Army, NASA May Work Together on Simulations

The U.S. Army and NASA are expected to announce today in Los Angeles that they will work together to develop simulation technologies that can be used to develop weapons systems to train soldiers and astronauts and to design space probes.

The NASA partnership extends an Army program to collaborate with universities and the private sector to develop technologies such as virtual reality, artificial intelligence and high-capacity computer networks. Last year, the Army established the $45-million Institute for Creative Technologies at USC to tap the entertainment industry’s expertise in computer models and simulations.

By working with NASA and its other partners, the Army hopes to reduce its development cycle from 12 years to only three or four years for simulators to develop new weapons and to train personnel, said Army Secretary Louis Caldera. That way, “when you put it in the soldier’s hands, it is state-of-the-art equipment.”

Neither the Army nor NASA will commit new funds to the partnership, but they will use their existing budgets to fund joint projects and work with the Institute for Creative Technologies.

“We’re spending millions of dollars on modeling and simulation, and here’s another agency spending millions of dollars on modeling and simulation,” Caldera said. The sorts of technology required to build an international space station are very similar to what is needed to create new weapons systems, he said, and “certainly it would be smarter for us to learn from each other and not have to reinvent the wheel.”

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena will be involved, but the NASA lab has not been given a specific role in the Army partnership, said JPL spokeswoman Nancy Lovato.

Details will be outlined today by Paul Hoeper, an assistant secretary of the Army at the Simulation and Modeling for Acquisition, Requirements and Training Conference at the Wyndham Los Angeles Airport Hotel. NASA Chief Technologist Samuel Venneri will also be on hand for the announcement.