Extended Reality In Defence: Applications, Opportunities And Challenges

Extended reality (XR) first hit the news in the early nineties. Back then, its potential seemed limited to the games sector but its renaissance twenty years later revealed a host of new applications such as product design, training, architecture and, perhaps most significantly, medical treatment and diagnosis. Defence was another obvious candidate particularly given the current geopolitical situation.

Applications

One of the most developed applications of XR in defence is training and simulation. It is after all essentially computer games technology and many games have a combat setting (such as flight simulators and first-person shooters) so applying them to training as well as recreation was an obvious next step. It is also cheaper and safer. Realistic immersive packages have also proved invaluable in training personnel for field medicine, winning “hearts and minds” and crowd control and AI is playing an increasing role in creating sophisticated and responsive environments.