Holodeck style technology close to reality

Back in the late 1970's I had a neighbor who worked for a software company that developed 3D aircraft simulators to train pilots. One weekend he took me and another friend into the lab to take a sneak peak at what they were doing. Being a complete geek I jumped at the chance to see real computers at work.

When we entered the lab I was in heaven. There were large cabinet sized computer in long rows. The light was dim and the illumination of LED's gave you the sense you were entering a Star Trek episode. You could hear and feel the hum these big machines made. Cables as thick as baseball bats protruded from the back of each cabinet like octopus tentacles.

Near one wall was a large collection of CRT's, or monitors, all connected displaying  a computer rendered mountain terrain. An aircraft style seat was facing the monitors. It was black, with a tall head rest. There was a keyboard attached to one arm and a joystick control on the other.

I could hardly stand myself. I was like a little kid getting an ice cream cone. I couldn't take my eyes off of all the screens. I wanted to know how they did that. What did they do. How can I play? My neighbor walked us over to the control center and said jump in. I assumed he meant me and I jumped in the chair. He could have meant the other kid with us but I didn't care. I wanted in and I wanted in now.

The seat was hard plastic. It wasn't very comfortable. I reached over and swung the keyboard around so it was in front of me. I quickly looked over at the neighbor, hoping I hadn't just stepped over the line. He had a big smile on his face and I knew I was ok. He spent the next 10 minutes explaining the controls, the keyboard and what we could expect to see.

It was the coolest experience I had as a kid. Flying a military helicopter in what was the biggest most expensive video game I had ever seen. There were lots of bugs, like being able to fly through the ground, and flying straight up crashed the software. But all in all it was just very cool to be there.

I knew right then I was destined to be a computer guy. I didn't care what I had to do. I wanted to do this more than anything. I pestered this neighbor often to take me back, and he did, one other time. It was all worth it.

Yesterday I ran across this article about holodeck technology being used to train Marines. When I was a Marine it was all hard real ground action. No computers to simulate the enemy. How I wish there would have been something like this when I was active. Imagine how much better our soldiers will perform being able to participate in multiple types of  engagements in various terrains.

As technology gets better, faster and smaller, the military will rely heavily on its use. Instant feedback, communications and decisions can and are being delivered to troops on the ground during operations. This will hopefully reduce risk and the loss of life. See, Star Trek was the best show ever invented. We have been chasing it's technology for years. Too bad we just didn't have Gene Roddenberry built it all for us while he was still alive.

How do you think this type of technology should be used in the future?