MetaVR News Volume V, Issue 2 November 26, 2001 http://www.metavr.com MetaVR makes software that enables you to create and run your photo-realistic 3D virtual worlds on PC image generators. http://www.metavr.com/download/MetaVR-AFJI-Dec-2001.pdf In This Issue: 10.A -- Afghanistan Virtual World on Display at this Year's I/ITSEC Trade Show 10.B -- Lockheed Martin Ft. Worth Facility Purchases MetaVR Visuals and Terrain 10.C -- MetaVR is Largest Supplier of Visuals for US Army MUSE UAV Program 10.D -- Wright Model B Simulation Uses MetaVR Visuals at AirVenture Oshkosh 10.E -- MetaVR Releases Version 3.0 of Software Product Line 10.F -- STRICOM Upgrades MetaVR Ft. Rucker Helicopter Visuals to VRSG 3 and NVIDIA-based GeForce3 Titanium Graphics Cards ***************************************************************** 10.A Afghanistan Virtual World on Display at this Year's I/ITSEC Trade Show A 3D photo-realistic Afghanistan terrain database will be among the features on display in the MetaVR I/ITSEC booth. The MetaVR PC-based multi-channel image generation and virtual world creation technology is on display in booth #1130 at the Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference (I/ITSEC) in Orlando, FL, which opens on November 26 and runs through November 29. Visitors will be able to fly over Afghanistan on a 3-channel MetaVR visual system using a high- fidelity F16 flight model provided by Bihrle Applied Research, Inc. The 564,000 square kilometer (54 geocells) 3D virtual world database of Afghanistan includes borders of surrounding countries. The terrain database was built using 5-meter resolution monochromatic artificially colored imagery and 100- meter elevation posts and was (partially) made using government furnished information. The 54-geocell terrain database compiles in 7 hours on a MetaVR WorldPerfect Workstation resulting in a 22 gigabyte terrain database. The database loads in 15 seconds on a MetaVR Ruggedized Efficiency rackmount PC and can sustain 60 Hz at speeds up to Mach 2 with a visibility range of 50 kilometers. The Afghanistan terrain database will be on display running on a three-channel MetaVR Ruggedized Efficiency rackmount ChannelSurfer configuration equipped with the latest NVIDIA GeForce3 Titanium- based graphics cards from VisionTek and dual Pentium 4 1.7 GHz Xeon CPUs. The Afghanistan terrain database is also featured on a MetaVR Laptop configuration for applications such as mission rehearsal. Note that the cost of a complete MetaVR Laptop system and software is about the same cost as jet fuel for a single flight mission. The MetaVR Afghanistan database is a completely new dataset (color-balanced mosaics, and so on) modified from the original data set and is available to qualified Government users as GFE without redistribution fees. This is an operational training database used with fielded MetaVR visual systems. Bihrle Applied Research Inc. (BAR), of Hampton, VA, provided their PC-based reconfigurable simulation environment that has been configured to use MetaVR visual systems. The Bihrle D-Six product represents a flight simulation host model of a Block 40 F-16 high-speed fixed wing aircraft communicating with the visual systems via the MetaVR ChannelSurfer viewpoint protocol. The model is a multi-component six-degree of freedom, nonlinear, physics-based mathematical representation of the F-16 aircraft. Each major component contributing to the flight dynamics of the F-16 is implemented as part of this model including the aerodynamics, propulsion, digital flight control system, landing gear, weight and balance model, as well as Newtonian-Based equations of motion. The high-fidelity math modeling of the F-16 aerodynamics was based on wind-tunnel data and covers the entire flight envelope including the stall, post-stall, and inverted flight regimes. With such comprehensive flight envelope coverage, this model can be used for many applications, from basic flight demonstration to advanced F-16 combat maneuvering and departure recovery training. http://www.metavr.com/VRSG/mvrvrsg.html http://www.metavr.com/Ruggedized_Rackmount_Efficiency_VRSG.html http://www.metavr.com/worldperfect.html http://www.metavr.com/worldperfect_workstation.html http://www.bihrle.com http://www.metavr.com/visiontek.html http://www.metavr.com/3Daccelerators.html http://www.metavr.com/laptop_vrsg.html http://www.metavr.com/metavr_viewpoint_protocol.html ***************************************************************** 10.B Lockheed Martin Ft. Worth Facility Purchases MetaVR Visuals and Terrain The Lockheed Martin Flight Simulation Laboratory in Ft. Worth Texas recently replaced the image generators on 6 of their F-22 simulators and F-16 simulators with MetaVR PC-based ChannelSurfer visual systems. These simulators are cockpit demonstrators that will travel to various locations around the world in support of business development efforts throughout the year. Five 3-channel, one 4-channel unit, and one MetaVR WorldPerfect terrain creation Workstation with 1.1 terabytes of storage and a 63-geocell terrain database of the southwest USA were purchased. The 20 GB terrain database consists of 1, 2 and 5 meter geographically specific imagery with 100-meter elevation posts and yields a 200 km visibility range while supporting high speed fixed-wing aircraft speeds of up to Mach 2. The MetaVR visuals were chosen after a Lockheed Martin internal PC-IG trade study analysis. Because the Lockheed Martin F-22 and F-16 cockpit demonstrators will be subject to extensive international travel the MetaVR Transportable VRSG System configuration was selected from among the MetaVR complete systems product line. The packaging of these ruggedized rackmount systems with 2U low profile PCs was originally developed to support the transportability and survivability requirements for UAV training using a deployable container designed for use in the field. http://www.metavr.com/vrsg_muse.html http://www.metavr.com/complete_systems.html http://www.metavr.com/worldperfect_workstation.html ***************************************************************** 10.C MetaVR is Largest Supplier of Visuals for US Army MUSE UAV Program MetaVR delivered over 50 visual systems and over 50 version 3 software upgrades into the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) simulation market in 2001 to support the US Army Multiple Unified Simulation Environment (MUSE) program. These and previous sales make MetaVR now the largest supplier of visual systems for the MUSE program. The MetaVR MUSE VRSG system was developed to provide the visualization system component for MUSE that generates synthetic payload scene video and/or imagery of the 3D battlefield with simulated target entities. This video and imagery is then fed to a tactical or generic UAV/intelligence platform control station where operators perform air vehicle and payload control functions, and an air vehicle and data link simulation. In the October 2001 issue of Unmanned Vehicles magazine, Sue McClung, David Steinhauser, and Jane Silber write in "Finding their MUSE" that UAVs are transforming the 21st century battlespace. The authors point out that a key to realizing UAVs potential is the application of information technology to simulation and training for UAV operations. The article describes in part how the MetaVR PC visuals are a significant component of the MUSE/Air Force Synthetic Environment For Reconnaissance And Surveillance (AFSERS) UAV training simulations. http://www.uvonline.com http://www.metavr.com/VRSG/VRSGWhatsNewVersion3.html http://www.metavr.com/MUSE_uav_visualization.html http://www.metavr.com/vrsg_muse.html ***************************************************************** 10.D Wright Model B Simulation Uses MetaVR Visuals at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh MetaVR technology was in action at the Experimental Aviation Association's (EAA) AirVenture Oshkosh 2001, the 49th annual gathering for EAA, held in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Visitors to The Wright Experience display in the 'Countdown to Kitty Hawk' pavilion had a first-hand opportunity to try out the Wright Model B Flight Simulator in which MetaVR's VRSG provided the simulation visual display. Bihrle Applied Research (BAR) built the simulation of the Wright Model B aircraft, the Wright Brothers' first production aircraft. Their client, Ken Hyde, aircraft restorer, historian, and president of the nonprofit The Wright Experience, is building an exact replica of the Model B and the first airplane, the 1903 Wright Flyer. The EAA has contracted The Wright Experience to recreate the 1903 Flyer for events and exhibits celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Wright Brothers' first powered flight. The simulation was very well received; over 600 people flew the Wright Model Flight Simulator at AirVenture Oshkosh 2001, including aviation celebrities such as Chuck Yeager, thousands watched others fly. Using computational and wind tunnel data to provide the most accurate simulations for training and demonstration, BAR continues development of the Wright aircraft simulations. Since the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, Bihrle Applied Research has heard from several organizations that are interested in duplicating the simulator for their purposes. http://www.metavr.com/customerapps/WrightModelB/WrightModelB.html http://www.airventure.org/2001/monday23/countdown.html http://www.airventure.org/2001/thursday26/wright_experience.html http://www.bihrle.com ***************************************************************** 10.E MetaVR Releases Version 3.0 Core Render Engine Product MetaVR recently released Version 3 of our core VRSG render engine product that takes advantage of the latest features in Microsoft DirectX 8.1 and the new NVIDIA GeForce3 Titanium based graphics cards. As of version 3, all MetaVR software products now use a USB security dongle to provide authentication and mobility of a software license across multiple user systems. There are several new VRSG features and enhancements: - Full-featured, high performance light points - High performance light lobes with per-pixel axial and radial attenuation - Ability to exploit a multiple CPU computer to support asynchronous paging of both terrain geometry and texture - Multiple mechanisms for adding 2D overlays to the 3D display - Unlimited number of viewports per channel - Particle-based smoke plumes and explosions - A rich set of sky models - Geometry processing performance - Fill rate performance The entire MetaVR software product line, VRSG, WorldPerfect, and Digital Moving Map Toolkit is now at version 3. MetaVR products can be ordered online from the new product order form on the Web site. All new version 3 documentation is now also available online. http://www.metavr.com/VRSG/mvrvrsg.html http://www.metavr.com/VRSG/VRSGWhatsNewVersion3.html http://www.metavr.com/onlineOrder/ProductOrderList.shtml http://www.metavr.com/vrsg_documentation.html ***************************************************************** 10.F STRICOM Upgrades MetaVR Ft. Rucker Helicopter Visuals to VRSG 3 and GeForce3 Titanium Graphics Cards The US Army Simulation, Training, and Instrumentation Command (STRICOM) recently upgraded the 40 existing MetaVR helicopter simulator visual channels at the Ft. Rucker, Alabama, Aviation Testbed (AVTB) with NVIDIA-based Geforce3 Titanium graphics cards, Intel Pentium 4 CPUs, and version 3 of the MetaVR Virtual Reality Scene Generator (VRSG). This is the second in an ongoing series of pre planned product improvements (PPI) of the original MetaVR systems first delivered in 1998. Since the initial installation three years ago, the fill-rate performance of the commercial PC graphics cards that retail at $400 has increased over five-fold. During the same period, the CPU performance from the original configurations in the newly upgraded systems has increased well over five-fold. http://www.stricom.army.mil/PRODUCTS/PC_BASED_TECH http://www.metavr.com/VRSG/mvrvrsg.html http://www.metavr.com/VRSG/VRSGWhatsNewVersion3.html http://www.metavr.com/core_DIS_upgrade.html ***************************************************************** Previous issues of MetaVR News can be found at http://www.metavr.com/news_archive.html. This electronic newsletter may be redistributed without restriction in any format as long as the contents are unaltered. Copyright 2001, MetaVR, Inc. Requests for subscription to MetaVR News can be sent to news_request@metavr.com. Please let us know if you do not want to receive future mailings by sending email to no_news@metavr.com