Instructor-lead training environment and interfaces therewith

A training simulation system, comprising:

• a trainee station, comprising:
• a plurality of firing areas to host at least one trainee, each firing area having associated therewith at least one display, and
• at least one weapon mounted with detachable and adjustable controllers;
• at least one computer, the at least one computer communicatively coupled to the at least one display and the at least one weapon, the at least one computer generating a collaborative immersive training environment displayed by the at least one display wherein simulated movements and interactions of the at least one trainee are controlled by the controllers and represented within the collaborative immersive training environment as an entity, wherein the at least one display in each trainee station displays a viewpoint of the collaborative immersive training environment corresponding to movements and interactions of the controllers;
• and
• at least one instructor station to host an instructor, to serve as the training simulation server and network host for the at least one computer and the trainee station, and to serve as a training simulation control station, the at least one instructor station communicatively coupled to the at least one computer, the at least one instructor station receiving and propagating inputs from the at least one trainee station and allowing the instructor to control, modify, and record the execution of the training simulation and collaborative immersive training environment, to create custom simulation scenarios, and the instructor station further comprises a scenario editor to edit the collaborative immersive training environment during the training simulation, wherein the scenario editor allows the instructor to take control of the entity represented within the collaborative immersive virtual environment during the training simulation.

A method of interacting with a collaborative immersive training environment generated by a training simulation system having at least one trainee station comprising a firing area to host a trainee, at least one controller, a plurality of communication channels, and at least one display corresponding to the firing area, comprising:

• displaying a computer generated simulation on the at least one display, the simulation comprising the collaborative immersive training environment wherein simulated movements and interactions of the trainee is controlled by the at least one controller and is represented within the collaborative immersive training environment as an entity, wherein the at least one display displays a viewpoint of the collaborative immersive training environment corresponding to the simulated movements and interactions of the trainee in each trainee station;
• equipping a physical weapon with the at least one controller;
• communicating through the communication channels to coordinate simultaneous simulated movement of the trainees within the collaborative immersive training environment;
• navigating the collaborative immersive training environment displayed on the display via the at least one controller;
• monitoring the collaborative immersive training environment for at least one hostile target;
• engaging the hostile target using the physical weapon;
• and
• allowing an instructor to observe the collaborative immersive training environment via an instructor terminal of the training simulation system, the instructor terminal allowing the instructor to monitor and record actions of the team members within the collaborative immersive training environment, and to modify the conditions of the collaborative immersive training environment during the training simulation,
• wherein the training simulation system comprises two or more trainee stations, and wherein the movements and interactions of the at least one controller in every trainee station is represented in the same collaborative immersive training environment, and the at least one display in each trainee station also displays a representation of the movements and interactions of the at least one controller in the other trainee stations, and
• wherein the training simulation system further comprises a scenario editor to edit the collaborative immersive training environment during the training simulation, the scenario editor allowing the instructor to take over an entity represented within the collaborative immersive training environment during the training simulation.

A training simulation system, comprising:

• a computer to generate a training simulation comprising a collaborative immersive training environment;
• at least one trainee station, comprising:
• a firing area to accommodate a trainee and at least one display to display the collaborative immersive training environment, and
• at least one controller to interact with the collaborative immersive training environment, the at least one controller mounted on a physical weapon,
• wherein the controller controls simulated movement and interaction of the trainee within the collaborative immersive training environment, and wherein the at least one display in each trainee station displays a viewpoint of the collaborative immersive training environment corresponding to movements and interactions of the at least one controller;
• an instructor station to host an instructor, to serve as server and network host for the computer and the at least one trainee station, and to serve as a training simulation control station, the instructor station receiving and propagating inputs from the at least one trainee station and allowing the instructor to control, modify, and record an execution of the training simulation, to create custom simulation scenarios for the training simulation, and;
• a scenario editor to edit the collaborative immersive training environment during the training simulation;
• wherein the scenario editor allows the instructor to take over an entity represented within the collaborative immersive training environment during the training simulation.