MetaVR News Volume XI, Issue 1 September 21, 2007 http://www.metavr.com/ MetaVR creates 3D real-time PC-based visual systems that provide the fidelity of geographically specific simulation with game quality graphics and performance. In This Issue: 20.A - MetaVR Provides Visuals in Prototype JTAC Virtual Trainer Dome 20.B - MetaVR in the Press ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 20.A MetaVR VRSG Provides Visuals in Prototype JTAC Virtual Trainer Dome Recently, 33 MetaVR VRSG licenses were purchased to support the Joint Terminal Attack Controller (JTAC) Virtual Trainer Dome simulator at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada and the portable JTAC Virtual Trainer Dome, which will be at the AFA 2007 Air & Space Conference and Technology Exposition at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, Washington D.C., from September 24 - 26. The Air Force's Joint Air Ground Operations School at Nellis AFB is the primary training facility for the USAF JTACs. These 33 new MetaVR VRSG licenses supplement 21 existing VRSG licenses already in use in the JTAC Virtual Trainer Dome prototype at the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) in Mesa, AZ. To date, 54 licenses have been purchased for JTAC simulators. The JTAC simulators are fully interoperable with the A-10 Full Mission Trainers and the Multiple Unified Simulation Environment (MUSE)/Air Force Synthetic Environment For Reconnaissance And Surveillance (AFSERS) program, which also use MetaVR real-time 3D visualization software. A critical and lethal personnel position in the armed forces is that of the Joint Terminal Attack Controller, or JTAC. This individual is the link between the Army and the Air Force when combat requires the aid of close air support. A JTAC must maintain situational awareness, know the supported unit's plans, and validate and prosecute targets of opportunity. The Joint Terminal Controller Training and Rehearsal System (JTC TRS), a proof-of-concept developed at AFRL in Mesa, AZ, provides a high-fidelity, fully immersive, realistic training and rehearsal environment with real- time sensor, simulator, and database correlation. Its primary focus will be to provide a persistent total air-ground virtual training environment for networked air/ground training and mission rehearsals. The JTC TRS will also support training for call for fire training (CFFT) artillery missions. This system will be used to train both JTAC and combat air crews assigned to accomplish complex missions in close proximity to ground forces. The JTC TRS will connect to distributed mission operations networks to enable geographically separated high-fidelity close air support platforms and JTAC and CCT teams to train together. Additionally, the JTC TRS will enable operators to conduct Joint Close Air Support (JCAS) training and mission rehearsal using tailored, dynamic scenarios that are relevant to mission tasking. Among the technologies used in the Virtual Trainer Dome prototype of the JTAC TRS are MetaVR VRSG and Mersive Technologies' camera-based auto- calibration software for warping and blending the multi-projector display. The JTAC Virtual Dome Trainer runs on a high speed FIBRE infrastructure developed by JES Hardware Solutions. The prototype JTAC Virtual Trainer Dome, built by Lockheed Martin, uses 19 VRSG channels, 14 of which are for 3D visualization within the dome. There are 7 VRSG channels for 360-degrees around the bottom half of the dome, and another 7 channels for the top half of the dome. The remaining VRSG channels are used for various emulated hand-held command and control (C2) devices inside the dome (binoculars, laser range finders, and so on), a sound channel, and a single AAR/stealth channel. The DIS/HLA compliant system will interoperate with legacy systems and provide the capability to network with other air and ground simulators. http://www.metavr.com/casestudies/jtac.html http://www.metavr.com/casestudies/a10.html http://www.metavr.com/products/vrsg/vrsgoverview.html http://www.metavr.com/casestudies/a10-cas-hardware.html http://www.metavr.com/technology/LLDRembeddedsystem.html http://www.metavr.com/downloads/AFRLNewsletter-Summer2007Vol6Issue1.pdf http://www.afa.org/events/conference/2007/conference.asp http://www.mesa.afmc.af.mil/ http://www.mesa.afmc.af.mil/docs/Fights%20On%21%20-%20Volume%205%20Issue%203.pdf http://www.mersive.com/ http://www.jessan.com/ http://www.lockheedmartin.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 20.B MetaVR in the Press An interview with MetaVR co-founder W. Garth Smith is in the September, 2007, issue of Military Training and Technology. Also in this issue, MetaVR won two awards in the magazine's annual Top 100 list; MetaVR's 2007 awards for "innovation" and "up-and-coming" mark its fifth consecutive year on the list. MetaVR's Baghdad database is shown in the July, 2007, issue of Army Magazine, in the article, "History With a Purpose". This article describes how the Combat Studies Institute (CSI) uses historical staff rides to educate soldiers by using insights gained from the past. The CSI training includes virtual staff rides using MetaVR's Baghdad database. MetaVR is mentioned in the March 13, 2007, issue (#88) of The Escapist, in the article, "Virtual Bullet, Virtual Gun", which describes how MetaVR systems are used at the UAV Training Center at Fort Huachuca, AZ, in a 21-week training program to certify Army graduates to fly UAVs. The article also mentions the role of MetaVR MUSE systems in the 2004 Army- sponsored UAV demonstrations across the country at NASCAR races. MetaVR was featured in the February-March 2007, issue of Training and Simulation Journal. In this issue, which has on the cover a VRSG screen capture of MetaVR's Baghdad database, MetaVR is interviewed in the article, "Building Street Cred" which discusses the latest advances in simulated urban warfare training for troops prior to their deployment to Iraq. http://www.military-training-technology.com/article.cfm?DocID=2161 http://www.military-training-technology.com/article.cfm?DocID=2157 http://www.ausa.org/pdfdocs/ArmyMag/July07/Reese.pdf http://www.metavr.com/casestudies/baghdadviews.html http://www.escapistmagazine.com/issue/88/3 http://www.metavr.com/casestudies/muse-nascar.html http://www.tsjonline.com/story.php?F=2489530 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This electronic newsletter may be redistributed without restriction in any format as long as the contents are unaltered. Previous issues of MetaVR News can be found at http://www.metavr.com/aboutus/newsarchive.html. Copyright 2007, MetaVR, Inc. MetaVR, Inc. 80 Somerset Road Brookline, MA 02445 USA MetaVR News is comprised of over 14,000 e-mail addresses collected from company correspondence and public forums comprised of those who have interest in visual simulation. To subscribe to MetaVR News, send email to news_request@metavr.com. To unsubscribe from MetaVR News, send email to no_news@metavr.com. This newsletter is in full compliance with the enrolled (final) text of bill S.877, which became law on January 1, 2004, and which allows the sender to transmit unsolicited commercial electronic mail so long as the message contains an opt-out mechanism, a functioning return email address, and the legitimate physical address of the mailer.