THE PEACEKEEPER
STARFLEET
2011 CHAPTER
NEWSLETTER
OF THE YEAR
USS Niagara, NCC-75634
Volume 13, Issue 02
A Member Group of STARFLEET: The International Star Trek Fan Association, Inc.
February 2014
Real-life Star Trek Holodeck
Being Used to Train Soldiers
by Trent Moore
Blastr.com
It may not have all the bells and whistles of the holodeck we
know and love from Star Trek, but this new military‐grade training
tech is the closest we're going to get any me soon.
Dubbed the Virtual Immersive Portable Environment (VIPE)
Holodeck system, the rig was built by security firm Northrop Grum‐
man and uses a connected system of massive screens in an effort to
simulate the look, feel and situa ons of real‐life war. Officials say the
prac cal applica ons could allow soldiers to familiarize themselves
with missions loca ons in three dimensions.
Even cooler? The 360‐projector system is mul player, and it
can connect people from around the globe to conduct test runs on
poten al missions and training situa ons. Mo on sensors inside the 'deck track a person's mo ons, all the way
down to exactly where a weapon is pointed. It also works with 3D glasses. Fancy.
Company officials say the system provides a "high fidelity visualiza on environment adaptable to any loca‐
on and capable of being set up in an exis ng office, a simula on center, or even a tent," which could also be ex‐
panded for police and firefighter training.
Oh, and when they're done training soldiers and cops? The company believes there could be some real‐
world applica ons (see: videogames). Yeah, there it is. Now, let's all get ready to outsmart the computer and win
those epic Sherlock Holmes simula ons ...