THE REGISTER
Latest military-research boon: Game interface to rule them all
Sometimes, people suggest that military boffins are a waste of the taxpayers' money. They either develop hideous weaponry calculated to increase the amount of misery in the world, or fool about inventing pointless gadgetry which wastes our soldiers' time.
Not today, though - today is one of those days when the brainboxes of the military-industrial complex seem set to come up with one of their successes, like integrated circuits or radar or jet engines - something with military applications, sure, but also a thing of beauty in itself which will enrich the lives of us all.
In this case, to be specific, the military boffins in question are hot on the trail of what promises to be the greatest gaming interface ever seen - one which would leave such unsatisfactory compromises as the Kinect, Wiimote, PlayStation Move etc mouldering in the dustbin of history.
Its name? "BioNav", short for Biological Navigation. The idea is simple: you're a soldier in an immersive simulated training environment - an Afghan village, the snows of the Hindu Kush, wherever it may be. Naturally enough your arms and hands and voice, as they would be in the real world, are fully taken up managing your weapons, sensors and communications.
It is wholly unsatisfactory to have to control your avatar-self's movement using normal interface or even gesture-based controls: you should be able to run, leap or otherwise navigate about virtually without needing to do so physically.
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Latest military-research boon: Game interface to rule them all
Sometimes, people suggest that military boffins are a waste of the taxpayers' money. They either develop hideous weaponry calculated to increase the amount of misery in the world, or fool about inventing pointless gadgetry which wastes our soldiers' time.
Not today, though - today is one of those days when the brainboxes of the military-industrial complex seem set to come up with one of their successes, like integrated circuits or radar or jet engines - something with military applications, sure, but also a thing of beauty in itself which will enrich the lives of us all.
In this case, to be specific, the military boffins in question are hot on the trail of what promises to be the greatest gaming interface ever seen - one which would leave such unsatisfactory compromises as the Kinect, Wiimote, PlayStation Move etc mouldering in the dustbin of history.
Its name? "BioNav", short for Biological Navigation. The idea is simple: you're a soldier in an immersive simulated training environment - an Afghan village, the snows of the Hindu Kush, wherever it may be. Naturally enough your arms and hands and voice, as they would be in the real world, are fully taken up managing your weapons, sensors and communications.
It is wholly unsatisfactory to have to control your avatar-self's movement using normal interface or even gesture-based controls: you should be able to run, leap or otherwise navigate about virtually without needing to do so physically.
READ MORE
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