TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Information Systems, Human Systems

ACQUISITION PROGRAM: MARCORSYSCOM PM Marine Expeditionary Rifle Squad (PM MERS)

OBJECTIVE: Develop an advanced integrated physics based virtual model of the Dismounted Infantryman that assists in the study of the ergonomic and physical interactions of the Dismounted Infantryman, his equipment, and his environment. In addition to assisting in equipment design, it will allow trade-offs to be made between survivability, weight, and combat load for various mission profiles.

DESCRIPTION: The Infantryman�s role is unique in the DoD�s arsenal. Unlike mechanical platforms, like ships, land vehicles, and aircraft that are designed to be technologically self-contained and are often limited only by the extent to which their component materials can be engineered, the Infantryman is inherently limited by nature. Strict Ergonomic and Physiologic rules dictate how much �power� an Infantryman can produce in order to physically propel himself, cognitively prepare himself, and holistically sustain himself under the rigors of extended combat. The most typical approach for enhancing and supplementing Nature�s limitations is to develop technical solutions to each identified weakness. This process, jokingly referred to as the "Christmas Tree" approach to design with each item being developed independently of the others, has led to the current state of affairs where, in many cases, the combined mass of the typical Infantryman�s Combat Load exceeds 50% of the wearer�s weight. Since various teams design each of these technical solutions independent of each other and without regard to their effect on the Infantryman as a system, the combined elements are often not interoperable or optimized for efficiency. There is much redundancy, wasted space, and added weight for little return on investment.

The applied sciences of human factors and ergonomics offer powerful tools for optimizing physical and cognitive performance and the interactive effects among brain, body, and combat gear. These tools have yet to be fully harnessed to the challenge of optimizing the Infantryman. To do so would require broad and robust modeling capabilities that support rapid prototyping and testing of individual and integrated Infantryman equipment in a) realistically simulated military applications, b) across a wide range of parameters. Modeling and simulation effort would need to account for external environmental models that capture relevant factors like terrain, weather, and topography, that provide active representations of body movement in combat, and that couple these representations dynamically.

This STTR would develop an easy to use Virtual Dismounted Infantryman Toolkit that will allow designers and users to interactively assess the system tradeoffs of various real and proposed infantry individual equipment, with particular emphasis on how each component interacts with other ones, under a range of simulated combat conditions. The system will include a 3D representation of the physical characteristics of the Infantryman including fully articulated joints as well as some of the more critical physiologic/cognitive ones, like fatigue. It will also allow developers to define the combat environment within which the overall suite of components may be evaluated. The Virtual Infantryman will allow various components to be modeled and subsequently placed on different locations of the Infantryman and it will accurately reflect the changes to stability and its impact on motion and gait when executed within the simulated combat environment. Importantly, this system will not only allow developers to specify and test their prototype system; it will also allow them to model the entire suite of existing elements worn by Infantryman, in order to assist in real-time trade-off analyses. Additionally, it will provide a real-time, modifiable, testing environment in which the entire suite may be assessed across a range of combat conditions.

This effort should leverage and expand upon the Army Technology Objective (ATO) "Soldier Protection Strategies". The Dismounted Infantry performance tasks in the ATO currently modeled are a small set and include weapon aiming, foot marching (w/ load carriage), running, stairs, and grenade throw. A more comprehensive set of dismounted infantry tasks is needed, particularly those involving urban operations and distributed operations. In addition, the model should have fully scalable anthropometry to cover full range of body shapes/sizes. The fatigue model should include both aerobic and anaerobic components. The model should also represent the effects of environmental conditions (e.g. heat stress) and comfort.

Body armor is an increasingly important and integral piece of equipment and we need to be able to model advanced and emerging concepts such as flexible and scaled body armors. Body armor representations either designed within the virtual toolkit or imported from existing designs must be compatible with the Individual Casualty Estimation Methodology (ICEM), a model that predicts casualty reduction with various armor concepts.

PHASE I: Phase I will develop a concept for simulating a Virtual Dismounted Infantryman so that the interaction between the Infantry, his individual equipment, and the environment can be studied. This effort should leverage and expand upon the work begun under the ATO "Soldier Protection Strategies".

PHASE II: Phase II will develop the Virtual Dismounted Infantry Toolkit to include the features described above. In addition, there will be research to validate the results of the model with Infantry equipment.

PHASE III: Phase III will result in fully functional, validated tools for the Virtual Dismounted Infantry. In addition to design tools, there will also be easy to use PC based tools that will allow Dismounted Infantry leaders to make informed decisions about what equipment to bring for a particular mission.

PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL/DUAL-USE APPLICATIONS:
This technology will be directly applicable to law enforcement, sports equipment manufacturers, and vehicle manufacturers. Current virtual human models require significant skill to use. This STTR, if successful, will deliver easy to use, but highly powerful models which can be used for equipment design, maintenance, and manufacture.

REFERENCES:
1. Goulding, V.J. (2005). Distributed operations: Naval transformation starting at the squad level. Marine Corps Gazette. April, 2005.

2. Kim, J., Abdel-Malek, K. Yang,J. and Nebel, K. "Task-based dynamic motion simulation and energy consumption prediction for a Digital Human", Proceedings of SAE Digital Human Modeling for Design and Engineering, June 14-16, 2005, Iowa City, Iowa, USA

3. Jean, Grace, "Armies around the globe trotting out high-tech warrior ensembles", National Defense, October 2006, pp. 30-34.

KEYWORDS: Modeling, Simulation, Human Performance, Human Factors, Ergonomics