Unity powers 3D military simulations

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Press Release: I/ITSEC: Unity Powers 3D Virtual Training Simulations for the Defense, Military, Aerospace and Homeland Security Industries

ORLANDO, FL and SAN FRANCISCO, CA– Unity Technologies, provider of the Unity development platform for games and interactive 3D on the web, iOS, Android, consoles and beyond, announced that D2 TEAM-Sim and Heartwood are showcasing the 3D virtual training simulations they built on Unity for the Defense, Military, Aerospace and Homeland Security industries at The Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference (I/ITSEC) today. I/ITSEC is the largest display of modeling, simulation and virtual reality technology in the world with more than 18,000 attendees from government, academia, industry and research institutions.

“We evaluated several different commercial off-the-shelf gaming solutions. After doing a detailed analysis on all the products where we evaluated such factors as usability, scalability, extensibility, cost and licensing, Unity was the clear choice,” said James Cimino, Director of Technical Innovation, D2 TEAM-Sim. “Unity has made it possible for us to develop high quality interactive, game-based training solutions in a short amount of time, at relatively low costs and then deploy them across multiple devices including PC, web, iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch and now Android. We believe that we are just scratching the surface with what we can do for our customers using Unity.”

D2 TEAM-Sim created the Patriot Crew Drill training (http://www.d2teamsim.com/computer-based-training-examples/patriot-crew-drill-interactive-multimedia-instruction.html), one of the initial solutions selected as part of TRADOC’s Connecting Soldiers to Digital Applications (CSDA) initiative, on Unity for Raytheon. As a complete blended Interactive Multimedia Instruction (IMI) solution, the Patriot Crew Drill extended its training reach to handheld devices such as the iPad, iPhone and iTouch with the “Launcher Dogs: March Order and Emplace” training solution that D2 also created on Unity, maintaining a high degree of continuity between the web-based IMI and the mobile solution.

The “Launcher Dogs: March Order and Emplace” training solution went on to win the first-ever GameTech 2010 Innovations in DoD Gaming Award that was open to the entire DoD and its contractors. The “Launcher Dogs: March Order and Emplace” training solution went head-to-head with multi-million dollar gaming and simulation installations at Fort Lewis and Camp Lejeune and was honored for its innovation, creativity and effectiveness.

D2 TEAM-Sim also created the HAWK leveling procedure on Unity that was jointly sponsored by Raytheon and the Security Assistance Management Directorate (SAMD), as part of the HAWK Missile System’s Fair Share Conference. The intent was to educate the international customers for the HAWK Missile System about how a blended IMI training solution could be beneficial to the training challenges associated with the HAWK Missile System.

“The interest in distributed learning using gaming technology is rapidly growing, and Unity is the best platform for building immersive 3D training applications. Unity enables us to bring high realism and fidelity to the learning experience when integrated with Heartwood’s C2ActTM virtual training solutions,” said Neil Wadhawan, Co-Founder and Vice President of Sales & Marketing at Heartwood. “With Unity’s unique ‘Author Once, Deploy Anywhere’ capability, we can provide the modern warfighter with operations and maintenance instruction anytime, anywhere and on any device.”

Raytheon awarded Heartwood the contract to develop Web Based Virtual Training Applications for one of their customers based on Unity after seeing the Unity-based prototype (http://hwd3d.com/services/custom-3d-virtual-trainers-simulations-and-training-videos/raytheon-patriot-web-virtual-trainer/). The prototype requires users to perform a routine maintenance task from a first-person perspective. Individual steps within the maintenance trainer require learners to open hatches, move levers, toggle dials and use a grounding tool. Whenever learners miss a step or perform a step out of order, a warning appears. It explains the error and its consequences. This critical path training approach ensures that learners master proper procedures before working with actual equipment. Once the learners complete the maintenance task, an after-action review and series of questions provide a measurable check-for-understanding.

(Image courtesy Heartwood.)

The US Army is now in talks with Raytheon to revitalize an older immersive 3D maintenance training application after seeing this prototype. The new development will be based on Unity, and there will be multiple deployments to PC, web and handheld devices. Heartwood developed a demo (http://hwd3d.com/services/handheld-mobile-3d-apps/ipad-application/) of what the Virtual Training application would look like on the iPad; the lesson will be ported to the iPad.

In addition, Unity will be the base layer for the full lifecycle of the 3D digital assets that Heartwood creates for its clients, whether the requirement is to deploy to the web, desktop, mobile or augmented reality solutions for training and maintenance.

“We’ve seen explosive growth in Unity’s use in all aspects of training and simulation in the last year,” said David Helgason, CEO of Unity Technologies. “It’s so exciting to see how delivering high end game technology that is both simple to use and license solves real world problems.”

About D2 TEAM-Sim
D2 TEAM-Sim announced a new Unity 3D extension for DIFTM: the D2 Interactive Multimedia Instruction Framework at I/ITSEC. The new add-on, which will be part of the new DIFTM Extensions, allows interactive web applications developed in Unity to be treated as unloadable and reusable assets within DIFTM. D2 will be showcasing DIFTM, as well as their other blended IMI solutions and capabilities in Booth #531 at I/ITSEC. D2 will also give a presentation on a white paper that it co-authored with SDI Government Solutions titled “Augmented Reality as an Emerging Military Training Technology” which assesses the current state of augmented reality in the military and predicts several future applications.

D2 TEAM-Sim’s mission is to provide its clients with high quality, web and browser-based constructive training solutions. D2 continues to push the envelope by building cost-effective, web based and SCORM-conformant training solutions for the DoD by leveraging decades of commercial multimedia design and development expertise while simultaneously integrating COTS software and hardware. D2 prides itself on consistently delivering high production-value training, using cutting edge technology and by being laser-focused on budget and deliverables. D2 was selected as one of the “2010 Top Simulation and Training Companies” by Military Training Technology Magazine. For more info, go to www.d2teamsim.com.

About Heartwood
Heartwood is a leading provider of mission critical turnkey 3D Virtual Solutions. Recently selected as one of the “2010 Top Simulation and Training Companies” by Military Training Technology Magazine, Heartwood is demonstrating various examples of the Virtual Training Applications they have produced for the US Army, Raytheon, US Secret Service and others based on Unity in Booth #701 at I/ITSEC.

Whether learners are in the schoolhouse or deployed in the field, they can use their SCORM-conformant Immersive 3D task trainers anytime, anywhere, on any device: Web-browsers (PCs and Macs); handheld devices (iPhones, iPads, and other smartphones) and gaming consoles (Wii, Xbox, and PS3). Heartwood has brought Silicon Valley ingenuity to the learning process since 2002 and has won awards for its work in 3D modeling, gaming, augmented reality and other visual technologies. For more info, go to http://hwd3d.com.

About Unity Technologies
Unity Technologies is revolutionizing the game industry, was named one of the top five game companies of 2009 by Gamasutra after just four years on the market and received Develop Magazine’s coveted Grand Prix and Technical Innovation Awards and The Wall Street Journal Technology Innovation Award in 2010. Today Unity Technologies has more than 250,000 registered users worldwide — including Bigpoint, Cartoon Network, Coca-Cola, Disney, Electronic Arts, LEGO, Microsoft, NASA, Ubisoft, Warner Bros., large and small studios, independent professionals, students and hobbyists — using the Unity platform to develop high-quality interactive 3D content for the web, mobile and console. Unity Technologies is one of the fastest growing software companies and is aggressively innovating to expand usability, power and platform reach so that it can deliver on its vision of democratizing interactive 3D technology. Unity Technologies is headquartered in San Francisco and has development offices worldwide. For more information, visit http://unity3d.com.

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