Simulating `The Right Stuff¿: Military pilots, tank gunners, and naval tacticians are trained using simulators. But can realistic conditions be simulated at the right price?

It is reported that simulator makers face a twofold challenge: to continue to increase the realism of the trainers while holding down costs. The newest simulators used in military training programs include cockpits for flight training; portable desktop videodiscs for practicing command, maintenance, and routine operations on land, at sea, and in the air; microcomputer-driven war games that teach tactics; and laser weapons for battle simulation. Among the technologies reviewed to improve realism and cut costs in these four areas are computer graphics, fiber optics, videodiscs, distributed processing, and very high-speed integrated circuits.