Military Applications of Video Gaming


  • I was reading an article about the US Navy’s Laser Weapons System (LaWS), and this part caught my attention:

    The laser is controlled by a sailor who sits in front of monitors and uses a controller similar to those found on an XBox or PlayStation gaming systems. Rear Admiral Bryant Fuller, deputy commander of ship design at Naval Sea Systems Command, said the controller design was a good fit for the targeting of multiple incoming targets. “This is a very user-friendly way to operate it,” Fuller said. "It’s efficient and of course the sailors coming up are well-versed at it, so they’re good at it and it’s pretty easy for them to pick up.”

    That part reminded me a bit of the movie The Last Starfighter, which I’ve never seen but which is built around the premise that video games have some application as military training tools.

    http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/navys-futuristic-laser-weapon-action/story?id=27507405

  • Liaison TripleA '11 '10

    The last starfighter is a fun movie, but it’s less of a controller than it is an Arcade game.

    Great article marc!

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