PRINCETON, N.J. March 06, 2018

BANC3, one of the leading players in the Augmented Reality (AR) product arena, has been selected for a Phase II Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) program for "Augmented / Mixed Reality for Live Fire Ranges." Building on the success of its Phase I research, BANC3 will develop a Head Mounted Display (HMD) and AR software app that will revolutionize U.S. Army Basic Rifleman Marksmanship training by replacing traditional silhouette targets with virtual targets. These enhancements will provide advanced training scenarios while significantly reducing maintenance. 

 BANC3 is developing a see-through Augmented Reality prototype to create realistic simulated human avatar overlays in lieu of standard silhouette representations. This innovative technology can simulate more complex scenarios, including low light conditions, obscurants (smoke), and realistic target behavior during live fire training exercises. 

BANC3's AR solution addresses major technical challenges including: highly accurate head tracking to correctly adjust the simulated target position in the shooter's field of view, real-time object recognition to compensate for occlusion from the weapon sight and other objects, and helmet mounted display optics and sensors that are small and light enough to avoid any impact to the shooter's head position and aim. 

 BANC3 is committed to developing this AR technology for the US Army to improve the quality and realism of basic marksmanship training. The company envisions a promising commercialization path for the technology, including integration with the US Army training ranges, transfer of the technology to the USMC training ranges, and ultimately, transition to civilian law enforcement training ranges.