Powers Communications LLC — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: J201-CSO1

Description

Today’s population of students at the 334th TRS grew up learning in a digital mixed media environment, yet the skills course for 1C8 maintenance training uses passive training methods – manuals, lectures and video - to learn hands-on tasks involved in maintaining ARS-11 systems. This current passive means of teaching maintenance fails to connect the students with the content. Ideally, students could train on an actual radar system, but at $5-10M, installation of an actual DASR is cost prohibitive. Our solution introduces the emerging technology of mixed reality, which combines the best of augmented and virtual reality. By merging real and virtual worlds, physical and digital objects co-exist and interact in real time. With this solution we intend to integrate virtual and augmented reality technologies for a learner-centric, blended approach to training. Blended courses include a mix of both face-to-face, instructor-led learning, and digital course components that give students some control over the path and pace of their instruction. The introduction of augmented and virtual reality into 1C8 instruction can bridge the content connection gap, expedite the upskilling of trainees, free up senior level personnel, and introduce clarity to confusing content through exploded parts diagrams and animations of systems connectivity.