Applicability of Human Simulation for Enhancing Operations of Dismounted Soldiers

Current policies of the Alliance require the constant development and acquisition of new technologies and equipment to support the individual soldier. Applying different types of modeling and simulation (M&S) for the design of equipment has been advantageous in the past. This has gained importance ever since the dismounted soldier is considered as a system, rather than a set of single components. M&S of human factors facilitated a comprehensive analysis of different components and their interaction with each other at early design phases. Constructive simulation, e.g., allows the identification and estimation of shortcomings and capabilities of new technologies without the need for cost-intensive hardware prototypes or demonstrators. An optimization of mission procedures becomes feasible with human performance modeling. This paper addresses relevant issues and some lessons learned in this field. It presents results and lessons learned from applying a mix of constructive, virtual, and live simulation for the design of future soldier equipment. A model of a (kinetic) MOUT mission (Military Operations in Urban Terrain) serves as a basis for a procedural simulation model, including simulation of mission processes, sequences and human performance. Design of personal equipment was investigated by today’s digital anthropometric human models. The focus in this case was on the validity of commercial models for typical dismounted soldier actions. It is planned to analyze the application of virtual simulation for more detailed analyses, esp. the applicability of commercial gaming technology, will be investigated. This will also include virtual entities, which were controlled by a simple artificial intelligence. In this connection, serious gaming has potential for applications in training social and cultural factors at a low operational level.