Members of DEOMI's Research and Development Directorate have
been spotted lately testing some new high tech equipment with the
goal of using it to assist with the training of Equal
Opportunity Advisors, or EOAs, through the use of
motion capture.
The Future EOA Simulator is this project we're working on in
collaboration with the Army Research Lab and essentially
what we're trying to do is incorporate virtual reality into
more of the EOA training that we do in house here.
The goal of this platform is to carry DEOMI into the future.
We strive to be a center of excellence for equal opportunity
advisor curriculum and training and this is
one way we hope to do that.
It will expand the types of trainings that we can deliver to
our students and also will expand our mediums
for training deliveriy as well.
The platform that we're testing right now really is composed of
three components.
There's a motion capture component that translates the
instructor's physical body movements into the scenario.
There's a face-capture component that uses a high-definition
camera placed right in front of the instructor's face so that it
captures their lip and their eye and their facial reactions and
translates that into the character in the game and then
we have a simulated environment that they can use for training.
It's that simulated environment and working effectively within
it as an avatar that poses one of the biggest challenges
for instructors.
But once you've mastered it, the possibilities
are virtually endless.
You can essentially become anyone you want to be, whether
it's a cartoon character or any other character,
or a realistic individual.
Any character that makes the scenario work.
So here at DEOMI I can really see motion capture being
utilized throughout training for facilitation groups where an
instructor can take on a variety of different avatars,
whether it's race, gender and be able to discuss issues at hand,
be able to become a different commander or a different unit to
be able to really simulate what an EOA
would have to go through.
One of the great things about this technology is it's
providing a platform or avenue for us to work with our other
fine colleagues here at DEOMI.
We've reached across department lines to advance this system.
I was hand animating my avatars frame by frame and now I can do
it with motion capture a lot easier.
Matt Garza is a graphic designer in DEOMI's
Climate Enhancement Department who has already put into
practice some of the capabilities of the
Future EOA Simulator.
So what I do is I take the motion data that they capture
downstairs and I put it in a program like Motion Builder.
And I take it from Motion Builder
and I'll apply it to my avatar.
I think the best part is seeing your avatar move for the first
time whenever you apply the motion data.
I think virtual reality is going to keep getting bigger and
bigger, so kind of being in the forefront a little bit or at
least testing it, trying to utilize it,
especially with the military, I think it's great.
As the team continues its research on the Future EOA
Simulator, it seems to be only a matter of time before avatars,
through the process of motion capture,
become a regular part of the DEOMI training environment.
Reporting for DEOMI Minute, I'm Rich Feagler