Using motion capture to determine marksmanship shooting profiles: teaching soldiers to shoot better faster

• Main Author: Powers, Johnny J.
• Other Authors: Ciavarelli, Anthony
• Published: Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School 2012
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10945/3969

How can the U.S. Army teach soldiers marksmanship skills faster and sustain those skills between live fire training periods? Virtual marksmanship trainers are currently used to provide the means to teach basic and advanced marksmanship skills, monitor performance progress from novice to expert, and maintain marksmanship skills. Our research was focused on the use of virtual marksmanship trainers to explore various training method enhancements based on recent studies of complex skill acquisition and expertise. The study of marksmanship skill and shooting characteristics benefited from the emergence of highly precise instrumentation for digital recording of the subject's performance. We used motion capture technology to define and to measure rifle shooting postural profiles associated with different levels of marksmanship expertise. Motion capture data revealed significant (p<.008) differences between beginner and expert profiles. Using this knowledge to develop a training system for the standardization of expert level marksmanship performance would result in higher levels of expertise and the reduction of variance during the instruction of rifle marksmanship.