AR Experience Report : Ghost Recon

This is one of the examples of military applications of Augmented Reality. On the battlefield, information is crucial. Various intel such as enemy’s position and distance, hidden enemies, the effect of wind and gravity on the bullet’s projectile etc., helps or accelerates the decision-making process. The soldier’s head gear (optical see-through HMD) displays these information in real-time on his goggles. The video I have included is not exactly AR because it is a game which is actually quite the opposite – ‘virtual reality’. But the concept presented in the game is definitely AR. I wanted to post this because I have played the game and experienced the immense benefits of AR in making tactical decisions in the virtual world. There is no doubt that this would be even more useful in the real world.

Another interesting feature I would like to point out is the connectivity between the AR systems of all soldiers in the squad. This sharing of information, among other purposes, is responsible for displaying hidden targets. A target which is directly visible for one soldier, would be displayed virtually for other soldiers if they dont have a direct line of sight on the target. This inspires me to create an application that is shared between a group and each person in the group can view the world from the eyes of others in the group.

Note that the concept would also be useful in circumstances where the soldier loses his visual cues from the real world, for example due to smoke grenades, shadowy lights or during night time.