Sometimes there are innovations that one stops to marvel at – largely because of the marshalling of multiple resources – scores of developers, dozens of executives engaged in customer consultation and large groups of engineers busy with implementation. Sometimes there are innovations that one stops to marvel at for just the opposite reason. How can so few people create, develop and market a game-changing technology, solution or application?
MetaVR, showcasing its terrain databases and expanded capabilities on booth 1249 at I/ITSEC 2014 in Orlando, is a case in point. A company of just a dozen full time staff and one that regularly punches above its weight, the single most fascinating aspect of their presence at this year’s iteration of the world’s largest training and simulation conference is a demonstration of terrain visualisation at an astonishing resolution of one inch per pixel.
We are used to seeing high resolution databases with terrain features clearly identified down to one metre resolution, but the MetaVR development brings a whole new meaning to the phrase ‘realistic terrain.’ In fact, says company CEO W. Garth Smith, “the resolution is actually 0.8 inches per pixel, but we say one inch for ease of reference.”
What this means for application developers is the ability to inject realism into scenarios at a level never before considered achievable. Armoured vehicles crossing soft terrain will leave tracks; dismounted troops crossing sandy ground will leave footprints; combat engineers mining a bridge will leave unmistakable signs of their work that remain obvious long after their withdrawal. All these features – and more – can now be inserted into a synthetic environment using MetaVR’s new capabilities.
Sceptics might look at such a development and decry it for being a step too far – isn’t this to some degree a solution looking for a requirement that doesn’t yet exist? “Not at all,” says Smith. “In the year since we first unveiled this capability, we have spent a lot of time optimising it and engaging in detailed discussions seeking the first application in which to evaluate it. We now have that test case, and you would be surprised at the strength of the positive reaction we have had when folks see what this technology can do for them.” The company’s own evaluation was conducted in Arizona, but work is now under way for a customer led test and evaluation in Fallon, Nevada.
Perhaps even more interesting is that in order to generate the raw data for the new capability, MetaVR has taken another bold and innovative step – one that few of its peers, large and small, have taken. The company commissioned one of its many partners – Swift RC – to build two company-owned unmanned aerial systems (UAS) for the specific purpose of generating high resolution terrain imagery.
Smith firmly believes this development is a powerful discriminator for the company. “We’re pushing realism into the realm of the geo-specific – and that has multiple potential applications,” he said. Indeed, one of the first applications that springs to mind is being able to bring realistic and accurate terrain models to mission planning and rehearsal – providing mission commanders with the actual terrain over which their operation will be carried out, rather than generic, at a level of realism and accurate replication that will inevitably help in the mission itself.
An additional facility MetaVR is showcasing at I/ITSEC is what Smith calls “real time imagery classification,” which takes the output from high resolution imagery scans and turns it into thermal signatures for IR sensors and NVGs, for example. Which again lends itself to mission planning and rehearsal at the squad or individual vehicle/helicopter level, rather than just ‘generic’ unit training – in which the technology is also likely to provide enhanced results.
Is the training and simulation community ready for innovation like this? The jury is out and there are as many protagonists for Smith’s point of view and aspirations as there are detractors. At a time when we all look for a competitive edge and a differentiator to set us apart from the crowd, however, one cannot help but ask whether Smith and his colleagues haven’t got it right – and right now!
MetaVR, showcasing its terrain databases and expanded capabilities on booth 1249 at I/ITSEC 2014 in Orlando, is a case in point. A company of just a dozen full time staff and one that regularly punches above its weight, the single most fascinating aspect of their presence at this year’s iteration of the world’s largest training and simulation conference is a demonstration of terrain visualisation at an astonishing resolution of one inch per pixel.
We are used to seeing high resolution databases with terrain features clearly identified down to one metre resolution, but the MetaVR development brings a whole new meaning to the phrase ‘realistic terrain.’ In fact, says company CEO W. Garth Smith, “the resolution is actually 0.8 inches per pixel, but we say one inch for ease of reference.”
What this means for application developers is the ability to inject realism into scenarios at a level never before considered achievable. Armoured vehicles crossing soft terrain will leave tracks; dismounted troops crossing sandy ground will leave footprints; combat engineers mining a bridge will leave unmistakable signs of their work that remain obvious long after their withdrawal. All these features – and more – can now be inserted into a synthetic environment using MetaVR’s new capabilities.
Sceptics might look at such a development and decry it for being a step too far – isn’t this to some degree a solution looking for a requirement that doesn’t yet exist? “Not at all,” says Smith. “In the year since we first unveiled this capability, we have spent a lot of time optimising it and engaging in detailed discussions seeking the first application in which to evaluate it. We now have that test case, and you would be surprised at the strength of the positive reaction we have had when folks see what this technology can do for them.” The company’s own evaluation was conducted in Arizona, but work is now under way for a customer led test and evaluation in Fallon, Nevada.
Perhaps even more interesting is that in order to generate the raw data for the new capability, MetaVR has taken another bold and innovative step – one that few of its peers, large and small, have taken. The company commissioned one of its many partners – Swift RC – to build two company-owned unmanned aerial systems (UAS) for the specific purpose of generating high resolution terrain imagery.
Smith firmly believes this development is a powerful discriminator for the company. “We’re pushing realism into the realm of the geo-specific – and that has multiple potential applications,” he said. Indeed, one of the first applications that springs to mind is being able to bring realistic and accurate terrain models to mission planning and rehearsal – providing mission commanders with the actual terrain over which their operation will be carried out, rather than generic, at a level of realism and accurate replication that will inevitably help in the mission itself.
An additional facility MetaVR is showcasing at I/ITSEC is what Smith calls “real time imagery classification,” which takes the output from high resolution imagery scans and turns it into thermal signatures for IR sensors and NVGs, for example. Which again lends itself to mission planning and rehearsal at the squad or individual vehicle/helicopter level, rather than just ‘generic’ unit training – in which the technology is also likely to provide enhanced results.
Is the training and simulation community ready for innovation like this? The jury is out and there are as many protagonists for Smith’s point of view and aspirations as there are detractors. At a time when we all look for a competitive edge and a differentiator to set us apart from the crowd, however, one cannot help but ask whether Smith and his colleagues haven’t got it right – and right now!
Tim Mahon