The Ethical Implications of a VR Trained Military 1

The Ethical Implications of a VR Trained Military

Jon K. Pacha

California State University Monterey Bay

The Ethical Implications of a VR Trained Military 2

The field of virtual reality is a growing rapidly with its roots in the video game

industry. What originally started as large and crude room-sized devices, virtual reality is

now one at the forefront of emergent technologies. Using a head-mounted display with

a screen mounted very close to the eyes, the user is able to, at the very least, view a

simulated world. Most of these virtual environments contain more intractability however,

various controllers let the user have control over individual hand movements while the

Leap motion controller allows for discrete finger control. Haptic feedback, while not

solely used for virtual reality, also adds to the immersive feeling that is unique to a

virtual reality environment. This immersion is something that can be applied to video

games, medical training, or military simulations.

With the rise in popularity of virtual reality, the applications for it has also grown.

While virtual reality might seem like a medium more suited for video games. The United

States military has been using virtual reality as a means of training their soldiers as well

for varied situations as an alternative to their traditional means of training. Different

military adjacent scenarios can also be trained for as well. Ones that do not involve

combat or immediate, high-pressure decisions. Along with traditional combat training,

elements of war such as post-traumatic stress disorder or medical training. Though

considering the amount of money spent on training each and every trainee, the

exorbitant costs add up. These steep expenses are not something new when it comes

to the military budgeting, which is all the more reason to implement more virtual

technology to at least reduce operating costs while also utilizing a similarly effective

training program. While not as glamorous as a video game as one might normally
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expect set in a virtual reality, the use of virtual reality and its more serious applications

used to train soldiers is a safer and cheaper option if the government wants to consider

moving forward with technology.

Now that virtual reality systems are becoming more and more accessible in cost

and use, military trainers are looking to apply this by allowing them to cut costs by

creating virtual scenarios for the training exercises. Lt. General Thomas Baptiste says

that the military is in a, “pretty tough budget environment” (Witcher, 2018). Baptiste, the

president and CEO of National Center for Simulation, wonders about training soldiers

for non-combat situations. “In an austerity environment, how do you train [soldiers

returning home]? How do you train them at home station?”(Witcher, 2018) With these

consumer gaming technologies, the cost of delivering training on various topics scales

down immensely. Virtual reality also can safely replicate otherwise expensive and

dangerous training scenarios, letting trainers repeat and modify as needed. For complex

maintenance tasks, machines can perpetually be taken apart and rebuilt in VR without

fear of wearing down real parts.

Another promise stemming from the immersive nature of virtual reality is its

presence. The idea that the virtual reality world is so real that the user feels completely

present in the environment. With Baptiste calling it, “You sort of got something if you

can suspend disbelief enough to make their heart beat faster, make them sweat... It

can’t just be a carnival ride or a Disney experience”(Witcher, 2018). Oculus, the

company that manufactures the Rift VR headset, listed the technical requirements for

creating a presence as: displays with at least 80 degrees field of view to provide
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peripheral visual cues for better context and orientation, resolution of 1080p (HD) or

better for improved clarity and realism, low pixel persistence to prevent blurring, and

refresh rates better than 50Hz to both eliminate motion artifacts and improve motion

response time to reduce simulation sickness. All this needs to be in place while at the

same time avoiding the uncanny valley that could possibly reject the user’s presence.

Haptic feedback also may play a part in their training depending on the scenario.

Haptics are the ability to deliver physical touch feedback to a user. This extra sense of

touch allowed when in a virtual environment would be valuable to the certain type of

training scenarios such as a medic being able to apply the correct amount of pressure.

However, this tactile feedback is still years behind the current level of virtual or audio

feedback.

The possibility of the more cost-effective virtual reality training being

implemented alongside traditional training practices also appeases those who look for

less military spending. Meanwhile, in the UK, Plextek, an electronics design

consultancy, has been making training simulations for the British government's Ministry

of Defence since the late 1980s. Specializing in building training programmes for army

medics, a traditional medical training environment would cost, according to Collette

Johnson, Plextek Medical Business Development Manager, "Millions of pounds" to

build. Yet, a simple training VR simulation would cost, as Johnson puts it, "In the low

tens of thousands, a fraction of the price. Typically the recruits coming through our

training programme are between the age of 16 and 24,"(Bhagat, 2016) says Johnson.

However, Plextek is not the only military contractor experimenting with virtual reality.
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DoDAAM, the creator of an automated gun turret, has a suite of different VR programs.

In one, the user climbs into a harness that is suspended from the ceiling, before putting

on an Oculus Rift, the screen then simulates the effect of flying a parachute. Players

must guide themselves to a landing strip by tugging on two cords to steer, while an

industrial fan blows air in their face to simulate the feeling of wind on the trainee's face.

Another is designed to train snipers and their spotters using an augmented reality dome

as well as a VR headset as a set of binoculars for the spotter. Using these various

games Johnson stated that, "We are able to play the training back so people could look

at how they performed in extreme detail. It's become a highly effective and low-cost

training tool"(Mahon, 2016). A conscious effort to cut back on what some view as an

extravagant use of taxpayer money could also potentially help the military's image in

those eyes. Nonetheless, as a cheaper and arguably more effective form of general

training, virtual reality training makes a valid argument for its approval in military

training.

A virtual reality simulation that intends to act as medical as medical training

differs slightly from a combat one. While the skills that are needed between a medic and

other military personnel obviously differ, other factors need to be taken into

consideration. Roughly 4,300 physicians in the U.S. Army Medical Command rotate

through their deployments of primary care, combat casualty care, and host nation care.

The need and emphasis for the required skills vary dramatically by deployment. For

example, on field wounds often requires procedures such as debridement,

cauterization, and ligation, whereas usual surgical care in a civilian setting “emphasizes
The Ethical Implications of a VR Trained Military 6

procedures such as laparoscopic cholecystectomy and hernia repair” (Siu, 2017). This

unpredictable shift of required skills challenges medics with the need for various skills at

various times and different than those they are employing before their deployment. Yet,

they must somehow train or retrain in that skill before their deployment. At the time they

are deployed, their previously trained skills that may have been required in other

settings may decay through disuse unless they are able to somehow train those skills

as well. The use of immersive virtual reality techniques suited for these medical

situations should be coupled with a scheduled training regimen before deployment. The

potential to dramatically reduce the cost of training as well a the cost both in lives,

dollars, and mistakes caused by lack of preparedness in these medical techniques is a

moral imperative. Also, an adaptive virtual reality training system could improve the

capability to interactively and effectively assess the level of learning new skills, optimize

skill acquisition across varied medical simulations, and positively impact skill level of a

new or relearning combat medic. A well-implemented training system could potentially

lead to a reduction in injury and death rate by providing trainees with the experience

they need before operating in a new combat setting by being prepared beforehand in a

virtual reality one.

With technology already advancing rapidly in the medical field, it was only a

matter time until the military had their hand at training their medics with the most up to

date technology as well, including virtual reality. Combat Medic is an example of such

advancement in medical training. Developed by Applied Research Associates, this

newly designed software allows for trainees, “to see in real-time the effect of their
The Ethical Implications of a VR Trained Military 7

treatments on the bodies of virtual patients and high-tech mannequins” (Singer, 2006).

Combat Medic places the medics in a 3D environment where the software can simulate

hemorrhage, blocked airways and collapsed lungs - the three injuries most associated

with preventable battlefield death. To keep up with the trend of the military adopting

sophisticated games systems and virtual reality, Applied Research Associates the

virtual reality space will be able to interact with, “in front of a laptop or with a mouse,

keyboard or joystick, and interacting with virtual patients in the computer” (Metz, 2017).

Biogears, another medical training company created an open source software that The

Defense Medical Research Development Program put $7 million up for the new

software, which not only may be downloaded into Department of Defense’s existing

virtual reality and mannequin training system but by the broader public. Jenn Carter,

senior scientist and project manager for BioGears, on the open source nature of their

product, “All the models we are creating can be downloaded for free by anyone ... to

create immersive training,... What the [project team] is hoping is that this physiology

engine becomes the standard for physiology simulations, so that anybody in the future

who creates a medical training game for the military can take and use BioGears in that”

(Metz, 2017). Matthew Hackett, the science and technology manager with the Army

Research Laboratory also spoke on the cost savings of these simulations as opposed to

traditional training methods pointing out that, “This means cost savings to the military

since programs will not have to be rebuilt each time for different kinds of simulations”

(Metz, 2017). Also noting how the open source software allows it to be more accessible

to anyone.
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There are detractors of a virtual reality trained military and arguments brought up

range from the actual effectiveness of a virtual reality training regimen to the potential

disconnect between the virtual reality environment and a live combat one. These

arguments have merit but should not prevent progress on what would be an effective

and more economically friendly option for the military to invest themselves in. Like the

fear that stems from virtual reality in general, the possibility of a user to get so caught up

in a virtual environment that they blur the line between reality and virtual. This

immersive quality that is unique to virtual reality brings new dangers and the

disconnected feeling from the real world could lead to potentially disastrous

conclusions, especially in the context of war. A virtual reality training scenario can lead

to a feeling of invulnerability to a trainee and if they were to take that onto the battlefield,

this sense of disconnect would lead to their demise in an otherwise preventable

situation. However, there is an uncanny valley that would be able to prevent most of

these occurrences. The main point of the training is to understand what to do in a given

situation and how to best proceed. These virtual reality simulations would not act as ​Call

of Duty​ like video game where they are trained how to fight, instead, they are taught to

better understand what is going on around them and what their next move would be,

with more a strategic angle to it, these simulations teach more in planning than combat.

While virtual reality might seem like a medium more suited for video games,

there are still some critics of virtual reality training as a whole. For example, Robert

Stone, Chair in Interactive Multimedia Systems at the University of Birmingham

questions the actual return from these virtual reality training scenarios. He wonders
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about what this virtual reality application will deliver, and in his opinion, “that in the

unforgiving world of the military, the stark answer is very little”(Stone, 2018). He

believes that the products that are ready to go right now are unsuited for the realities of

military training or actual missions. These virtual reality simulations lack the human

element that would not be able to be replicated in virtual reality. Stone argues that these

virtual reality demonstrations are just showcases for the company’s new must-have

software and trying to show how the military can be another client. Stone also brings up

“mixed reality” which he argues, “could deliver a far more believable training setup than

one relying on virtual reality technology alone” (Stone, 2018). In the two projects done

by the British military that he brings up in the article, real life props, like inert weapons,

were used to make the simulation more believable when compared to strictly virtual

reality. These projects returned significant financial savings as well improvements in

performance. From these lessons based on today’s projects, Stone proposes a

combination of virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality as a brand new

training system for future situations. The trainees would benefit from the interplay of the

real world objects and familiar environments from virtual reality. Without such a new

thing never being proposed before, it must be put under much scrutiny whichever

choice is made is regarding virtual reality training. Especially in matters of war, argues

Stone, when life and death situations are all too real.

The idea that augmented reality applied alongside virtual reality would be a better

option than solely virtual reality is a valid one and an option that should be looked into

implementing as well. However, this should not discredit virtual reality as a singular
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option. The argument that virtual reality companies are only trying to get their foot in the

door by securing government contracts also should be a seen as a sign of the rapidly

increasing value of this emergent technology. Virtual reality is a quickly becoming a

staple in modern technology. What initially started out as a crude gaming accessory and

not taking off as its current iteration until 2012, virtual reality has been applied to various

fields including military training. This more cost effective and immersive application

should be used as the future of all military training regimens. While not a replacement

for tradition training means, virtual reality simulations should be used alongside if not at

the forefront of the applicable military training exercises. The option for a comparatively

low-cost, safer, and more dependable should be taken into consideration by the United

States military.
The Ethical Implications of a VR Trained Military 11

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The Ethical Implications of a VR Trained Military 12

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