Telecommunications professor Steven Grant of the Missouri University of Science and Technology has built a soundstage in a warehouse that accurately replicates the sound of a battlefield.

Army recruits are often overwhelmed by their first battlefield experiences, simply because of the volume of the explosions, gunfire and jets zooming overhead. The soundstage is designed to give troops some idea of what they’re in for, beforehand.

It comprises 64 speakers that can fire in small groups to aim sounds at a specific three-dimensional location. The low end is powered by four...