In Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality News
May 10, 2023 – U.S. Space Force Unit 13th Delta Operations Squadron (13 DOS), responsible for Guardian education (“Guardian” being the term for Space Force service members), including institutional professional military education, continuing education, advanced education programs, and USSF officer accessions, has this week announced that it will use the extended reality (XR) suite, SOLAR, developed by Charles River Analytics, to teach space operational concepts and situational awareness in the space domain.
According to Charles River, SOLAR, a KWYN product, is a result of the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency’s Hallmark program that combines immersive space training materials and virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) experiences to visualize and interact with satellite assets in a 4D environment. Charles River stated that the program helps to build trainees’ spatiotemporal understanding, proximity and threat assessment skills, and experience with maneuver options.
“SOLAR’s ability to help Guardians conceptualize satellite motion, planes, and regimes, relative to other objects with relative ease is incredibly valuable,” said a member of the 13 DOS. “Guardians learn space domain functions and mission execution, including effective space battle management, in a stimulating, interactive environment.”
With tens of thousands of objects in Earth’s orbit, satellites, launches, and military operations are increasingly at risk. SOLAR helps Guardians develop situational awareness to maintain critical space assets. Charles River noted that the application’s novel visualizations and interface give Guardians scalable capabilities that can be accessed and edited anywhere to enhance their understanding of 3D and 4D space concepts, such as satellite structure, terminology, payload functions, orbital elements, mission needs, threats, and offensive and defensive space control course of action options.
“Our goal with SOLAR is to provide an intuitive, engaging, and reliable tool for Guardians and multi-domain warfighters,” said Rob Hyland, Principal Scientist and Director of Transition at Charles River Analytics. “Given the feedback we’ve received thus far, it appears we’re on the right track and we look forward to watching the SOLAR user community grow.”
For more information about Charles River Analytics and its SOLAR extended reality suite for immersive space training materials, please visit the company’s website.
Image / video credit: Charles River Analytics / U.S. Space Force
About the author
Sam Sprigg
Sam is the Founder and Managing Editor of Auganix. With a background in research and report writing, he has been covering XR industry news for the past seven years.
