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more Waging War storiesSPIN-OFFS AND SPIN-ONS
Military technology has historically found new applications in civilian life. While wars are devastating to the civilians caught in the middle, they also push technological advancements that benefit civilians long after their conclusion, from Roman roads built to speed troop transit to the Internet, which was initially developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) as ARPANET.
But not every transfer of military technology to the civilian sector goes smoothly or efficiently. Many are too costly or sophisticated for commercial application, and specific military requirements can impede viability for civilian use. Examples include nuclear power, developed from nuclear weapon research but which has struggled as a commercial industry, and supersonic aircraft, which are vital to the Air Force but never caught on commercially, largely due to their high price tag.
Increasingly, some experts say, the direction of transfer is reversing -- rather than the military providing spin-off technology for civilians, civilians are developing "spin-on" technology for the military. Development can also occur from both directions at once. In 1999, the Army created the Institute for Creative Technologies (ICT) at the University of Southern California to research artificial intelligence, graphics and virtual reality immersion. ICT has built on the technology developed for commercial video games and created immersive virtual reality training for U.S. troops. The same technology might later be used to create virtual training environments for civilian jobs. Coming full circle, ICT's Full Spectrum Warrior training video game became a hit when it was released commercially.
Scholar John A. Alic, in his book Beyond Spinoff, outlines the range of pathways for technology transfer:
Resources
- Institute for Creative Technologies researches and develops virtual reality possibilities for the military
- American Military Technology: The Life Story of a Technology by Barton C. Hacker, available as an e-book
- Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
- From Spin-Off to Spin-On: Redefining the Military's Role in Technology Development [PDF]
Comments
wow.
Anonymous / September 20, 2009 2:50 AMInteresting, the parallels some can draw between the Army and video games. I think the picketers seen in "The Army Experience Center" looked and sounded extremely nervous. Probably because what the recruiter said as the video closed was extremely right- "They're terrified it will work."
Illuminating facts (90% of 16-22 y/o boys play military-themed games every week? I'm 19 and this seems high but maybe it's because I'm in college.) I mean, the military really does want to recruit boys... so all this blending of Military Science and Virtual Reality/Hollywood tactics is very intriguing... I guess boys will be boys... in $13 million recruitment centers built by the Army. At least they're not on the streets?
The army has always been known for advancing technology, there's moral and ethical quandaries within every technological DECISION these days. I got the feeling the center might feel wrong to some but right to others. Deceiving kids? The recruiters are deliberately told not to make a "hard sell." Maybe the best place to put a shell-shocked veteran is a huge gaming center where they can humanize and level with these teens. Maybe that's the best place we can put teens, too, at this point. (as in, where have all the youth centers gone?)
Tyler Trykowski / September 29, 2009 6:13 AMAll I got from the Army recruiter when I was about to graduate high school was a crappy pencil with the Army logo on it. At least the Navy recruiter gave me a ball point pen.
rommel / October 18, 2009 5:42 AM