Virtual immersion simulation technology from Raytheon and Motion Reality Inc. (MRI) made soldiers feel they were in the middle of the action during the U.S. Joint Staff's second annual Bold Quest exercise at the U.S. Army Maneuver Center of Excellence at Fort Benning, Ga.

Using VIRTSIM virtual immersion training, three squads of Army, Marine Corps and coalition soldiers executed tactical missions, including movement to contact, cordon and search, area recon, room clearing, and force on force.

Soldiers were able to monitor their progress as the system provided real-time capture of all engagements for immediate, or after action, review and analysis by trainer and soldier.

Users were fully immersed in individual skills, tactical squad behavior and mission rehearsals without wires or tethers.

Wireless stereo head-mounted displays provided each trainee with an independent 360-degree view of any virtual environment, enhanced by muscle-stimulation technology, functional replica weapons and other elements to provide realistic training effects.

VIRTSIM fuses Raytheon's expertise in military and civil domains with MRI's award-winning motion capture technology and 3-D effects. The system works with reflective markers placed on users' bodies that track their movements along a basketball court-sized "field."

"This year's Bold Quest evaluated virtual training technologies to help dismounted ground forces improve their tactics and techniques," said Jeff Miller, vice president of Combat and Sensing Systems for Raytheon's Network Centric Systems business.

"VIRTSIM was the only system permitting an entire squad of up to 13 individuals to train as they fight. Unlike wired systems that project images on screens, VIRTSIM immerses soldiers from head-to-toe, creating the closest possible experience to an actual mission," Miller added.