It’s a sad fact that never a week goes by, it seems, without reference to military and civilian casualties caused by Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). One of the ‘hallmarks’ of present-day insurgent strategy, IEDs can range from the re-use of conventional explosive ordnance to quite sophisticated remotely or automatically-triggered packages, disguised as, or hidden in everyday roadside artefacts. Over the past two years, the HFI DTC has collaborated with the Defence Science & Technology Laboratory (Dstl) and the Defence Explosives, Munitions & Search School (DEMSS). DEMSS in particular has contributed to the research by allowing HFI DTC personnel access to training programmes in which simulated route searches have been undertaken using a variety of assets, from dog handlers and Army search personnel to subsequent neutralisation teams deploying remotely controlled vehicles.
Early human factors observations took place on Army training grounds in Kent. The rationale behind the early focus on predominantly rural terrain was that search teams trained in such environments are more likely to be aware of the wide variety of important natural and manmade features associated with IED placement, regardless of the operational setting in which they ultimately find themselves. The observations were crucial to defining the level of graphical detail delivered in the first demonstration. For example, using flat textures to create areas of grass or simple billboard representations of linear features such as fences and hedges was judged to be highly inadequate, given the typical placement characteristics of IEDs. Consequently, a more convincing three-dimensional effect had to be devised, such that IED components could be ‘hidden’ in a way that made the simulated search and detection procedures more realistic. Examples of ‘disturbed earth’ had to be subtle, as opposed to simple geometric ‘mounds’ which would be easy to detect from a distance.
As well as the fidelity requirements of the training context, considerable attention was also given to the development of 3D assets, especially as models of British Armed Forces equipment and personnel are nowhere near as available to download from the web as those for the US. Such assets included support and command vehicles, human avatars and IED detection and robotic removal systems. More recent projects with Dstl and DEMMS have concentrated on the deployment of search and disposal assets in virtual urban contexts and Afghanistan. Village scenarios where features such as rocks, small groups of plants, abandoned or destroyed vehicles, building shells and the like lend themselves well to IED search and disposal training scenarios.
The project described here is from the Human Factors Integration Defence Technology Centre’s seven year R&D portfolio, which has involved very close collaboration with military end users. A comprehensive catalogue of R&D activities undertaken by the DTC can be reviewed by downloading the Centre’s 2008 Yearbook at www.hfidtc.com.
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