In 1988, the NATO panel governing human sciences (Panel 8 on Defence
Applica- of Human and Bio-Medical Sciences) established a Research Study
Group to synthe- tions size information relevant to Advanced
Technologies Applied to Training Design. During its first phase, the RSG
established an active exchange of information on advanced tech- nologies
applied to training design and stimulated much military application of
these tech- nologies. With the increased emphasis on training throughout
the alliance, Panel 8, during its April 1991 meeting decided to continue
with Phase II of this RSG focusing in the area of advanced training
technologies that were emerging within the alliance. In order to ac-
complish its mission, the RSG held a series of workshops. Leaders in
technology and training were brought together and exchanged information
on the latest developments in technologies applicable to training and
education. This volume represents the last in a se- ries based on the
NATO workshops. In Part One, it details findings from the last work-
shop, Virtual Reality for Training; and in Part Two, we provide a
summary perspective on Virtual Reality and the other emerging
technologies previously studied. These include computer-based training,
expert systems, authoring systems, cost-effectiveness, and dis- tance
learning. It is a natural extension to proceed from learning without
boundaries to virtual envi- ronments. From the extended classroom to the
individual or team immersion in a distrib- uted, virtual, and
collaborative environment is an easy conceptual step.