The U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) recently announced plans to deploy CogniSens‘ NeuroTracker system to “improve situational awareness, multiple target tracking and decision making efficiency of soldiers as it relates to combat.” While NeuroTracker isn’t the military’s first computer-based training system, it is the first one that doesn’t involve simulated combat environments.
The premise is simple: the user sits in front of a 3D screen displaying eight moving balls and is then instructed to follow four of the balls for eight minutes, with the remaining four acting as decoys. As the game progresses, it becomes more complex and faster paced. The principle behind the game, according to CogniSens, is that “the brain structurally rewires itself if stimulated intensively and repeatedly…the same way muscle cells improve with physical conditioning.”
NeuroTracker has already been used by several NHL and NFL teams to improve their perceptual-cognitive abilities on the ice/field. In addition to testing and training current commandos, NeuroTracker will also be used to assess the cognitive abilities of prospective operatives to see if they fit the ranks of SOCOM’s elite.
Product page: NeuroTracker…
