Introducing Sensor Operator Role for VR-Engage

When MAK launched VR-Engage in 2016, it came with a great set of roles for first-person play, including a helicopter pilot, driver, weapons operator, etc.  Now, we're adding a new role - a Sensor Operator.

Using the new Sensor Operator capability, a VR-Engage user can perform common surveillance and reconnaissance tasks such as tracking fixed and moving targets - using a simulated E/O camera or IR sensor, with configurable informational overlays. Immediately control the gimbaled sensor using joysticks or gamepads; or configure VR-Engage to work with sensor-specific hand controller devices.  VR-Engage has built-in support for HLA/DIS radios, allowing sensor operators to communicate with pilots, ground personnel, or other trainees or role players using standard headsets.

VR-Engage's new Sensor Operator capability can fit into your larger simulation environment in a number of different ways to help meet a variety of training and experimentation requirements:

• Attach a gimbaled sensor to any DIS or HLA entity, such as a UAV, ship, or manned aircraft - even if the entity itself is simulated by an existing 3rd party application.
   
• When VR-Engage is used in conjunction with VR-Forces CGF, a role player can take manual control of a camera or sensor that has been configured on a VR-Forces entity.
   
• For a full UAV Ground Control Station, use VR-Forces GUI to "pilot" the aircraft by assigning waypoints, routes, and missions; while using VR-Engage's Sensor Operator capability to control and view the sensor on a second screen.
   
• Execute a multi-crew aircraft simulation using two copies of VR-Engage - one for the pilot to fly the aircraft using a standard HOTAS device or gamepad; and a second for the Sensor Operator.
   
• Place fixed or user-controllable remote cameras directly onto the terrain, and stream the resulting simulated video into real security applications or command and control systems using open standards like H.264 or MPEG4.

VR-Engage comes with MAK's built-in CameraFX module which allows you to control blur, noise, gain, color, and many other camera or sensor post-processing effects.  The optional SensorFX add-on can be used to increase the fidelity of an IR scene - SensorFX models the physics of light and its response to various materials and the environment, as well as the dynamic thermal response of engines, wheels, smokestacks, and more.