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CONFERENCE THEME

INTRODUCTION TO THE CONFERENCE

Dr. Hanns H. Wolff

Technical Director, Naval Training Device Center and Conference General Chairman

Military training is as old as organized society.  For many centuries, it was conducted in the real environment using real military hardware.  Gradually, however, mainly in the first quarter of this century simulation was introduced.  For example, special exercise ammunition was developed and the new weapons platform, the tank, was simulated.

The years between the two world wars and especially World War II itself brought a basic change in military training.  It was in that period that our Navy started to replace training in the real environment by training in a simulated environment, by means of training devices, and training device technology and training methodology started to develop into a science and a technique.

We, here at the Naval Training Device Center, had, last year, the pleasure of commemorating the 30^th year of the Navy’s Training Device involvement, and the 25^th Anniversary of the establishment of the first specialized Training Materiel Command.

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

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WHAT’S HAPPENING IN TODAY’S ARMY

General Ralph E. Haines, Jr.

Commanding General, U.S. Continental Army Command

I’m happy to be here on the Silver Anniversary of the Naval Training Device Center and gratified that this conference offers the opportunity for the services and industry to focus attention on the past 25 years of training simulation as a springboard for the future.

In acknowledging the 25^th Anniversary of the Naval Training Device Center, I am pleased to note that this has been a cooperative effort with the Army participating for the last 21 years.  The Army is appreciative for the excellent support that has been provided our training during this time.  You are to be commended for your fine work.

My purpose here today is to tell you “What’s Happening in Today’s Army”–with particular reference to the innovations in the Army’s training programs, and later in my discussion pass on to you information concerning the Modern Volunteer Army Program.

First, I would like to say that the Continental Army Command (CONARC), with its 13 training centers, at which newly recruited or drafted soldiers receive their initial training, and the 24 Army Schools, which train and educate officers and enlisted men to various levels of skill or knowledge, has the largest training responsibility of any U.S. Command world-wide.   At the end of FY 71, there were nearly 367,000 individuals trained in Basic Combat Training (BCT), 291,000 in Advanced Individual Training (AIT), and 271,000 in the service schools, for a total of 928,000.  So you can see CONARC’s mission, as the Army trainer is sizeable.  CONARC is responsible for determining training aids and device requirements, and operating the CONUS training aid center system.  The Training Centers and Army Schools, which constitute the “training base”, and the major users of training devices, today faces a dichotomy of effort deriving from the necessity to reorient our training toward requirements in other parts of the world, and yet continue to provide maximum support to Vietnam.  The country is psychologically in a post-war period even though we are still heavily involved in a shooting war.  Our training dollars have been decreased by budget constraints, with no reduction in mission, to maintain a high-level of combat readiness.  As a result, a great deal of command emphasis from the Chief of Staff of the Army, down through major commands, is being exerted to make maximum use of training devices in lieu of the actual weapon or item of equipment where effective training can be accomplished, and cost savings can be accrued.

Our primary aim must be the effective discharge of our responsibilities for the defense of our country.  By that, I mean that we train in the skills that relate directly to military duties and employ all means provided by science and industry toward the accomplishment of this training.

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

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TRANSFER OF INSTRUMENT TRAINING AND THE SYNTHETIC FLIGHT TRAINING SYSTEM

Dr. Paul W. Caro, Senior Staff Scientist

Human Resources Research Organization

Division No. 6 (Aviation)

Fort Rucker, Alabama

The Army’s Synthetic Flight Training System (SFTS), Device 2B24, has been referenced in a number of the papers presented here.  It is assumed at this point that the reader is generally familiar with overall SFTS design, and the extent to which it incorporates automated training features as well as manual features, which can facilitate the conduct of training, administered in a non-automated manner.  The device is unique in these aspects in the Army’s history of training device development.

Army regulations require that newly acquired equipment of the complexity of the SFTS undergo an extensive service test prior to type classification.  Type classification is a step necessary to the introduction of such equipment on an Army-wide basis.  An important part of service testing involves a determination of the operational suitability of the equipment.  In the case of the SFTS, the Human Resources Research Organization’s Aviation division was requested to support the service test, to be conducted by the U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command, by developing and conducting an SFTS Operational Suitability Test.  The test is in progress, and its findings are expected to be released later this fiscal year.  The present paper addresses one portion of the SFTS suitability test that portion dealing specifically with transfer of instrument training from the SFTS to the aircraft.

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

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EFFECTS OF TRAINING SITUATION ANALYSIS ON TRAINER DESIGN

N. R. Holen, Group Engineer

McDonnell Aircraft Company

One of the major branches of military training is maintenance training.  In formal schools for aircraft maintenance training it is seldom practical to train personnel in flight line and hanger procedures on line aircraft.  To aid in providing these skills, many training devices are employed.  These devices each simulate portions of the real maintenance environment the student will encounter in his future work.

The form in which the maintenance task is simulated depends upon the particular training situation or the “use requirements” of the trainer in supporting the overall training course.  The training situation therefore determines the general design of the device.  Trainers may take many forms, from elaborate mock-ups of major portions of the airframe or its electronic systems, to a simple practice stand where a student can perform a maintenance task until the skills become automatic.

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

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QUANTITATIVE TASK ANALYSIS AND THE PREDICTION OF TRAINING DEVICE EFFECTIVENESS

G. R. Wheaton and Dr. A. Mirabella

American Institutes for Research

Because of the enormous costs involved in the design and development of a complex training device, one can ill afford to adopt a “wait-and-see” attitude about the effectiveness of training which it provides.  The primary problem confronting individuals responsible for military training, therefore, is how to plan for, design, and develop a training device from the very start, which will prove to be effective for a particular set of training objectives.  But, given the requirements for training, how can one forecast or estimate how effective any specific design will be?  For example, as designed will the device facilitate or inhibit ease of instructor operation (i.e., presentation of problem materials, monitoring and evaluation of student performance, provision of feedback)?  Similarly, from the student point of view, will the design lead to rapid acquisition of skills and their positive transfer to the operational setting?

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

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A MODIFIED MODEL FOR VISUAL DETECTION

Dr. Robert C. Sugarman, Research Psychologist

Harry B. Hammill, Research Physicist
Jerome N. Deutschman, Principal Engineer

Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory, Inc.

The requirement to predict the human ability to visually search and detect has occurred in a wide variety of problem areas.  At Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory, Inc. (CAL) specific areas involved both ground-to-air and air-to-air search for aircraft against a sky background and the search for small targets presented in simulator displays.

Models to predict human visual performance have been available for some time.  The purpose of our paper is twofold:

1)             To present a modified version of a widely known visual detection model and

2)             To compare the predictive capability of the modified version with both the original model and results of field-tests involving ground-to-air search for aircraft.

This work was sponsored by the United States Air Force under contract number F33615-68-C-1319.

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

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SEMICONDUCTOR LASER APPLICATIONS TO MILITARY TRAINING DEVICES

Albert H. Marshall

Research Physicist, Physical Sciences Laboratory, Naval Training Device Center

Systems using semiconductor gallium arsenide lasers have been developed in-house to train military personnel in M-16 rifle weapon firing against both pop-up targets and scaled model aerial targets.

The pop-up target system consists of two parts:  (1) a miniature laser transmitter, which clips on the barrel of an actual M-16 rifle; and (2) detectors and a receiver to score weapon, hits.  The system may be used to save ammunition costs, and to teach the correct sight picture, trigger squeeze, posture, and breathing techniques.  The trainee also uses his own weapon so he becomes quite familiar with its feel.  Because the laser system is eye-safe, no elaborate range safety precautions are necessary.  Safe training can be accomplished in inhabited areas with these systems.  Since the simulation unit can shoot in excess of one million shots on a small commercial battery; more training can be accomplished at a very low cost.

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

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DIGITAL RADAR LAND MASS DISPLAY SIMULATION

Robert A. Heartz

Senior Engineer, Apollo and Ground Systems, Space Division

General Electric Company

Simulation of radar Plan Position Indicator (PPI) displays is a critical requirement in training navigators, pilots, and bombardiers to identify targets and to interpret radar return signals from terrain and cultural areas.  Present radar landmass simulators use a transparency database read by a flying spot scanner.  This approach is limited by the difficulty in preparing the transparencies to meet the required resolutions and by the difficulties in updating transparencies to reflect cultural changes such as new bridges, large building, piers, and other features that are prominent in a quickly recognize his target and position.

The Digital Radar Land-Mass (DRLM) approach solves the resolution and flexibility problems.  In the digital approach, terrain and cultural features are reduced to a mathematical representation, such as line segments, and are stored in a digital memory.  A radar sweep is defined.  Representative radar return signals are calculated, based on the digitally stored data, and then are displayed on a PPI radarscope.

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

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DESIGN AND PRODUCTION OF ANTIREFLECTION COATINGS

Denis R. Breglia

Research Physicist, Physical Sciences Laboratory

Naval Training Device Center

Multilayer thin films are widely used in science and industry for control of light.  Optical surfaces having virtually any desired reflectance and characteristics may be produced by means of thin film coatings.  These films are usually deposited on substrates by high vacuum evaporation.  The applications range from high reflectance laser mirrors to high transmittance optical systems including interference filters, hot and cold mirrors, broad band reflectors and narrow band reflector, all of which are used in visual simulation systems and training devices.  This paper will be concerned with the design and production of multilayer, dielectric, antireflection coatings for use in the visible spectrum from 400 to 700 nanometers.

Everyone who has seen colors exhibited by films of oil on water, and by soap bubbles, has observed the striking phenomena of interference in thin dielectric films.  Interference in layers having fractional wavelength optical thickness remained a scientific curiosity until the 1930’s when methods were developed for depositing one or more layers of solid dielectric of controlled thickness.  The most common technique consists in vaporizing the dielectric in an over, placed in a highly evacuated vacuum chamber, and condensing the vapor on the relatively cool surface of the substrate.  Layer after layer of different materials of any desired optical thickness can be deposited in this way.  The performance of dielectric thin film coatings is predicted well by a theory to be described later, which treats each layer as a homogenous medium, with sharply defined plane boundaries.

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

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140-DEGREE CLOSE APPROACH OPTICAL PROBE FOR VISUAL SIMULATION

A. Nagler

Sr. Optical Systems Designer

Farrand Optical Company, Inc.

Optical pickups for flight simulators using TV displays have depth of focus limitations at close approaches to the model surface.  Tilt focus corrected optical probes have been developed in recent years to overcome this problem while maintaining relatively large entrance pupils.  Thus diffraction limitations and lighting problems associated with the pinhole approach are avoided.

A new 140-degree circular field tilt-focus (Schiempflug) probe has been developed that can operate to 0.2 inches altitude with an entrance pupil of 1-mm diameter.  The single channel device has a 17-mm diameter sensor format.

High-resolution levels have been obtained over most of the field and altitude range with a relative aperture of T/10.5.   The engineering feasibility model developed has full functional capability using hand-operated controls.

The study and development was performed by the Farrand Optical Company, Inc. New York, under the auspices of the USAF Human Resources Laboratory, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio.

A fully automated model is currently under development.

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

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A NEW ASSESSMENT OF WIDE-ANGLE VISUAL SIMULATION TECHNIQUES

M. Aronson

Head, Visual Simulation Laboratory

Naval Training Device Center

Though two flight simulation techniques conferences took place in 1970 (the AIAA at Cape Canaveral, Florida in March and the RAeS at London, England in October), no objective appraisal of wide-angle visual simulation techniques was presented.  William Ebeling provided a brief examination of narrow field of view visual systems at the Second Naval Training Device Center and Industry Conference in 1967 and at an AIAA Conference in Los Angeles in March 1968.  The AIAA Simulation for Aerospace Flight Conference at Columbus, Ohio in August 1963 produced two extensive assessments of Visual Simulation Techniques, which are still referenced.  Since 1963, there has been some research accomplished on wide-angle visual system components, and also acquisition of operating experience in the military services, airlines, and aircraft manufacturing companies with 1962 state-of-the-art narrow angle FOV (Field of View) visual systems.  It therefore appears to be the time for another look at the stable of systems available.

The question to be answered is–What are the advantages or disadvantages of the various systems and components available now?

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

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CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT

AN ASSET TO TRAINING DEVICE PRODUCTION AND NAVY SUPPORT

J. J. Regan

Modification and Maintenance Engineering Department

Naval Training Device Center

Configuration Management!  The terminology in itself is enough to foster apprehension when found to be specified as a proposal requirement.  Just what is this requirement that the Office of the Secretary of Defense has labeled “a complex, massive and detailed undertaking?”  Is it a revolutionary breakthrough in the field of management?

The Navy has defined configuration management as a discipline applying technical and administrative direction and surveillance to identify and document the physical characteristics of a configuration item; control changes to those characteristics, and record and report change progressing and implementation status.

Configuration Management new?   Eli Whitney in the early 1800s introduced techniques for the production of firearms with interchangeable parts.  The technique!  Identify in detail each part and hold manufacture to that identity.  Of course, those were the days when life and weaponry were simpler.

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

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THE UNIVERSAL DISPLAY PANEL

Donald E. Reed

Electrical and Mechanical Trainers Division

Naval Training Device Center

The purpose of this paper is to present the latest technology in the development of backlighted animated display panels.  By using new industrial components, the design of animated display panels has produced a new breed of programmable training devices.  The new Universal Display Panel provides a programmed animated panel with both flexibility and simplicity of operation, which has not been obtained before.  The new Universal Panel actually increases training effectiveness, and provides student participation, at reduced training costs.

The Universal Display Panel is a backlighted vertical panel that can light up any section of an attached illustration (see figure 1).  The attached illustration is made to appear to operate by an internal programmer than controls the lights behind the illustration.  Almost any illustration can be presented on the face of the panel, such as, electrical, electronic, hydraulic, system block diagrams, and Pert charts.  The internal programmer is removable and changeable (see figures 3 and 4).  The programmer can be controlled from the device control panel, remote control, from the face of the illustration and from a cassette recorder.

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.