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Soldier Uses 360 Controller During Live-Fire Excercise
army.mil — Supposedly he's viewing his screen for "unseen obstacles". It's like FPS, but with better graphics.
cann3dheat- 1174 diggs
- digg it
- miggz06, on 10/12/2007, -5/+44Whats a first person shooter called when your actually in first person shooting?
- dominasian, on 10/12/2007, -3/+130real life
- JaXaL, on 10/12/2007, -16/+4his parents would be so proud of him
- g3r4, on 10/12/2007, -16/+3Iraq?
- thatsiebguy, on 10/12/2007, -1/+33dude, he's controlling his UAV, ala GRAW.
- Atmandk, on 10/12/2007, -23/+2War is sweet! ***** videogame douchebags.
- zelowlifeaiss, on 10/12/2007, -4/+1virtual reality? is he operating a robot or something?
- wageslave1, on 10/12/2007, -18/+4murder?
- Inferno52386, on 10/12/2007, -0/+25Is this the new screen shot for GRAW 2?
- eliteeggnog, on 10/12/2007, -1/+13He definitely has a bomb robot or something of the sort. I've seen them in real life before, and some robots have USB chiclets for wireless control.
Unless that "radio" on his back is a 360, then he's definitely playing Gears. - rlg420, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4I just want to know how in the hell he can control anything with those thick ass gloves on. I can't even hit the start button on the off occasion that I am wearing gloves.
- FoxifiedNutjob, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Good recruitment tactics?
- gardnert1, on 10/12/2007, -5/+2wait a sec... are those NEW uniforms? Science be praised! The facking purple ACUs are probably the gayest camo scheme ever conceived by the army.
- rewen, on 10/12/2007, -0/+13it's MMORL dude.
- beaurich, on 10/12/2007, -1/+22@ rlg420
You can't pause real life so I don't think the start button is really an issue. - rrasco, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5is this a real exercise? why do they have what appear to be plugs on the end of their guns? is it training?
i would say +1 on the UAV.
ah, so it was an exercise and it was a robot.
http://www.army.mil/-news/2007/02/02/1636-soldiers-testing-fcs-technology-give-thumbs-up/ - jeanbourassa, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Yes those things are called blank adapters. You put that on there when you fire blanks so that gas pressure can build up in the barrel (since there is no round being fired) and operate the action (the bolt)
- diggingaround, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4
(BTW, misspelled title :)
"Live fire exercise"!? - No wander that the war in Iraq is going so bad for us - they forgot to take the yellow safety caps from their automatic rifles!
Jeeeeez :) - nyyg, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2To those wondering if it's a live fire exercise-you guys are right, it's just simple training. Those plugs on the muzzles are actually part of a pretty cool laser tag like system that's used in modern training. If it's not that, then their guns are equipped to fire a special ammunition, kind of like a combination of paintballs/dyed soap.
As for the controller, I have no idea what he's doing on it, although the Ranger crouched next to him has a 360 controller looking wire coming out of one of his supply pouches. - TehMasterer, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2dugg for the pure pwnage comment
- b33b3s, on 10/12/2007, -2/+73"I knew I should have gotten the wireless one"
- ZippidyDoo, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9Gotta have the safety cord so they don't go flying.
- bobcrotch, on 10/12/2007, -2/+19In all fairness imagine the batteries running out in a time of, well, real need.
- Sinai, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1I'd hate to break it to you, but he's still not plugged in. It's probably more to keep him from dropping it by accident.
- mc7winkie, on 10/12/2007, -13/+7Is this for real or some sort of hoax device?
- Akaji, on 10/12/2007, -1/+99Due to the wide availability and ease-of-modification, X360 controls have been used for various military applications.
Also, the OP should have made a link to the story, *NOT* the picture: the original story is http://www.army.mil/-news/2007/02/02/1636-soldiers-testing-fcs-technology-give-thumbs-up/ - Talguy, on 10/12/2007, -4/+47Wow that is actually for real
holy *****
next we're going to have the professional gamers come in and actually finish this war for us - kakwakas, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10@talguy
That's already who they want to recruit. Who else is gonna fly UAV's and operate other technology like that like a pro? - JFetch, on 10/12/2007, -0/+19If you look at the other picture from the article, you'll see what he is controlling with it. It looks kinda like Johnny 5.
http://www.army.mil/-images/2007/02/02/2288/army.mil-2007-02-02-091958.jpg - Konrad9, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8...*not* live fire.
Idjits.
Cool stuff, though. - bobcrotch, on 10/12/2007, -5/+1People are burying mcwinkie's comment? that was hilarious!
- bobcrotch, on 10/12/2007, -4/+7xbox360 the ultimate military propaganda machine.
- floridiot2, on 10/12/2007, -1/+13Holy *****! Johnny 5 is ALIVE!
- TheFunnyDigger, on 10/12/2007, -8/+1Hey whats with the orange tipped riffles?
My son could take'em out with a nerf cross bow. - BillDoE, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8From the main story. "A platoon of 36 Soldiers tested such FCS technology"
Wouldn't that be 36.0 Soldiers? - stou, on 10/12/2007, -0/+11Orange-tip is a blank-firing attachment. That doesn't look like a "live fire exercise" to me.
- Akaji, on 10/12/2007, -1/+99Due to the wide availability and ease-of-modification, X360 controls have been used for various military applications.
- rasterbator, on 10/12/2007, -9/+5Private! Did you wipe out the enemy yet?!
Sir! Yes, sir! - pcrepairshop, on 10/12/2007, -3/+42I doubt it's "Live-Fire Exercise" with their yellow plastic muzzle guards
- 81v3d07g0d, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7I believe thats called miles gear, its like lazer tag for the army. I believe the guns fire blanks as well. I have a few buddies that were in the army but they don't talk about the particulars on the miles gear much, expect the fact that people cheat like dogs with it, pretending that bushes can be used as cover for a 50cal.
- AF-Geek, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3The newer "MILES-II" gear is better. More accurate, and bushes/smoke don't stop the "hits".
- ersnyder, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2It's a "BFA" or Blank Firing Adapter. It's for training when they use blanks.
**Which means this is NOT a live fire exercise. - Klaumbaz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I'm ex military, much of the jargon used in military does not have the same connotation that civilians use. The live fire part could be the training using production equipment in simulated battlefield conditions. The ammo does not have to be "live" i.e. ball rounds, if they are not testing the ammo or weapon they're using. Why have a chance that someone could get injured because of unseen complications from the gear they're actually testing?
In other words, how does the equipment hold up when the soldiers actually get to abuse it in training. Instead of some lab tech using prototypes like he thinks soldiers would.
Edit: Still cool to think that the controller is tough enough to survive battlefield conditions though. means i dont have to worry as much if my neice gets ahold of it.
- insomniac8400, on 10/12/2007, -2/+11Did you check out the microphone, he must be playing something over xbox live.
- floridiot2, on 10/12/2007, -0/+14Rainbow Six : Iraq?
- Gophergreg, on 10/12/2007, -1/+25It's definitely NOT a live fire exercise. The "muzzle guard" is a device to allow the weapon to cycle when using blank ammunition. It's called a "BFD" or Blank Firing Device.
- SlipStream89, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2well then the article posed above must be wrong, because it says live fire all though they have the muzzle guards on.
article:
http://www.army.mil/-news/2007/02/02/1636-soldiers-testing-fcs-technology-give-thumbs-up/ - HaloZero, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I'm guessing the person who wrote the article probably just got a report from somebody and made it understandable, he probably didn't even notice that the guns have muzzle guards.
- bayliss, on 10/12/2007, -6/+1>it's called a "BFD" or Blank Firing Device.
Isn't the rifle is the blank firing device...
(The bit on the end is a 'blank firing attachment') - Lunacy182, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1A live fire exercise implies firing live rounds. There's no way your fire rounds through a blank firing adapter. So technically they're going through a blank run. First dry run, then a blank run, then a live run.
Not that any of that really matters, it's still cool none the less.
- SlipStream89, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2well then the article posed above must be wrong, because it says live fire all though they have the muzzle guards on.
- konkushn, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7If you look at the large image on the Army site, you can see that all of the soldiers have the controllers in a side pocket. You can see the grey 360 controller cord coming out of each one.
- muikano, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Yeah sure. With those gloved mittens? It's a customized controller. What are you XBox PR? How he's gonna hit small buttons with that get-up? And how are small button home console designs adequate for real world maneuvers?
- muikano, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Yeah sure. With those gloved mittens? It's a customized controller. What are you XBox PR? How he's gonna hit small buttons with that get-up? And how are small button home console designs adequate for real world maneuvers?
- FoxFaction, on 10/12/2007, -3/+23*****, he's totally playing gears of war
- GhostToon, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I wonder if he is Phoenix or Dom?
- djmak, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0lol, I think that is the laser tag deal
- Hexagram, on 10/12/2007, -1/+16It's only a matter of time before it becomes ender's game.
I can't wait.- Hexagram, on 10/12/2007, -8/+3I'm glad to see that one other person actually knows what I'm talking about.
What a sad website this is, only 2 people know what enders game is! At least on /. enders game would be the first thing mentioned, like it should be. - jexxie, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6The enemy's gate is down!
- detlev409, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I came to this thread solely for the Ender comments. I can leave happy now...
- Gizzmo0411, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
"There's only one thing that will make them stop hating you. And that's being so good at what you do that they can't ignore you."
- Colonel Graff to Ender ("Ender's Game" pg. 35)
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
My favorite book. Glad to see there are other fans out there in the ether. - endersadvocate, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Does this really have any connection to Ender's Game ..
At all? I fail to see any similarity other than the fact that the soldier is using a controller and there soldiers? A la Ender's battle station VR thing.
Seriously..
There's almost nothing in common between these two. - raytibbitts, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0certainly a step in the right direction... humans using technology to make warfare less lethal.
Glad to see other Orson Scott Card readers out there.
For me, he is the best author I have ever met, and the first Sci-Fi I ever related to on such a personal level. - endersadvocate, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1its personal taste but i do prefer his homecoming series
and xenocide... best of the ender series
still need to read alvin
- Hexagram, on 10/12/2007, -8/+3I'm glad to see that one other person actually knows what I'm talking about.
- SPARTACVS, on 10/12/2007, -6/+10No matter what Sony fanboys say, their ***** "SIXAXIS" (OMG WTF ROFLCOPTER ITS A PALINDROME) will never be voluntarily used in a military application. Oh, and "rl" soldiers probably play alot more GRAW than Genji 2 so they are familiar with the pad already.
- detlev409, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5I like to think that the army uses the rumble feature.
- dankCIA, on 10/12/2007, -0/+13http://www.army.mil/-images/2007/02/02/2288/army.mil-2007-02-02-091958.jpg
here is another picture of the controller. easier to see it's a 360 controller
looking at it closely, something in the middle of the controller seems off.- JFetch, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2It looks like they added another button next to the guide button. Of course it could be just a sticker telling what the buttons do.
- kaytrio, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2The thing in the center looks yellow, could it be a Mad Catz logo?
http://www.madcatz.com/images_templates/common/head.gif - JasonDelta, on 10/12/2007, -5/+2What if that dude is controlling the robot with the controller??? Damn that'd be sweet - I mean if you're going to control a robot remotely, might as well use an XBOX 360 controller!
- GhostToon, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2@ kaytrio
There is no way real life gamers would voluntarily use a mad catz controller let alone solders.
- isewise, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1Dank CIA beat me
- brianbennett, on 10/12/2007, -1/+17BOOM! HEADSHOT!
- battletux, on 10/12/2007, -4/+4KILLING SPREE!
- GhostToon, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1KILLTACULAR
- pronouncable, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8*cue the lame ass gamer vocabulary jokes*
- Pikachelsea, on 10/12/2007, -2/+13Also cue the elitist PC gamers with their endless bragging about "omg what a stupid set-up... real guns WTF???? I could pwn him with WASD and mouse 10 times over lolol nub"
- davidcg, on 10/12/2007, -9/+0is it me or does this not make sense? honestly, it would probably break in about 5 mins on the battlefield and then be totally useless....
there is a reason the military has "military requirements and specifications" and why they just dont go buy stuff off the shelf at walmart...- stephenv, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3What reason? The one that makes us lose to assclowns building IEDs out of off-the-shelf cell phones?
- syriusblack, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Read the article next time *****....
""The Army completed the first live-fire exercise, !!!!!Experiment!!!!! 1.1, involving Future Combat Systems technologies and equipment at the Oro Grande Range at Fort Bliss, Texas, yesterday.""
That and they do say TESTING about 10 times in the article....Im sure that they will make a more tactical controller for the field, the white might stand out.......
Oh and being in the military myself, I guarantee you that the military has very very tactical equipment, we are still using some stuff from the late 70's....
Being Air Force the second thing I noticed was how useful the new ABU/BDU/DCU looks, the appear to have a neoprene shirt with the camo stiched over the arms...also they have built in knee pads....Man our freaking ABU sucks....
- waynechng, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2Looks like the controller is being used for that robot scout thing in the second pic, not shooting at anyone.
- bigp3rm, on 10/12/2007, -0/+11I would be looking for health boxes and power ups.
- jooaakim, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Its called adrenaline and speed. Mario is just censored.
- Kragnerac, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Jump in.
- jabbar, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6my GRAW skills might pay off...
- davidcg, on 10/12/2007, -6/+3now it really has meaning when they say blue screen of death, nothing like having microsoft power the army!
- jivemasta, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Psh, he probably just has ben hecks 360 laptop in his backpack and hooked up to his eyepiece.
- DevilDunkard, on 10/12/2007, -6/+1I'm skeptical to whether its real, or its a photoshop. If it isn't real, it should be. Its a real damn good idea. It would cut training time by half, but I would paint it up a little bit. Walking around with a big white object on your head makes a nice target for a sniper.
- zephc, on 10/12/2007, -0/+34"Well railguns are neat and all, but I'm still not joining the Army until they invent the respawn point." - Nanogator, on /.
- drbuns, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6The military has actually been using videogame-style controllers in vehicles (even tanks) and many types of turrets since about 2000. I used to get military newspapers at my last job and read a fascinating article about this phenomenon. Since so many of the military's members are so familiar with gaming, they adapt extremely well to the new methods for operating this equipment, which often involves actual modified controllers from consoles, or custom-made joysticks. This is not a joke. The military picked up on this and was able to reduce training times for the world's most elite army by switching to videogame controllers. Simply amazing.
- generalee7902, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0This is great, the army cut anti rpg systems that could have protected our apc's and tanks but they keep the networked future army thing which, while cool, is not near ready for combat.
- theoverlord, on 10/12/2007, -1/+24Great, we broke the army's site. I can already see the headlines and story:
**Internet news site users launch DDOS against US military**
"The US Army's website was brought down last night by the internet site Digg.com. Coming just after the bomb hoax in Boston, military officials believe that Digg launched the DDOS attack in retaliation for media and government officials blowing the events in Boston out of proportion. Kevin Rose, founder of the site, has been detained for a hearing by a military tribunal and is awaiting rendition to an unspecified location for further questioning...." - TheFunnyDigger, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2This is sweet! Even his name "BOGDEN" would make for a good video game character.
'BOGDEN' Badass In Baghdad - shutz, on 10/12/2007, -8/+4Wouldn't a Wiimote (with nunchuck attachment) be more intuitive?
- anillop, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1No it would not.
- maxhrk, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1you can control with that 350 controller soldiers... at least that what it look like in that picture... it remind me one of xbox 360 game that is.
- NoBullet2, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2The robot looks kinda plain. He should download the gold armor mod for it.
- Brutis1, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1No, it is not called a "BFD"(Blank firing device). It's called a Blank Adapter.
- Circularsaw, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3The orange/yellow barrel attachments are to stop the putty (used in bunging up blank rounds) from exiting the barrel as this putty can still be dangerous.
- alex77, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1True, also they prevent muzzle flash from burning the guy next to you, and allow air pressure to build up when a blank round is fired, allowing the gas parts to work correctly, and ***** the weapon.
- 91degrees, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1It's a pretty good device, at least for a prototype.
It's basically a USB joystick, so compatible with any USB interface (with a plug adaptor), it has 2 analogue triggers, 2 analogue sticks, 8 buttons, and a D-pad. You can control a lot with a very compact portable device. - Dunnix, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I always wondered why the american flags on the shoulder are backwards. Anyone have an answer?
- brerfrog, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4So that is looks like its blowing in the wind as in the direction of travel. Also so that it doesn't look like its in retreat. Google search FTW!
http://militarysalute.proboards45.com/index.cgi?board=flag&action=display&thread=1120314300
http://www.ushistory.org/betsy/faqs/q30.htm
- brerfrog, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4So that is looks like its blowing in the wind as in the direction of travel. Also so that it doesn't look like its in retreat. Google search FTW!
- canuck21, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7what if he accidentally presses the center button
- avisgoth, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7Then he'll be able to change music tracks, check to see what friends are online and send them a message if he so wishes. All without having to exit real life!
- knyghtryda, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Think about how much the army saved in development costs by doing this. Its just too bad that its all gonna go away once the real "tactical" version is released, but man, this whole video game/warfare thing is getting a little close for comfort.
- MichaelTheOne, on 10/12/2007, -6/+1Consider that this could have started with a pitch from a major game company (which, apparently, shall remain nameless (-MICROSOFT!)) Someone might have brought up to the military that its recruitment demographic is also the demographic that plays video games. They also probably pitched to them that this means that their interface and product design is more familiar to them than their military consoles (which constantly have to be redesigned for the ergonomics of the times.) They furthermore probably mentioned that if their soldiers so happen to work faster with these devices and interfaces (not to mention the style of games they play (military, battle, and strategy)), then why not integrate it for their intents and purposes, which are to have the quickest reactions. Consider that military engineers, even less a private funder, wouldn not blatantly rip off the 360 controller like some Taiwanese fence who would make some cheap Ninja Turtle toy knock-off; Microsoft would be on them like George Lucas's franchise lawyer on anyone even mentioning Star Wars commercially.
Maybe Future Combat Systems has some connection with Microsoft. Or was all this too obvious to mention?- MichaelTheOne, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0Or, copyright likenesses used for military purpose are exempt from infringement.
Or, it could be that not even Microsoft would be bold enough to sue the American military with risk of the public's disapproval of it after the lawsuit would be made known. How unpatriotic it would seem.
______________
"You Are Old, Father William"
- MichaelTheOne, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0Or, copyright likenesses used for military purpose are exempt from infringement.
- JackAxe, on 10/12/2007, -5/+0Notice that he's not aiming his gun with it... *HINT*
- Spooky, on 10/12/2007, -5/+1"'Sup, bitches?"
- AlecEmpire, on 10/12/2007, -3/+5It amuses me to see people who aren't in the Military talk about things that happen in the Military.
- wageslave1, on 10/12/2007, -6/+1....war & the military arent a private matter for soldiers boy. war and peace are certainly a topic for the civilians. in fact, if you soldiers (or, the generals really) would STFU and stop begging for cash and wars we'd be better off.
- AlecEmpire, on 03/07/2008, -0/+1Haha I am a soldier, and I pray for peace harder than most. Go back to listening to your punk rock and self important make believe world.
- wageslave1, on 10/12/2007, -6/+1....war & the military arent a private matter for soldiers boy. war and peace are certainly a topic for the civilians. in fact, if you soldiers (or, the generals really) would STFU and stop begging for cash and wars we'd be better off.
- tnash, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Now I'm sure he is playing a nice game of Tetris...
- DarQraven, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3*1337SnIpErXxX has invited you to a game of Halo 2. Accept?*
- Rapsting, on 10/12/2007, -7/+1This is why America loses wars now.
- ahpro, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2 It's like FPS, but with better graphics.
You stold that from Pure Pwnage. FPS Doug says that in Episode 3 when he's in his car.- Kingmichael, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I don't think he stole it. Most people didn't get the fps_doug reference.
- srok, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I heard they were going to release "Machine Gun Hero" for the 360... :P
It's like a badass 360 version of the tethered wiimote and nunchuck. - Ap31r0n, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Life is a game.
War is a game.
Welcome to the Gaming Age. - SloppyJoe, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6"Would you like to play a Game?"
- cnefti, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I couldnt find the story, but i remember watching in the news soldiers inside the tanks useing PS2 controllers to operate something in the tank, i remember the soldier saying that it was more precise.
-
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