May 28, 2024
Powerful systems can create realistic simulations that bring new worlds to life in video games and animation, but Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC) is using these systems to simulate the real world and address a variety of military needs.
The science visual documentation (VisDoc) team at DRDC Canada uses videography, photography, 3D animation, graphic design, and illustration to visually document science and technology in laboratories, during land, sea, and air trials, and in the Arctic.
“Our goal at VisDoc is to make visible what is invisible, and to make possible what is otherwise impossible to visualize,” says Pierre-Simon Henri, multimedia specialist at DRDC.
The scientific requests the team receives are diverse, covering a broad range of subjects. To respond to these requests, they have turned to real-time rendering technologies and AI-assisted terrain generation tools.
DRDC uses animation to create digital models to support research and development - Transcript
Text on screen: DRDC / RDDC
Text on screen: Leveraging VisDoc’s expertise in 3D animation, the team has produced a virtual tool and several computer-generated videos, from design to production, which will allow DRDC scientists to advance their research.
Text on screen: Mobile Camouflage System Simulation
Text on screen: This simulation relies on adjusting various parameters, such as camera angles and concealment levels, to be able to detect hidden military vehicles by hovering the cursor over the screen.
A cursor hovers over a list of camera angle options in a menu that reads “Mobile camouflage System Simulation / Système de Simulation de Camouflage Mobile”. After choosing Camera Angle 04, the cursor hovers over a screen filled with moving animated trees and buildings. There is a timer at the top of the screen. The cursor clicks on a camouflaged truck in the trees, and the timer stops.
Text on screen: Marine Mammal Mitigation
Text on screen: This animation will be used in a training video dedicated to training the Royal Canadian Navy.
In an animated environment, a smart buoy underwater transmits sound from nearby orca whales to a device, which is shown in a smaller screen to be handled by real people.
In animated environment, a plane flies over water in front of a mountain backdrop. The plane drops sonobuoys into the water, where orca whales are swimming nearby. Under the water, the sonobuoy lights up in response to sound from the orcas.
Text on screen: Canadian Armed Forces / Forces armées canadiennes
Text on screen: Canada
Text on screen: National Defence / Défense nationale
His Majesty the King in Right of Canada, as represented by the Minister of National Defence, 2024
Sa Majesté le Roi du chef du Canada, représenté par le ministre de la Défense nationale, 2024
For example, to support scientists seeking to explain submarine phenomena, VisDoc created a model of Canadian oceans and seabeds. This modelling featured several whale pods and studied the potential impact of military probes deployed in our waters on whale behaviour. This digital model becomes indispensable when it is either impossible or too costly to capture and represent these phenomena in real-life.
Another example includes using real-time video game technologies to create a virtual simulation tool that challenged users to detect a concealed military vehicle in a photorealistic environment. The environment reproduced part of a large military base and was accurate down to the metre. The goal was to assess the minimum level of camouflage needed to prevent a vehicle from being detected in a limited amount of time. These advanced simulation technologies can identify advanced prototype design parameters more precisely upstream of physical construction, while reducing the cost and use of resources for design and evaluation.
“With the rapid pace of technological advancement and taking into account the time constraints of scientific production, adopting faster methods of rendering images has become imperative,” Henri says.
VisDoc is planning to use AI tools to virtually stage hundreds of square kilometres and enhance their environmental rendering capacity. In addition, they are exploring the capabilities of AI to generate thousands of synthetic images in order to train military detection algorithms.
By leveraging advancements with real-time rendering, artificial intelligence, and environmental modelling, VisDoc will use innovative solutions to explore complex phenomena. With real-time rendering tools and AI technologies that push the boundaries of computer-generated images, DRDC is staying on the cutting edge of innovation, driving a future where scientific imagination is powered by the precision of today’s technology.