The document discusses a 2019 event focused on how virtual reality (VR) technology can enhance collective training for military personnel. It highlights the benefits of immersive environments for leadership, decision making, and communication while emphasizing the importance of personalizing avatars for effective nonverbal communication. Overall, the aim is to identify VR's role in supporting future army training with scalable and cost-effective solutions.

1. Nesta “Collective Embodiment” Event
London - 15 Oct 2019
A Virtual Reality Perspective
Andy Fawkes
Thinke Company

2. Virtual Reality in Land Training
Q1 2019
The aim was to identify how VR technology might support
future Army Collective Training
30+ Personnel in VR

3. The “Training Audience”
Infantry
Warrior
1
Warrior
2
Warrior
3
Challenger 2
Tank 31

4. Collective Training
• Leadership – character, knowledge and action that inspires
• Situation Awareness – shared mental model of team situation
• Decision Making – team collectively makes a choice
• Communication – right information, right people, right time
• Co-operation – team goals over individual’s

5. Why VR for Collective Training?
• Immersive environment creates a
challenging environment
• Can rapidly rehearse and repeatedly
practice in a variety of scenarios
• Flexible, scalable, deployable and cost
effective

7. in desktop
simulation you
look at the
virtual world,
in VR, you are
in it

8. Collective Embodiment
• Collective briefings before and after
• “Commander’s Intent” communicated
• Voice comms key to co-ordination and
situation awareness
• Need to simulate other forms of real world
communication e.g. hand signals
• Explored in-VR avatar personalisation
• Avatar faces personalised
• Gait and BMI important in real world

9. nonverbal communication,
known as "Pinging"