Alternate “Realities”: Military Applications in the Metaverse Era
Main Article Content
Abstract
This article is intended for 3 primary purposes. The first is to examine different types of realities and their military applications. The second is to explore the rise of the metaverse and its prospects for military use, and the third is to analyze and indicate possible opportunities as well as approaches for the development of Thailand’s defence capabilities through Alternate Realities and Metaverse.
This article divides Alternate Realities into 3 main categories, which are Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, and Mixed Reality. All three categories of alternate realities provide enhancement to defence capabilities in 2 major areas, military training and warfighting. The paper also looks into an upward trend of virtual technology, in which the metaverse is taking on a prominent role. Metaverse has a potential for broader defence implications and can emerge as a key enhancement for battlefield effectiveness with intra-military communication. The advancement in both Alternate Realities and Metaverse has offered a way for Thai armed forces to effectively and efficiently train and operate with a simultaneous intra-military communication as well as an interconnectivity among friendly forces.
Thus, for the full potential of military applications of Alternate Realities and Metaverse to be realized, the article recommends that the Thai defence sector should take 3 key approaches, which are to prioritize digital interoperability of military equipment and systems, to seize an advantage of commercial-off-the-shelf technology, and to promote and enhance system integration capability within the defence sector.
Downloads
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Journal of TCI is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) licence, unless otherwise stated. Please read our Policies page for more information...
References
Virtual Reality Society. “What is Virtual Reality?.” VRS.org.uk. https://www.vrs.org. uk/virtual-reality/what-is-virtual-reality. html (accessed Jun. 8, 2022).
Anonymous,“Augmented Reality,” in Encyclopedia of Multimedia, B. Furht Ed., Boston, MA, USA: Springer, 2006, pp. 29-31.
P. J. Kiger. “What is Mixed Reality (MR)?.” FL.edu. https://www.fi.edu/tech/ what-is-mixed-reality (accessed Jun. 22, 2022).
Intel. “VR vs. AR vs. MR: What You Need to Know.” INTEL.com. https://www.intel. com/content/www/us/en/tech-tips-and -tricks/virtual-reality-vs-augmented-reality. html (accessed Jun. 22, 2022).
T. Gerencer. “What Is Extended Reality (XR) and How Is it Changing the Future?.” HP.com. https://www.hp.com/us-en/ shop/tech-takes/what-is-xr-changing -world (accessed Jun. 22, 2022).
Airforce Technology. “Kratos Launches Aircrew Combat Mission Training system.” AIRFORCE-TECHNOLOGY.com. https:// www.airforce-technology.com/news/ kratos-launches-aircrew-combat-mission -training-system (accessed Jun. 22, 2022).
M. Carroll et al., “Inducing Stress in Warfighters during Simulation-Based Training,” presented at I/ITSEC, Orlando, FL, USA, Dec. 1-5, 2014, Paper 14201.
S. Hanoun and S. Nahavandi, “Current and Future Methodologies of After Action Review in Simulation-based Training,” in 2018 Annu. IEEE Int. Syst. Conf. (SysCon), Vancouver, BC, Canada, 2018, pp. 1 - 6.
V. Insinna, “Army, Marine Corps Look for Better Data on Simulator Effectiveness,” Nat. Def., vol. 98, no. 721, pp. 26 - 29, 2013. [Online]. Available: https://www. jstor.org/stable/27019819.
Collins Aerospace. “F-35 Gen III Helmet Mounted Display System (HMDS).” COLLINSAEROSPACE.com. http://www. collinsaerospace.com/what-we-do/ industries/military-and-defense/ displays-and-controls/airborne/helmet -mounted-displays/f-35-gen-iii-helmet -mounted-display-system (accessed Jul. 21, 2022).
Office of Inspector General, “Audit of the Army’s Integrated Visual Augmentation System,” U.S.Department of Defense, Alexandria, VA, USA, Rep. DODIG-2022-085, Apr. 20, 2022. Accessed: Jul. 27, 2022. [Online]. Available: https://www.dodig. mil/reports.html/Article/3007502/audit-of -the-armys-integrated-visual-augmenation -system-dodig-2022-085.
M. Morozov. “Augmented Reality in Military: AR Can Enhance Warfare and Training.” JASOREN.com. https:// jasoren.com/augmented-reality-military (accessed Jul. 22, 2022).
S. Mystakidis, “Metaverse,” Encyclopedia, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 486-497, 2022.
A. Fawkes. “The Military Metaverse.” LINKEDIN.com. https://www.linkedin. com/pulse/metaverse-military-andy -fawkes (accessed Jul. 22, 2022).
DA Reporter. “Metaverse-Based Military Training System Introduced.” DEFENSEADVANCEMENT.com. https:// www.defenseadvancement.com/news/ metaverse-based-military-training-system -introduced (accessed Jul. 27, 2022).
MHESI. “Announcement on the Reception of Proposed Projects in the Capability Development of Defence Industry’s Researchers.” MHESI.go.th. https://www. mhesi.go.th/images/ohec/11/151164. pdf (accessed Oct. 10, 2022). [in Thai]
RTARF. Royal Thai Armed Forces’ 3-year Operational Plan 2018-2022 (Revised), p. 8. [in Thai]
J. Grevatt and A. MacDonald. “Thailand proposes 2% cut in 2023 defence budget.” JANES.com. https://www.janes.com/ defence-news/news-detail/thailand -proposes-2-cut-in-2023-defence-budget (accessed Sep. 28, 2022).