NATO Virtual Joint Operation Centre – VJOC

The Virtual Joint Operations Centre (VJOC) supported NATO’s progressive studies for applying deployed Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR) and/or Fifth Generation (5G) wireless technologies in NATO C2 environments. The focus in this project was to demonstrate the value of deploying integrated EDT technology solutions in joint exercises through several deployment scenarios.

The project extended the functionality of the NCI Agency’s contractor developed AR/VR platform use case – Virtual Joint Operations Centre – to demonstrate the effectiveness of different deployments of Emerging and Disruptive Technologies in concert in C2 scenarios.

The purpose of the Virtual Joint Operations Centre is to demonstrate the potential benefits of XR-technology (an umbrella term encompassing Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality) to the Military Command and Control Systems process, bringing value to the decision makers across the Alliance and enhancing their decision support tools. The focus of the demonstrator software has been on the demonstration of the relevant interaction patterns in a JOC (e.g. multi-person interaction with large map and tote displays, private and public conversations, alerting, peripheral awareness, temporary teams, etc.), rather than the technology itself.

Blue Force Tracking and information streaming

As a continuation of the project Emerging and Disruptive Technologies Experimentation: Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality/Fifth Generation Wireless Technologies for Command and Control (C2), the VJOC has been augmented with Blue Force Tracking and information streaming from the other experiments, to illustrate the gathering and presentation of information in a virtual Joint Operations Centre.

The VJOC is a hybrid Software as a Service (SaaS) platform, running with an installed client on the user end, using either untethered VR-glasses or computers, and cloud storage of visual assets. The software caches the information on the end user unit to ensure smooth network traffic in challenging conditions. The information being relied through the network consists only of voice (VoIP) and the live XYZ-coordinates of the users within the virtual environment.

Interaction patterns

The structuring of the virtual environment was designed to facilitate the experimentation with different interaction patterns between the participants. Large screens and interactive map content was structured to give a recognizable demonstrator, while suspended platforms were used to represent the possibilities of the XR-technology and demonstrate some of the key interaction patterns between participants. The platforms contained the different J-cells during the experiment and were structured to ensure communication limitations where necessary.

This project has a great growth potential in areas of influencing the next generation C2 systems, but also in training, education and wargaming cases. The careful examination of the presented solution is planned to position the continuation of the effort in the most valuable way for the Alliance.