Barco's virtual reality system key to US Army's Tank Automotive R&D center
Warren, Michigan – Barco deploys a distributed visualization system at the US Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center’s (TARDEC) National Automotive Center (NAC) at the Detroit Arsenal. The new facility will enable the various NAC technology groups to realize military automotive technology solutions better, faster, and more cost effectively. This contract establishes a three-year relationship between Barco and TARDEC to continue to supply visualization capacity base-wide.
TARDEC is the nation’s premier RD&E Center for ground combat and tactical vehicles that takes advantage of the most forward-driven technology to meet the US Army's research and development initiatives. The new Barco visualization system will help TARDEC remain at the forefront of the Army's transformation. “Barco’s comprehensive visualization system will enable NAC technology teams to collaborate locally or remotely, visualize and evaluate data in a more intuitive fashion, and make decisions in real-time,” said Bill Schmidt, Market Development Manager, Virtual & Augmented Reality for Barco. “We are pleased that TARDEC chose our CADWall and distributed visual system for their R&D and team collaboration applications."
The National Automotive Center (NAC), located at the Tank-automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM), is an integral part of the Army's Tank-Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC). The NAC is responsible for working with industry to engineer the Army’s future combat vehicles. The various NAC groups will use Barco’s visualization system for collaborative R&D programs in automotive technology areas, such as mobility, electronics, safety, and environmental protection. Barco’s visualization system will help the NAC achieve its overall goal to improve the performance and endurance of current and future ground vehicle fleets while reducing ground vehicle design, manufacturing, production, operating, and sustainment costs.
The NAC visualization facility is equipped with a Barco CADWall system – a 1:1 scale, large-screen rear-projection wall – and a complete networked audio/visual conferencing system. The Barco CADWall is located at the facility’s HUB and is operated by a Barco-supplied touch screen controller workstation. The CADWall features a two-channel, edge-blended Barco Galaxy DLP projection system. This virtual reality system serves as a design and engineering tool for interacting with stereoscopic 3D models and will also be used as a presentation tool for many different NAC technical applications. The brightness, high resolution, and color depth of the display make the CADWall the tool of choice in vehicle R&D design applications.
The NAC’s main visualization room or HUB will be networked to satellite conference rooms equipped with Barco Solaris 40” LCD display panels. The distributed network design uses an advanced Barco-engineered switching system that facilitates up to 13 conference rooms for remote audio/video collaboration. Four conference rooms will be operational in the first phase of the project, with the remaining rooms scheduled for operation in future phases. The complete Barco system solution also includes glass screen, mechanical structures, and ancillary hardware, as well as system interconnections such as rack, switching, video, and control cabling.
The modernization of this visualization room further expands the NAC's High Performance Computing based collaboration capabilities which includes access to TARDEC's supercomputing systems, emphasizing computational-based Modeling & Simulation and Scientific Visualization.
The NAC display systems are outfitted with Barco’s Viewscape display management technology for multiple windowing capabilities. In addition, the CADWall is equipped with Barco’s own proprietary LDAT laser array system and dedicated Polaris software to ensure accurate and fast alignment and tracking of the projection system.
Barco has installed over 600 systems worldwide. The TARDEC/NAC installation is another example of how Barco systems play an important role in helping organizations visualize their solutions so they can be more productive and realize bottom-line advantages.
About TARDEC and the NAC
TARDEC, headquartered at the Detroit Arsenal, Michigan, is responsible for developing and maintaining vehicles for all U.S. Armed Forces, many federal agencies and more than 60 foreign countries. TARDEC’s National Automotive Center (NAC) is the Army’s official link to commercial industry, academia and government in developing new dual-use automotive technologies that meet the needs of both defense and commercial industries. Together, they lead the way in providing our Soldiers with vehicles and vehicle technologies that will increase survivability and ensure mobility on the battlefield while reducing design, manufacturing, operations, and maintenance costs.
