It resembles a movie set, with characters stopping in doorways to interact while the street scene outside the window changes. But things are not as they appear.
This immersive training environment was developed by researchers with the Institute for Creative Technologies in Los Angeles for the U.S. Army. Physical props like chairs, desks and rubble are combined with rear screen projection in the doorways and windows to allow virtual humans to interact with participants.
Infrared cameras track what the humans are doing and computers can change the action in real-time. Temperatures and even smells can be manipulated to make this pioneering simulation amazingly realistic.