Defense Articles

Of all the skills needed for a 180-pound person to control an 80,000pound, loaded tractor-trailer, learning how to maneuver the truck’s 10plus gears is the most challenging, says James Fairbank, director of education at the National Tractor Trailer School, Inc. (NTTS) in Liverpool.

To minimize the number of blown transmissions and clutches on its trucks, NTTS uses driving simulators that teach students how to switch gears before they go out and practice their skills on actual trucks.

This spring, NTTS is investing in two virtual-reality simulators to train its students, says Harry Kowalchyk, Jr., founder and president. Each simulator costs $90,000.

These machines will be an upgrade from the two simulators that it purchased in 1998 for about $60,000 apiece. Whereas the current simulators can mimic a variety of engines, transmissions, axle ratios, tire sizes, weights, and grades on a television screen, the screens of the new machines wrap around the driver, providing lifelike, virtualreality driving, explains John McCann, chief instructor.

“You’ll actually be able to see the road,” he says.

The machines incorporate other factors drivers face - like traffic and turning comers - into the training process for which the current equipment does not account.

The equipment cost about $120,000 when it first came out, and NTTS waited for the price to decline before it decided to make a purchase, he explains.

NTTS finances the purchase of these machines and other training equipment like its practice trucks through loans from several different lending institutions, Kowalchyk says.

The firm is buying two machines to have one at each of its facilities at 4650 Buckley Road in Liverpool and at 175 Katherine Street in Buffalo.

Both models are called the TranSim shifting simulator, Kowalchyk explains. I-Sim Corporation, based in Salt Lake City, manufactures the machines.

Skills required by truck drivers today include an understanding of driving regulations, fleet-truck business operations, map reading, trip planning, and defensivedriving techniques. Individuals who want to move up within their companies must also possess solid communications and technical skills, Kowalchyk says.

NTTS offers different levels of training from the most basic understanding of truck driving to a comprehensive education that includes training in all the above skill sets.

“Today’s industry is complex, you’re not just driving a truck from point A to point B,” Kowalchyk explains.

Fairchild took The Business Journal for a tractor-trailer ride in late January. He explains that although the simulators provide necessary preparation, nothing can replace guided practice in a real truck. The simulators are unable to replicate the pressures that arise when facing live traffic, turns, and environmental factors, he says.

Courses range in duration from a twoweek, 90-hour program to a 15week, 602-hour course, which Kowalchyk compares to the equivalent of the difference between an undergraduate and a master’s degree in trucking, he says.

Current truck-drivers also use the twoweek program to sharpen their skills, he explains. The school also offers sevenand 10-week courses.

About 65 percent to 70 percent of NTTS’ students receive financial aid through the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, he says.

Tuition costs between $4,000 and $7,000 and many employers will pay for their drivers to receive additional training, Kowalchyk says.

The price tag is well worth it, Kowalchyk contends. In 2004, the median hourly wage of heavy truck and tractor-trailer drivers was $16.11, according to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics.

About 88 percent of individuals who enter a NTTS program graduate, and of that percentage, 90 percent go to work as heavy-truck drivers, he says.

NTTS has contracts to place a certain number of students with local employers of commercial-truck drivers like H.O. Wolding Transportation, Inc., Kowalchyk says.

Most training simulations sprang from theories that originated in psychology, sociology, or economics. Techniques vary from simple role-playing to elaborate computer models. Some simulations partially replace real-world events, while others create miniature, selective societal replicas. The most effective simulations model the precision and richness of reality by exposing participants to life-like events. Researchers generalize these theories by developing verbal descriptions of social interactions or mathematical representations of interacting agents (Bredeweg & Voss, 1992).

Simulations permit military personnel to practice tactics under conditions that replicate elaborate battleground conditions. Unfortunately, the use of reality-based simulators has been limited in American public schools. Few, if any, simulations available for public education approach the imagination of those created by the computer-game industry.

Gredler (1996) described the essential components of experiental simulations that emulate reality including: complex task that adapts to participant behavior; serious roles in which participants assume responsibility for scenario-required activities; multiple plausible paths through the experience; and participant control over decision-making. The infant simulator known as Baby-Think-It-Over (BTIO) is a good example of an experiental simulation because it is a nonlinear, psychological experience in which participants play a defined role with specific responsibilities within the evolving reality of parenthood. It is a fluid, dynamic case study with participants on the inside.

The infant simulator is a life-like model with different ethnic characteristics that is 21 inches long and weighs 6.5 to 7 pounds. It randomly displays infant behaviors by following the schedules of real infants. Students feed the infant with a bottle or breast feeding device, change diapers, and hold the infant while rocking or burping it. The infant’s head falls back if it is not properly supported. If the infant is handled roughly, it cries and must be comforted until the crying stops. A computerized monitoring unit produces reports that document how well students cared for the infant. The report shows how many times the infant was neglected, handled roughly, and shaken, as well as how many times feeding, burping, rocking, or changing were required. Usually the infant is used as a device related to a public school health curriculum that includes child development and child care as major sections of the curriculum. Typically students care for the infant during a weekend that begins on Friday afternoon and ends on Monday morning.

BTIO is an intelligent simulation that assesses student behavior, diagnoses problem-solving performance, and remediates performance deficiences. Students who use the infant enter a structured, model-based reality in a setting designed to elicit specific, appropriate behaviors. As a training strategy, it allows students to practice effective behaviors and learn from errors.

Because BTIO is an unusually realistic, attractive device directed toward the serious social concern of unwanted teenage pregnancy, it has attracted the interest of researchers. Studies assessing the effectiveness of infant simulators are beginning to appear in the literature. However, studies to date have not included control groups nor have they included a structured, competency-based curriculum as part of the treatment. This study was designed to compare the impact of the simulator as an independent training tool with the use of the simulator in combination with a well-defined curriculum.

Simulators

The use of simulation as an effective training tool is well documented in the medical profession, space industry, armed services, and drivers’ education. A study reported that human patient simulators (HPSs) were superior to animal models in teaching surgical procedures. Medical students strongly supported the use of human simulators in teaching advanced trauma life support programs (Block et al., 2002).

Driver education with actual on-the-road experience was once viewed as the primary prevention technique to train young drivers to avoid traffic violations, injury, and death. Personal computers now present photorealistic simulations creating risky, cognitively demanding traffic scenarios that require responses without putting the participant at risk. Fisher et al. (2002) reported that younger inexperienced drivers who were trained on simulators operated their vehicles in a safer, less risky style. The study concluded that simulators have the potential to reduce the risk of traffic accidents.

Pregnancy

Recent data from the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 54% of high school students had sexual intercourse, a rate virtually unchanged since the study began in 1990. By the time they reach the age of 20, 80% of boys and 76% of girls have had sexual intercourse (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1999).

The Indoor Simulated Marksmanship Trainer (ISMT) is an interactive training system designed for use in a classroom setting. It was developed by FATS Inc., of Suwanee, Ga. Shooters fire laser-fitted infantry weapon simulators to engage threedimensional graphic target sets projected on a large screen. Using Bluetooth wireless technology, the Bluefire upgrade eliminates the tether that was attached to the simulation system to provide feedback to trainees and instructors.

SCOPE

As a part of an upgrade to the ISMT system, the Marine Corps ordered approximately 1,200 Bluefire simulators and 4,000 optical devices. The total value of the contract is more than $12 million. The Bluefire systems will be compatible across all of die ISMT platforms.

TIMELINE

The first Bluefire weapons and optic devices were delivered to the Weapons Training Battalion at Marine Corps Base, Quantico, Va., in March. The balance began fielding in April, first targeting the Marine bases at Camp Pendleton, Calif., and Camp Lejuene, N.C.

WHO’S IN CHARGE

Phyllis Pearce, program manager at FATS Inc., has been with the company for nearly 20 years. She spent the last five as a program manager working directly on U.S. military programs, including the production and fielding of the Marine Corps Reserves systems and the Marine security Guard system and weapons.

“We are bringing new technology to these systems because the Marines are getting new equipment that they are expected to use, such as. optics. We are putting the optics on our Bluefire weapons, enabling Marines to train with those new devices in environments like range courses, closecombat courses and other simulated scenarios. Marines can remediate their skills as needed, and when they go out into the real world, they’re qualified.

The Marine can bring in any optic, like Image Intensified optics, and we can put a filter on the system to replicate what he or she would see.

All the weapons we’d delivered up to this point were tethered. Recently, using Bluetooth technology, we have taken that cord away. We can simulate scenarios for certain situations that are filmed and loaded onto the system, such as clearing a house or a checkpoint operation at a border.

We have the capability of linking multiple systems to create a training regimen for four to five Marines. Each Marine could have a different weapon; some could have responsibility for indirect fire, some could have machine guns, some could be at close range. Depending on what presents itself in that virtual battle space, each one would have a particular role.

When combatants are in a stressful experience, they will fall back on their training. So what we’re doing here is [eliminating] whatever bad habits they may have, so they will instinctively do the right thing. Feedback from instructors is immediate.

We want to expand our role with the services to other parts of the battle space. We can replicate the motions of ships or Humvees. We can do a dome application to put a soldier in a room with 360-degree environment. Technology is being refreshed every few months. Bluetooth is one of those. We continually look at ways to incorporate new technologies to improve our training systems.

“I engaged the enemy with that new canister round at 1,100 meters but it had no effect!” (1) Live and virtual gunnery training, prior to deployment and employment could have prevented this, but we have struggled to implement either. As the user representative for the Abrams fleet and armor crewman, part of our charter is to manage and prioritize improvements to the Abrams training aids, devices, simulators, and simulations (TADSS). We struggled to get canister added to the standards in training commission (STRAC); it is now there, even if limited to only two rounds per crew.

Currently, Abrams gunnery devices are being upgraded with the canister round capability. Ideally, this should have been completed 6 months prior to fielding the canister round in Iraq, but the round was rushed to theater based on an urgent operational needs statement (ONS). This is but one example of the improvements we have been working on with our acquisition partners in the Product Manager (PM) Abrams Office, Warren, Michigan, and Program Executive Office Simulations Training (PEO STRI), Orlando, Florida.

Several new capabilities are being made available to the field and the Armor School, which include additions to the M1A2 SEP advanced gunnery training system (AGTS) and later to the M1A1 conduct of fire trainer (COFT)-AGTS, an investment of over $7 million. PM Ground Combat Tactical Trainers (PM GCTT)/ PEO STRI recently added a military operations on urbanized terrain (MOUT) database for section and platoon training to the M1A2 SEP AGTS. The U.S. Marine Corps developed this database for their M1A1 COFT-AGTS using Joint Readiness Training Center urban terrain. The Army borrowed this software and integrated it into the AGTS. It is not perfect; an unaware tank commander will hit buildings or poles, if he is not careful with the tank’s main gun orientation, and end the exercise sooner than planned. By doctrine, it is limited to section or platoon as the Armor Center does not support tanks operating individually in urban operations for survivability reasons.

The PM GCTT also added a Korean terrain database to the M1A2 SEP AGTS. In its latest software upgrade to the AGTS, PM GCTT will add five special-purpose exercises for canister training using the following databases: desert, European, Korean, and urban. With this upgrade, crews will quickly learn when it is appropriate to use canister as they learn the round’s capabilities and limitations. During these special-purpose exercises, the crew will have access to the MOUT database. The AGTS software will also be upgraded with the joint combat identification marking system (JCIMS), the M829A3 sub-designation, and later be aligned with the new gunnery manual yet to be published. (2) Lastly, a long-range goal is to upgrade many of the AGTSs to the mobile configuration. Two mobile AGTSs (MAGTS) are in Baghdad, Iraq; one is at Fort Bliss, Texas, for the 1st Cavalry; and one is at Fort Carson, Colorado, for the 4th Infantry Division. Another four have been contracted for 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment at Fort Hood, and one is scheduled for delivery in 2008 to Fort Bliss, Texas, to support the experimental brigade combat team and the 1st Armored Division.

The M1A1 COFT-AGTS is also scheduled to be upgraded alongside the AGTS with a more complex “Middle Eastern” MOUT database, which was also developed by the U.S. Marine Corps. The image generator in the current AGTS cannot process this database and requires additional funding for a future upgrade; the M1A1 COFT-AGTS will have new image generators installed, completing a re-hosting effort that began several years ago. The M1A1 COFT-AGTS will also finally get some of its initial production “bugs” corrected. Beginning in April 2007, the COFT-AGTS will have the correct .50-caliber sound; a more realistic limit on the amount of .50-caliber ammunition available; long-range, special-purpose exercises limited to below 4,000 meters in accordance with the tank’s limitations; corrected gunner’s auxiliary sight reticle size and color; corrected forward unity periscope; and all of the improvements highlighted for the AGTS.

Work has also started to add the canister capability to the close combat tactical trainer.

Other TADSS improvements for the armor force and Armor School are forthcoming. The PM procured 61 improved through site video recording (TSVR) systems primarily used with the M1A2 SEP. These new systems are being fielded and Fort Bliss and Fort Carson will each receive 14; Fort Hood will receive 28; and Fort Benning and Fort Knox will each receive 2. The system will work on any variant of Bradley or tank, but is required to capture the commander’s independent thermal viewer (CITV) imagery of the M1A2 SEE The system is in final testing stages and requires additional hardware to work with the Bradley. Once this work is complete, over the next 6 to 12 months, these systems will be available at the fielded installations’ training support centers (TSC) for use on gunnery tables for video augmented after-action reviews.

The Indoor Simulated Marksmanship Trainer (ISMT) is an interactive training system designed for use in a classroom setting. It was developed by FATS Inc., of Suwanee, Ga. Shooters fire laser-fitted infantry weapon simulators to engage threedimensional graphic target sets projected on a large screen. Using Bluetooth wireless technology, the Bluefire upgrade eliminates the tether that was attached to the simulation system to provide feedback to trainees and instructors.

SCOPE

As a part of an upgrade to the ISMT system, the Marine Corps ordered approximately 1,200 Bluefire simulators and 4,000 optical devices. The total value of the contract is more than $12 million. The Bluefire systems will be compatible across all of die ISMT platforms.

TIMELINE

The first Bluefire weapons and optic devices were delivered to the Weapons Training Battalion at Marine Corps Base, Quantico, Va., in March. The balance began fielding in April, first targeting the Marine bases at Camp Pendleton, Calif., and Camp Lejuene, N.C.

WHO’S IN CHARGE

Phyllis Pearce, program manager at FATS Inc., has been with the company for nearly 20 years. She spent the last five as a program manager working directly on U.S. military programs, including the production and fielding of the Marine Corps Reserves systems and the Marine security Guard system and weapons.

“We are bringing new technology to these systems because the Marines are getting new equipment that they are expected to use, such as. optics. We are putting the optics on our Bluefire weapons, enabling Marines to train with those new devices in environments like range courses, closecombat courses and other simulated scenarios. Marines can remediate their skills as needed, and when they go out into the real world, they’re qualified.

The Marine can bring in any optic, like Image Intensified optics, and we can put a filter on the system to replicate what he or she would see.

All the weapons we’d delivered up to this point were tethered. Recently, using Bluetooth technology, we have taken that cord away. We can simulate scenarios for certain situations that are filmed and loaded onto the system, such as clearing a house or a checkpoint operation at a border.

We have the capability of linking multiple systems to create a training regimen for four to five Marines. Each Marine could have a different weapon; some could have responsibility for indirect fire, some could have machine guns, some could be at close range. Depending on what presents itself in that virtual battle space, each one would have a particular role.

When combatants are in a stressful experience, they will fall back on their training. So what we’re doing here is [eliminating] whatever bad habits they may have, so they will instinctively do the right thing. Feedback from instructors is immediate.

We want to expand our role with the services to other parts of the battle space. We can replicate the motions of ships or Humvees. We can do a dome application to put a soldier in a room with 360-degree environment. Technology is being refreshed every few months. Bluetooth is one of those. We continually look at ways to incorporate new technologies to improve our training systems.

“I engaged the enemy with that new canister round at 1,100 meters but it had no effect!” (1) Live and virtual gunnery training, prior to deployment and employment could have prevented this, but we have struggled to implement either. As the user representative for the Abrams fleet and armor crewman, part of our charter is to manage and prioritize improvements to the Abrams training aids, devices, simulators, and simulations (TADSS). We struggled to get canister added to the standards in training commission (STRAC); it is now there, even if limited to only two rounds per crew.

Currently, Abrams gunnery devices are being upgraded with the canister round capability. Ideally, this should have been completed 6 months prior to fielding the canister round in Iraq, but the round was rushed to theater based on an urgent operational needs statement (ONS). This is but one example of the improvements we have been working on with our acquisition partners in the Product Manager (PM) Abrams Office, Warren, Michigan, and Program Executive Office Simulations Training (PEO STRI), Orlando, Florida.

Several new capabilities are being made available to the field and the Armor School, which include additions to the M1A2 SEP advanced gunnery training system (AGTS) and later to the M1A1 conduct of fire trainer (COFT)-AGTS, an investment of over $7 million. PM Ground Combat Tactical Trainers (PM GCTT)/ PEO STRI recently added a military operations on urbanized terrain (MOUT) database for section and platoon training to the M1A2 SEP AGTS. The U.S. Marine Corps developed this database for their M1A1 COFT-AGTS using Joint Readiness Training Center urban terrain. The Army borrowed this software and integrated it into the AGTS. It is not perfect; an unaware tank commander will hit buildings or poles, if he is not careful with the tank’s main gun orientation, and end the exercise sooner than planned. By doctrine, it is limited to section or platoon as the Armor Center does not support tanks operating individually in urban operations for survivability reasons.

The PM GCTT also added a Korean terrain database to the M1A2 SEP AGTS. In its latest software upgrade to the AGTS, PM GCTT will add five special-purpose exercises for canister training using the following databases: desert, European, Korean, and urban. With this upgrade, crews will quickly learn when it is appropriate to use canister as they learn the round’s capabilities and limitations. During these special-purpose exercises, the crew will have access to the MOUT database. The AGTS software will also be upgraded with the joint combat identification marking system (JCIMS), the M829A3 sub-designation, and later be aligned with the new gunnery manual yet to be published. (2) Lastly, a long-range goal is to upgrade many of the AGTSs to the mobile configuration. Two mobile AGTSs (MAGTS) are in Baghdad, Iraq; one is at Fort Bliss, Texas, for the 1st Cavalry; and one is at Fort Carson, Colorado, for the 4th Infantry Division. Another four have been contracted for 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment at Fort Hood, and one is scheduled for delivery in 2008 to Fort Bliss, Texas, to support the experimental brigade combat team and the 1st Armored Division.

The M1A1 COFT-AGTS is also scheduled to be upgraded alongside the AGTS with a more complex “Middle Eastern” MOUT database, which was also developed by the U.S. Marine Corps. The image generator in the current AGTS cannot process this database and requires additional funding for a future upgrade; the M1A1 COFT-AGTS will have new image generators installed, completing a re-hosting effort that began several years ago. The M1A1 COFT-AGTS will also finally get some of its initial production “bugs” corrected. Beginning in April 2007, the COFT-AGTS will have the correct .50-caliber sound; a more realistic limit on the amount of .50-caliber ammunition available; long-range, special-purpose exercises limited to below 4,000 meters in accordance with the tank’s limitations; corrected gunner’s auxiliary sight reticle size and color; corrected forward unity periscope; and all of the improvements highlighted for the AGTS.

Work has also started to add the canister capability to the close combat tactical trainer.

Other TADSS improvements for the armor force and Armor School are forthcoming. The PM procured 61 improved through site video recording (TSVR) systems primarily used with the M1A2 SEP. These new systems are being fielded and Fort Bliss and Fort Carson will each receive 14; Fort Hood will receive 28; and Fort Benning and Fort Knox will each receive 2. The system will work on any variant of Bradley or tank, but is required to capture the commander’s independent thermal viewer (CITV) imagery of the M1A2 SEE The system is in final testing stages and requires additional hardware to work with the Bradley. Once this work is complete, over the next 6 to 12 months, these systems will be available at the fielded installations’ training support centers (TSC) for use on gunnery tables for video augmented after-action reviews.

Most training simulations sprang from theories that originated in psychology, sociology, or economics. Techniques vary from simple role-playing to elaborate computer models. Some simulations partially replace real-world events, while others create miniature, selective societal replicas. The most effective simulations model the precision and richness of reality by exposing participants to life-like events. Researchers generalize these theories by developing verbal descriptions of social interactions or mathematical representations of interacting agents (Bredeweg & Voss, 1992).

Simulations permit military personnel to practice tactics under conditions that replicate elaborate battleground conditions. Unfortunately, the use of reality-based simulators has been limited in American public schools. Few, if any, simulations available for public education approach the imagination of those created by the computer-game industry.

Gredler (1996) described the essential components of experiental simulations that emulate reality including: complex task that adapts to participant behavior; serious roles in which participants assume responsibility for scenario-required activities; multiple plausible paths through the experience; and participant control over decision-making. The infant simulator known as Baby-Think-It-Over (BTIO) is a good example of an experiental simulation because it is a nonlinear, psychological experience in which participants play a defined role with specific responsibilities within the evolving reality of parenthood. It is a fluid, dynamic case study with participants on the inside.
Advertisement

The infant simulator is a life-like model with different ethnic characteristics that is 21 inches long and weighs 6.5 to 7 pounds. It randomly displays infant behaviors by following the schedules of real infants. Students feed the infant with a bottle or breast feeding device, change diapers, and hold the infant while rocking or burping it. The infant’s head falls back if it is not properly supported. If the infant is handled roughly, it cries and must be comforted until the crying stops. A computerized monitoring unit produces reports that document how well students cared for the infant. The report shows how many times the infant was neglected, handled roughly, and shaken, as well as how many times feeding, burping, rocking, or changing were required. Usually the infant is used as a device related to a public school health curriculum that includes child development and child care as major sections of the curriculum. Typically students care for the infant during a weekend that begins on Friday afternoon and ends on Monday morning.

BTIO is an intelligent simulation that assesses student behavior, diagnoses problem-solving performance, and remediates performance deficiences. Students who use the infant enter a structured, model-based reality in a setting designed to elicit specific, appropriate behaviors. As a training strategy, it allows students to practice effective behaviors and learn from errors.

Because BTIO is an unusually realistic, attractive device directed toward the serious social concern of unwanted teenage pregnancy, it has attracted the interest of researchers. Studies assessing the effectiveness of infant simulators are beginning to appear in the literature. However, studies to date have not included control groups nor have they included a structured, competency-based curriculum as part of the treatment. This study was designed to compare the impact of the simulator as an independent training tool with the use of the simulator in combination with a well-defined curriculum.

Simulators

The use of simulation as an effective training tool is well documented in the medical profession, space industry, armed services, and drivers’ education. A study reported that human patient simulators (HPSs) were superior to animal models in teaching surgical procedures. Medical students strongly supported the use of human simulators in teaching advanced trauma life support programs (Block et al., 2002).

Driver education with actual on-the-road experience was once viewed as the primary prevention technique to train young drivers to avoid traffic violations, injury, and death. Personal computers now present photorealistic simulations creating risky, cognitively demanding traffic scenarios that require responses without putting the participant at risk. Fisher et al. (2002) reported that younger inexperienced drivers who were trained on simulators operated their vehicles in a safer, less risky style. The study concluded that simulators have the potential to reduce the risk of traffic accidents.

Pregnancy

Recent data from the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 54% of high school students had sexual intercourse, a rate virtually unchanged since the study began in 1990. By the time they reach the age of 20, 80% of boys and 76% of girls have had sexual intercourse (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1999).

The Indoor Simulated Marksmanship Trainer (ISMT) is an interactive training system designed for use in a classroom setting. It was developed by FATS Inc., of Suwanee, Ga. Shooters fire laser-fitted infantry weapon simulators to engage threedimensional graphic target sets projected on a large screen. Using Bluetooth wireless technology, the Bluefire upgrade eliminates the tether that was attached to the simulation system to provide feedback to trainees and instructors.

SCOPE

As a part of an upgrade to the ISMT system, the Marine Corps ordered approximately 1,200 Bluefire simulators and 4,000 optical devices. The total value of the contract is more than $12 million. The Bluefire systems will be compatible across all of die ISMT platforms.

TIMELINE
Advertisement

The first Bluefire weapons and optic devices were delivered to the Weapons Training Battalion at Marine Corps Base, Quantico, Va., in March. The balance began fielding in April, first targeting the Marine bases at Camp Pendleton, Calif., and Camp Lejuene, N.C.

WHO’S IN CHARGE

Phyllis Pearce, program manager at FATS Inc., has been with the company for nearly 20 years. She spent the last five as a program manager working directly on U.S. military programs, including the production and fielding of the Marine Corps Reserves systems and the Marine security Guard system and weapons.

“We are bringing new technology to these systems because the Marines are getting new equipment that they are expected to use, such as. optics. We are putting the optics on our Bluefire weapons, enabling Marines to train with those new devices in environments like range courses, closecombat courses and other simulated scenarios. Marines can remediate their skills as needed, and when they go out into the real world, they’re qualified.

The Marine can bring in any optic, like Image Intensified optics, and we can put a filter on the system to replicate what he or she would see.

All the weapons we’d delivered up to this point were tethered. Recently, using Bluetooth technology, we have taken that cord away. We can simulate scenarios for certain situations that are filmed and loaded onto the system, such as clearing a house or a checkpoint operation at a border.

We have the capability of linking multiple systems to create a training regimen for four to five Marines. Each Marine could have a different weapon; some could have responsibility for indirect fire, some could have machine guns, some could be at close range. Depending on what presents itself in that virtual battle space, each one would have a particular role.

When combatants are in a stressful experience, they will fall back on their training. So what we’re doing here is [eliminating] whatever bad habits they may have, so they will instinctively do the right thing. Feedback from instructors is immediate.

We want to expand our role with the services to other parts of the battle space. We can replicate the motions of ships or Humvees. We can do a dome application to put a soldier in a room with 360-degree environment. Technology is being refreshed every few months. Bluetooth is one of those. We continually look at ways to incorporate new technologies to improve our training systems.

“I engaged the enemy with that new canister round at 1,100 meters but it had no effect!” (1) Live and virtual gunnery training, prior to deployment and employment could have prevented this, but we have struggled to implement either. As the user representative for the Abrams fleet and armor crewman, part of our charter is to manage and prioritize improvements to the Abrams training aids, devices, simulators, and simulations (TADSS). We struggled to get canister added to the standards in training commission (STRAC); it is now there, even if limited to only two rounds per crew.

Currently, Abrams gunnery devices are being upgraded with the canister round capability. Ideally, this should have been completed 6 months prior to fielding the canister round in Iraq, but the round was rushed to theater based on an urgent operational needs statement (ONS). This is but one example of the improvements we have been working on with our acquisition partners in the Product Manager (PM) Abrams Office, Warren, Michigan, and Program Executive Office Simulations Training (PEO STRI), Orlando, Florida.

Several new capabilities are being made available to the field and the Armor School, which include additions to the M1A2 SEP advanced gunnery training system (AGTS) and later to the M1A1 conduct of fire trainer (COFT)-AGTS, an investment of over $7 million. PM Ground Combat Tactical Trainers (PM GCTT)/ PEO STRI recently added a military operations on urbanized terrain (MOUT) database for section and platoon training to the M1A2 SEP AGTS. The U.S. Marine Corps developed this database for their M1A1 COFT-AGTS using Joint Readiness Training Center urban terrain. The Army borrowed this software and integrated it into the AGTS. It is not perfect; an unaware tank commander will hit buildings or poles, if he is not careful with the tank’s main gun orientation, and end the exercise sooner than planned. By doctrine, it is limited to section or platoon as the Armor Center does not support tanks operating individually in urban operations for survivability reasons.
Advertisement

The PM GCTT also added a Korean terrain database to the M1A2 SEP AGTS. In its latest software upgrade to the AGTS, PM GCTT will add five special-purpose exercises for canister training using the following databases: desert, European, Korean, and urban. With this upgrade, crews will quickly learn when it is appropriate to use canister as they learn the round’s capabilities and limitations. During these special-purpose exercises, the crew will have access to the MOUT database. The AGTS software will also be upgraded with the joint combat identification marking system (JCIMS), the M829A3 sub-designation, and later be aligned with the new gunnery manual yet to be published. (2) Lastly, a long-range goal is to upgrade many of the AGTSs to the mobile configuration. Two mobile AGTSs (MAGTS) are in Baghdad, Iraq; one is at Fort Bliss, Texas, for the 1st Cavalry; and one is at Fort Carson, Colorado, for the 4th Infantry Division. Another four have been contracted for 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment at Fort Hood, and one is scheduled for delivery in 2008 to Fort Bliss, Texas, to support the experimental brigade combat team and the 1st Armored Division.

The M1A1 COFT-AGTS is also scheduled to be upgraded alongside the AGTS with a more complex “Middle Eastern” MOUT database, which was also developed by the U.S. Marine Corps. The image generator in the current AGTS cannot process this database and requires additional funding for a future upgrade; the M1A1 COFT-AGTS will have new image generators installed, completing a re-hosting effort that began several years ago. The M1A1 COFT-AGTS will also finally get some of its initial production “bugs” corrected. Beginning in April 2007, the COFT-AGTS will have the correct .50-caliber sound; a more realistic limit on the amount of .50-caliber ammunition available; long-range, special-purpose exercises limited to below 4,000 meters in accordance with the tank’s limitations; corrected gunner’s auxiliary sight reticle size and color; corrected forward unity periscope; and all of the improvements highlighted for the AGTS.

Work has also started to add the canister capability to the close combat tactical trainer.

Other TADSS improvements for the armor force and Armor School are forthcoming. The PM procured 61 improved through site video recording (TSVR) systems primarily used with the M1A2 SEP. These new systems are being fielded and Fort Bliss and Fort Carson will each receive 14; Fort Hood will receive 28; and Fort Benning and Fort Knox will each receive 2. The system will work on any variant of Bradley or tank, but is required to capture the commander’s independent thermal viewer (CITV) imagery of the M1A2 SEE The system is in final testing stages and requires additional hardware to work with the Bradley. Once this work is complete, over the next 6 to 12 months, these systems will be available at the fielded installations’ training support centers (TSC) for use on gunnery tables for video augmented after-action reviews.

Featuring all-weather design, computer-controlled, pan-tilt Model PTU-D300 supports fixed and mobile antenna and communications laser positioning applications. Built-in dynamic control capabilities include on-the-fly speed and position command changes at over 30 Hz for real-time tracking. Remote control of unit is provided through RS-232 or RS-485 serial interfaces with multiple software options. Pan and tilt speeds range from 0.00643-50[degrees]/sec with accuracy of [+ or -]0.00643[degrees].

********************

Rugged outdoor unit packs precision, power and speed in small footprint

BURLINGAME, California. September 30, 2005 - Directed Perception, Inc. today announced the availability of its PTU-D300 family of computer controlled pan-tilt units. The PTU-D300 is designed to support a range of fixed and mobile antenna and communications laser positioning requirements for satellite tracking, microwave communications, and other surveillance and communications applications. The PTU-D300 offers a price/performance not previously available in off-the-shelf antenna positioners. The extremely rugged all-in-one design is compact and has flexible mounting options. Built-in dynamic control capabilities include on-the-fly speed and position command changes at over 30Hz supporting a wide range of applications including real-time tracking. A 360-degree continuous-pan option is available with pass-through of Microwave antenna signals. An available software API supports integration with custom applications. Geo-pointing and stabilizations options are available.

Speeds time-to-market for complex communications systems

The integrated design of the PTU-D300 provides a complete turn-key positioning solution for fast, accurate, dynamic, computer-controlled positioning of antenna position through a wide range of motion. Sensor and communications systems designers can save months of product development time by using the PTU-D300 as a complete, drop-in antenna positioning solution. Remote control of the PTU-D300 is provided through RS-232 or RS-485 serial interfaces with multiple software options.

Payloads to 70 Lbs.

The patent-pending mechanical design provides rigid, stable, payload positioning with very good dynamics. Specific performance features include:

– Payload capacities of 70 Lbs (side mount) and 35 Lbs (top mount)

– Fully controllable pan and tilt speeds ranging from below 0.00643 [degrees]/second to 50 [degrees]/second

– +/- 0.00643[degrees] positioning accuracy in both pan and tilt axes

– 360[degrees] continuous pan option

The PTU-D300 includes a fully-integrated controller with digital commands for fine-grained control of speed, acceleration, position limits, and power modes. Unit can be commanded in terms of either position or velocity. The unit allows on-the-fly command changes to support dynamic tracking applications. Both Serial and Ethernet interfaces are available, with other network interfaces on request. Control software interfaces available include a LabView driver and a C source-code API for use with embedded or desktop CPUs.

The PTU-D300 is constructed of anodized machined high-grade aluminum and provides a sleek, integrated package with flexible payload and pan-tilt mounting options. Packaging features include:

– Rugged all-weather design (IP67) with wide-range operating temperature (-30[degrees] to +50[degrees] C)

– 100% duty cycle or 3-5 million cycles

– Single 9-30VDC power input

– Single mil-style connector for all signals and power. Pass through of payload signals including Power, Video, and serial control. Options for Microwave signals available.

– Compact size (11.6″ x 5.5″ x 9″ not including payload bracket)

– Marinized option available

Designed for easy customization

The PTU-D300 has a number of design features to support rapid customization to meet specific OEM requirements. Customization options include changes in: payload connectors/cabling, mounting brackets, slip-rings, encoders, and network interfaces.

Price and Availability

The PTU-D300 is available now. Pricing is $9500 in Quantity 1 (standard configuration).

About Directed Perception, Inc.

Directed Perception is a leading manufacturer of innovative devices and software for the intelligent control of sensors and sensor processing including video cameras, IR sensors, laser rangers, microwave antennas, thermo-imaging sensors, and more. The Company’s products are designed with precision, ruggedness, and low-cost to support demanding applications, such as tracking, in a broad range of OEM and end-user markets. Directed Perception’s flagship miniature computer-controlled pan-tilt tracking mount was one of the first of its kind and has been sold to OEMs and end-users world-wide since 1992. The Company’s patented products are used in a wide range of industries including Security & Surveillance, Industrial Automation, Robotics, Communications, Military/Aerospace, Law Enforcement, Education, R&D, Webcams, and Teleconferencing/distance learning.

Directed Perception customers include industry-leading companies worldwide in aerospace, defense, security & surveillance, robotics and industrial automation. Directed Perception sells its products direct and through distributors and partners worldwide.

Directed Perception is privately held and headquartered in Burlingame, in Northern California.