ARA to support development of advanced CBRN mission simulations
The US company Applied Research Associates (ARA) has announced that they are supporting the development of CBVR2, a virtual world technology platform that will enhance readiness and transform how US Department of Defense instructors and planners prepare personnel for complex CBRN environments.
In a press release from 29 April, ARA announced that by integrating high-fidelity hazard simulations into broader mission scenarios, "CBVR2 enables users to assess, rehearse and refine critical defence tasks in a realistic and adaptive virtual setting".
"The platform allows planners to inject chemical and biological challenges into dynamic, mission-based environments, providing a comprehensive framework to measure user performance and operational effectiveness," ARA said. "CBVR2 supports a wide range of chemical and biological-release scenarios, which can be tailored to specific geographic locations or constructed as notional environments for flexible applications."
"Personnel preparing for sensitive site exploitation missions can use CBVR2 to deploy and operate detection sensors, don appropriate individual protective equipment and plan routes based on projected threats and vulnerabilities. As scenarios unfold, users must adapt their decisions and execute mission objectives based on evolving conditions and simulated outcomes.
"CBVR2’s advanced modelling capabilities enhance realism by linking user decisions directly to dynamic system responses based on the user’s choices, allowing instructors to evaluate response proficiency and adherence to tactics, techniques and procedures.
"Beyond basic detection, CBVR2 combines high-fidelity sensor emulation with detailed hazard modelling to produce nuanced outcomes influenced by threat characteristics and battlespace conditions. The platform incorporates factors such as force laydown and protective posture to simulate exposure levels, health effects and the physical and psychological burdens of operating in protective gear."
Scenarios include estimated thresholds for exposure, potential incapacitation and fatality, as well as modelling heat strain and the visual degradation associated with the use of individual protective equipment, providing a "level of operational realism that extends well beyond traditional casualty estimation methods".
"CBVR2 also enables dynamic threat generation and entity tracking within the virtual environment, allowing for open-ended user interaction while maintaining structured performance evaluation. The system captures key CBRN defence metrics and correlates them with broader mission outcomes, including task completion, proficiency levels and false alarm rates," ARA added.
About ARA
Applied Research Associates was founded in 1979, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to offer science and engineering research to solve problems of national importance. According to ARA, the company delivers leading-edge products and innovative solutions for national defence, energy, homeland security, aerospace, healthcare, transportation and manufacturing.
