British Army Turns To Oculus Rift To Take the Sting Out of Battlefield Trauma 23
Dimetrodon (2714071) writes British consultancy Plextek has just announced the world's first immersive medical training system for the military using the Oculus Rift. The virtual reality technology will be used to simulate pre-hospital care on the battlefield, requiring trainees to "negotiate and prioritise" clinical needs while under virtual fire.
Re:boo hooo hoooooo (Score:5, Insightful)
Battlefield trauma? They volunteered for it, they get the trauma they bargained for. Don't they enjoy cashing their pay for following orders?
Quite a cynical way to be viewing the guys patching up the boys who've been shot to pieces. If anyone in an army deserves sympathy, it would have to be the field medics. Hopefully for your sake Mr. AC, I just fed a troll.
GOP AC (Score:2, Insightful)
this is a GOP troll
no one I know, have ever met, or have ever read or watched has *ever* used this logic
progrssives/liberals who are anti-war do not use this kind of rhetoric, ever anywhere
by this logic, anyone who gets into banking must be doing so in order to evict/foreclose on familes
Re: (Score:2)
I think trolling transcends political party. Trying to figure out whose "team" the troll is on just plays his game. Ignore trolls and dont assume they represent anyone's views or arguments.
Re: (Score:2)
I think your false equivalence transcends logic
**OF COURSE** it's true that **ANYONE** any political persuasion or 'party' can "troll"
no.
when trolls are GOP trolls you **call out the GOP troll** because their **ideas** are detrimental to profitable discussion.
if it's the opposite, call it out in the appropriate manner.
GOP trolls exist, and must be publicly shamed
Re: (Score:2)
I think you misread the article - its about training medics how to deal with casualties whilst they are under fire and is probably as close as you can get short of having them on a real battlefield. The "battlefield trauma" relates to injuries on the battlefield, not whether medics are traumatized in dealing with the situation, although improving the ability of them to handle the situation they are in will reduce the likelihood of this happening.
Battlefield medics have to make hard decisions, including deci
Re: (Score:2)
This looks like technology looking for a purpose.. (Score:2)
rather then a purpose looking for technology.
How do they normally deal with this?... same way fire fighters do... they have little mock up training areas with dummies and the fire fighters play pretend.
how is this VR thing any better then that? and frankly... how can it help but be worse?
Re:This looks like technology looking for a purpos (Score:4, Insightful)
Young people like computer games and respond well to been further educated with computers.
Its part of a complex learning system that has worked/sold well in other countries...
Its part of a complex learning system that will sell well other countries...
Think of the exports, local hi tech jobs.
Stories like this reflect well on Armed Forces when any good news is needed to take away from reports about the UK role in Iraq.
Re: (Score:2)
"It gives that 3d depth and color lacking in the real world."
Could you explain that? As I look around me in the real world I see amazing color and 3D depth. I'd say it's much better than the OR, which when I put one on reminded me very much of looking into those old video camera electronic viewfinders.
Re: (Score:2)
How do they normally deal with this?... they have little mock up training areas with dummies and the fire fighters play pretend.
The problem with your "little mock up" is that it involves dozens of people and costs thousands of dollars/pounds per hour. It is more cost effective to use virtual reality to conduct the initial phases of training, and save the mock up training for later phases.
Re: (Score:2)
The mock up is a fixed cost... its a bit land the army has set aside for such things... all you're paying for is the depreciation on dummies which I can assure you less then the depreciation on VR helmets.
We run into this sort of thing all the time in the US. Some new wizbang technology comes out and everyone in government wants to use it never mind that they don't need it and that using it is actually less efficient then what they were doing before. They don't care... they want their toy.
Well, that's great
many lonely problems (Score:2)
well said!
i've been searching for the right phrase to describe the Occulus Rift hype
*this* is the *first* slashdot story I've seen that warrants any attention...on the battlefield, injuries are random and chaotic, blood everywhere, pieces just missing...you cant train for that with a blow-up doll...so good for whoever thought of this application
i hate how our industry works...so many problems to solve, yet the money follows the hype
Re: (Score:2)
I'd say a use is continuous training. Firefighters normally can only do a few real simulated training a year. Using VR, they can do it continually, alongside the real simulations.
I mean, if you're an airport firefighter, yo
Re: (Score:2)
Except they won't do it continuously.
And now you've forced the trainers to coordinate everything with programmers.
Previously if they wanted to change the senario they just did it... no back and forth with programmers required.
Now on top of everything else I've said the training system is less flexible.
Here is what is going to happen.
They're going to take your toys and play with them for awhile. Then they're going to go back to the old training system because it actually is more useful. Oh they'll play with
I never even considered that (Score:4, Insightful)
Best way to take the Sting Out of Battlefield... (Score:1)