Virtual Reality and Analytical Simulation of the Soldier

Historically, the individual soldier has received short shrift in the world of military modeling and simulation, which has been more concerned with the analysis of major weapons platforms. The altered focus of today's military is shifting this emphasis; shrinking force structures and changing missions are accenting the role of the individual dismounted soldier. At the same time, rapid growth in computing power and new technologies such as virtual reality have greatly increased our ability to provide high resolution modeling of the soldier. This paper explores the evolution of soldier simulation resulting from integration of traditional constructive models with these new technologies.