Virtual reality battlefield technology designed to train military leaders

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – A new and modern approach to understanding battlefield history may soon help prepare future military leaders in the U.S.

Purdue University innovators have developed battlefield simulation technology that they used to produce a virtual reality tour of the D-Day beaches in Normandy, France (YouTube video here).

"We have worked with military education partners to refine our virtual reality technology to provide a useful tool for future military leaders,” said Sorin Adam Matei, a professor of communication and associate dean in Purdue’s College of Liberal Arts. “We apply what we know from the field of physics and treat the virtual soldiers almost like liquids that are interacting on the battlefield. Military educators can use this tool to teach future leaders lessons learned from historic battles in a visually exciting way that brings them to life for the students.”

Their work is part of the FORCES (4S) – Strategy, Security and Social Systems Initiative in Purdue’s College of Liberal Arts. More information is available at purdue.university/forces.

The initiative supports the use of social scientific research in strategy and security activities to shape long-range and global military, political and organizational decision-making for a just, stable and secure world. Other members of the team are Jonathan Poggie, a professor of engineering; Robert Kirchubel, an educator and retired Army lieutenant colonel; and Matthew Konkoly, a research assistant.

The team at FORCES is working to bring the project to partners at the U.S. Air Force Air War College, located at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama. Each spring, the Air War College holds an annual Grand Strategy Seminar, usually traveling to Normandy as part of the curriculum.

“We’re exploring a new approach to group behavior that has the potential to significantly change wargaming and crisis management,” Poggie said. “I’m enthusiastic about bringing to bear some of the techniques we’ve developed in aerodynamics and high-performance computing on military decision making.”

Purdue University innovators have developed battlefield simulation technology that they used to produce a virtual reality tour of the D-Day beaches in Normandy, France. (Image provided)

The FORCES team also is working on a battlefield simulation of the Civil War battle of Gettysburg. They have formed a startup called FORCES Inc. to help commercialize the technology.

“A key aspect is creating and sharing new ways to teach military history, plus to further study and understanding of the military arts and sciences,” Kirchubel said. “I’m most excited about the project’s potential: to turn the clock back, yet display a famous battle in a technologically leading-edge fashion in order to bring military history alive to a new generation of students and scholars.”

The team worked with the Purdue Research Foundation Office of Technology Commercialization to patent this technology.

The researchers are looking for partners to continue developing their technology. For more information on licensing and other opportunities, contact Matt Halladay at OTC at mrhalladay@prf.org.

About Purdue Research Foundation Office of Technology Commercialization

The Purdue Research Foundation Office of Technology Commercialization operates one of the most comprehensive technology transfer programs among leading research universities in the U.S. Services provided by this office support the economic development initiatives of Purdue University and benefit the university's academic activities through commercializing, licensing and protecting Purdue intellectual property. The office recently moved into the Convergence Center for Innovation and Collaboration in Discovery Park District, adjacent to the Purdue campus. In fiscal year 2020, the office reported 148 deals finalized with 225 technologies signed, 408 disclosures received and 180 issued U.S. patents. The office is managed by the Purdue Research Foundation, which received the 2019 Innovation and Economic Prosperity Universities Award for Place from the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities. In 2020, IPWatchdog Institute ranked Purdue third nationally in startup creation and in the top 20 for patents. The Purdue Research Foundation is a private, nonprofit foundation created to advance the mission of Purdue University. Contact otcip@prf.org for more information.      

About Purdue University

Purdue University is a top public research institution developing practical solutions to today’s toughest challenges. Ranked the No. 5 Most Innovative University in the United States by U.S. News & World Report, Purdue delivers world-changing research and out-of-this-world discovery. Committed to hands-on and online, real-world learning, Purdue offers a transformative education to all. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue has frozen tuition and most fees at 2012-13 levels, enabling more students than ever to graduate debt-free. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap at purdue.edu.

Writer: Chris Adam, cladam@prf.org 

Source: Sorin Matei, smatei@purdue.edu