Earlier this year, two Berkut 540 aircraft -- codenamed Red 1 and Red 2 -- raced down the runway of Santa Monica Airport and climbed into the California skies. As the two planes flew over Ventura County, a KC-46 Pegasus Tanker came into the pilots' view. The tanker flew adjacent to Red 1, and the pilot navigated into position so the KC-46 could refuel the aircraft while Red 2 observed. However, anyone looking up from the ground would have only seen two planes in the sky. The third plane that "refueled" Red 1 wasn't real -- it was generated using augmented reality.

Job training is always important, but in the military it can mean the difference between life and death. Researchers at NC State University are working with the U.S. Army Futures Command (AFC) to develop artificial intelligence (AI) tools that can be used to improve squad training – and save lives. "We're developing AI programs that address two aspects of training, specifically for the synthetic training environments the Army uses to prepare its personnel," says Randall Spain, a research scientist in NC State's Center for Educational Informatics (CEI) who is working on the project. "One tool is focused on assessing team-level communication, which is critical to mission success and soldier safety. The second tool is focused on identifying the most effective ways of providing feedback to trainees."