The US military is building its own metaverse. However, as you may’ve guessed, its version is not of the open-world sort which we all envision. Instead, it’s a closed system which can be controlled.
In-fact, its metaverse journey began back in 2019, when it signed a $22 million deal with Microsoft to acquire 120,000 VR headsets. Here, the tech was used to recreate the conditions and scenarios which had caused soldiers to develop PTSD. As evidence from an army hospital in Tampa has shown, such methods have been successful in helping veterans come to terms with the horrors of war, which has subsequently helped with their reintroduction into society.
Using VR and AR tech, the US army also develops simulations of military environments, meaning it can test out new operations, tactics, weapons, and strategies without putting soldiers’ lives at risk. Its Air Force division is also using AI tech to train fighter pilots by having them fly virtual aircrafts in simulated dogfights.
In the future, there are also plans to introduce AI assistants into actual battlefields, which will be able to offer on-ground troops with advice via speech and graphics based on their actions and real-time location.
Although drastically different in its purpose, it is thought that such innovations from the US army will aid in developing the wider, open metaverse ecosystem which we are all familiar with. This alludes to the age-old belief that the rate of technological advancements has some kind of correlation with war.
