Space Force CTIO takes inspiration from video games for digital architecture
The newest branch of the U.S. military is turning to video games, digital twins and metaverse technologies to gamify training activities for its guardians. Thanks to these solutions, Space Force trainees will gain the ability to immerse themselves without having to physically go into space.
The Space Force is advancing efforts to create its own version of the metaverse, which it is calling SpaceVerse, as part of its core focus to build itself into a digital service, according to Chief Technology and Innovation Officer Lisa Costa.
SpaceVerse would be an interactive, immersive environment for guardians to train and operate in, Costa told Inside Defense in an interview this month. Rather than relying solely on computer screens filled with text describing situations in the space domain, Costa said SpaceVerse would provide a more intuitive interface to monitor systems operating thousands of miles above the Earth’s surface.
“Instead of having paper, we want a digital model,” Costa said. “We want to create that digital model, combine it with other digital models and put it into an interactive, immersive environment so we can train our guardians and they can operate in the space environment using multiple senses.”
SpaceVerse won’t be built upon a foundation of service-made technology, Costa said. Instead, the service will leverage technology developed by commercial businesses, which have already invested heavily into metaverse systems along with artificial intelligence, 5G and immersive content.
This SpaceVerse concept will affect the acquisition process, Costa said. Contracts will require businesses to build and deliver digital models that capture a wide array of data, which could be used by guardians across the service.
“We have got to be able to teach them about space, about an environment they’re most likely never going to go into,” Costa said.
Industry cooperation and collaboration
Industry will need to develop a standard for digital twins, Costa said, as many companies don’t ensure digital twins are interoperable with those of other companies. For SpaceVerse, the service would need to be able to plug digital twins from any contractor into one overall system.
Costa doesn’t think that standard should be created by the government, but a standard does need to be created.
“We want to use a commercial standard for digital twins, and we want to be able to share information with our allied partners, with industry,” Costa said. “Having an international standard for digital twins, for visualization of them, for information sharing between them is really very important to us.”
To help bring in technology from a broader array of businesses, Space Force is collaborating with academic institutions through a University Consortium Program and Strategic Technology Institutes. The initial focuses of the STIs will be cislunar security and space domain awareness as well as advanced spacepower and propulsion, Costa said, with requests for proposals expected to be released in 2023.
The Space Force already has one minimally viable product to support SpaceVerse, Costa said, which was demonstrated at the National Training and Simulation Association’s annual Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference in Orlando, FL, last month.
The product was able to share different levels of data through a common visual interface on varying devices – such as mobile phones, tablets and desktop computers – Costa said.
Video gaming inspiration
Many guardians and potential guardians have years of experience with video games, Costa noted, and a gamified interface like SpaceVerse would be familiar for them to use.
People who have played video games, such as Call of Duty, can easily recall maps they have played on and capabilities their characters have, Costa said. SpaceVerse would have a user interface that would help guardians retain information similar to how they would in a game, she said.
SpaceVerse would be a huge improvement over existing methods of teaching concepts such as orbital mechanics, Costa said, which currently includes models made of styrofoam balls and hula hoops.
An interactive, digital environment like SpaceVerse could help guardians process information faster, Costa said. She pointed to research suggesting individuals respond 25 times faster to threats in a gaming environment than when they are simply told what types of threats to look for.
“This is a huge gain with much reduced cognitive load,” Costa said. “So, it’s incredibly important for us to go in this direction so that we can help our guardians, who are the smallest service monitoring the largest” area of responsibility.
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