Augmented Reality for Naval Domains

Since the pioneering work of Ivan Sutherland and the success of Tom Furness’ “Super Cockpit,” augmented reality (AR) has been an interest of the US Department of Defense (DoD) for some time. As hardware advances enabled more ambitious applications, the US Navy and US Marine Corps (USMC) have carried this research forward into new application areas and into development programs to explore the practical potential of the technology to assist in accomplishing tasks required in Naval applications (including land-based operations of USMC). We review a selection of AR research and development conducted by the US Navy, ranging from basic research to prototype development. We draw lessons from the progression of projects through the R&D spectrum and explore common threads through varied applications. Challenges that currently limit the application of AR technology to naval domains are construction of environmental models that enable integration of the virtual and real elements, ability to operate in mobile scenarios, and usability concerns such as information overload.