Animation Within a Multimedia Training System for Night Vision Goggles

摘要

Night vision goggles (NVG) provide aircrews the ability to perform many daylightoperations in the nighttime environment. However, with these enhanced nighttime capabilities many mishaps occur due to aircrews overestimating the capabilities of the goggles. To reduce the risks when using NVGs, increase combat survivability, and increase combat effectiveness, continuous training is needed. A promising training alternative is multimedia. This thesis focuses on the implementation of animation within a computer-based interactive multimedia system to assist in training aircrews who use NVGs. The extent any media such as animation can be implemented to provide effective training through multimedia is largely dependent on adherence to fundamental instructional design principles. This research details the methods and techniques used in the development of animation that is part of the NVG multimedia prototype. Also a description is given of the hardware components and software applications utilized, as well as how the prototype was developed. The findings show that animation is very useful for certain instructional roles and conditions. Animation's most significant uses are in presenting procedural tasks, providing a visual representation of information that cannot be captured by other media, and the principles of operation of NVGs.