TechViz VR remote
collaboration software, which helped two labs designing nuclear submarines with VR remote
collaboration. One research facility was located in France and the other in New Zealand. By using
our software they were able to do virtual reality design reviews, interact simultaneously with
large-scale CAD models in VR with military-grade data-security.

Remote collaboration on sensitive defense projects or military missions

it takes a lot of people to create something powerful with the ability to save people’s lives.
Specialists that live in different countries can work together on strategies and military missions
without having to be in the same space and time. On a military mission, this feature can serve as
another use case. It can allow an operator to get data from a location, without being physically
present. It opens new possibilities for information-gathering operations in hostile territory, as the
operator will be able to move the sensors while being in a realistic rendering. It makes the
operation safer and increases the stealth of the agent, as the reconnaissance vehicle does not need
to transport real passengers.

KEY BENEFITS VR OFFERS TO THE MILITARY AND DEFENSE INDUSTRY

Natural Actions and Movements. Using the VR headsets in training doesn’t restrict soldiers’
movements, which allows them to have a better experience and, as an outcome, better preparation
for real-life fighting.

Unrestricted Access to Training. With VR, soldiers and military specialists don’t have to bind
themselves to one location or time to undergo the training. They can access their training from
any place with the ability to choose the time.
Real-like training without the risks.
Training Without the Risks. Probably, the most important benefit of VR military training is that
it doesn’t provide any risk for soldiers. A lot of situations on the field, as well as testing the
weapons, are very dangerous. Virtual reality, on the other hand, is a safer way to complete them.
Virtual reality allows soldiers to train for real situation without risks, with feel-real weapons and
vehicles. High-risk scenarios can be simulated without danger, allowing soldiers to learn how to
act in specific scenarios that could be too dangerous or too expensive in real life, such as
parachute training.

VR Simulations that Adapt to any Situation. There is no limit to the situations that virtual
reality simulations can show. It only depends on the creativity and professionalism of the
developers. Trainees can focus on the learning outcomes, as they will need less time to adapt to
the real situation in the real world.

3D Views from different Viewpoints. The luxury of having a better view of your surroundings
almost isn’t possible in real military situations. However, VR helps to do it in almost every
simulation. This is important for example if you want to collect information on how to improve
the model of a three-dimensional vehicle with real users or get personalized inputs for your
trainees.

Reduced Costs. Lastly, the development of military equipment can be costly due to the
complicated design and testing process. Virtual reality allows for reducing costs by doing the tests
using VR headsets.

WEAKNESSES OF USING VR IN MILITARY AND DEFENSE INDUSTRIES

Even though the virtual reality in the military industry proved to be beneficial, there are
certain points that evoke controversy among professionals.

security Concerns. The way military VR training help to make the learning sessions for
soldiers safer and the discussions between professionals faster and more efficient can evoke only
one concern. Military training and conversations in every country are considered a sacred secret
and putting it all out in the cloud makes the government concerned about information leaks.

Nausea and Sickness. Some of the soldiers that went through the military VR
simulations reported nausea and stated that the virtual reality training affected their health. This
means that VR technology cannot be used for too long.

Software Development. Creating the software for VR training requires resources and
time which makes it an effective solution but one that is hard to produce. You have to make time
in your calendars to produce the solution you want.
DEVELOPMENT OF VR IN SRI LANKA

Virtual reality is not a new concept in Sri Lanka. But very few areas use VR technology
such as entertainment and education areas. There is no such evidence of the VR concept has been
introduced to medical and military training aspects due to the lack of research and development
funds rather than expert knowledge. but few endeavours have been taken in Sri Lanka.

One such project is the digital close-quarter combat theatre (MILO Range), a new system
that uses life-size real videos running on surrounding digital screens to provide trainees with a
real-time experience, instead of 3D objects that are generally projected in simulators. The Centre
for Research and Development (CRD) of the Defence Ministry has introduced this making
provision for live-fire training facilities, especially for commandos and special forces. the low-
cost digital training theatre was equipped with live-fire training facilities and operated on a digital
platform similar to MILO Ranges in the US.

The telecom service provider, Dialog, introduced the first-ever virtual reality application
for Sri Lanka, featuring historical locations, edutainment and local entertainment. Dialog’s virtual
reality platform is the first such platform on the island to integrate 360° pictures, videos, games
and advertisements, whilst it is billed to develop a crowd-sourced VR data-driven platform
allowing users to create and upload their own VR content.

RECOMMENDATION FOR DEVELOPING VIRTUAL REALITY TECHNOLOGY IN

SRI LANKA

There must be a long-term plan for modern technologies such as VR Technology

combined with the Information Industry sector and Sri Lanka government to clarify long-term
objectives and set goals for the Sri Lanka army to achieve in the coming decade.
Armed forces personnel who have experienced Virtual training should involve in
introducing VR concepts to Sri Lanka to achieve cost-effective training methods in our country.
There is a huge knowledge gap between the global VR technologies and military training
techniques used in Sri Lanka.
The defence sector must plan the training sessions into full-time courses regarding modern
technologies such as Virtual Reality. The training sessions should start from the basic technology
level and must continue to advance military digital engineering concepts. The trainer resources
must be an expert in modern technology with his knowledge and experience. All trainees must
conduct effective research or VR prototypes after the training courses, which can be used in
future training.

The military’s mindset has to be changed from being traditional by conducting the above-
mentioned training programmes and awareness programs.
 The defense sector should explore the possibilities of the use of available technologies to
combine with VR technologies. Especially the new resources engaged in military force must have
IT and technological knowledge that can be expanded Further, independent technical skills for
defence should be developed.

There must be a sufficient budget allocation for research and development of VR

simulators, concept development and resource allocation for training programs. It is ideal to
establish a separate establishment within tri forces for VR Technology development handling and
should have a separate technology training institute with all modern equipment and facilities to
train soldiers on the field with previous knowledge gained in the abroad training.