Syndicate
) November 5, 2008 -- The Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference (I/ITSEC) has sold all its available space at the huge Orange County Convention Center in Orlando. In fact, numerous exhibitors were unable to obtain space, even though the event occupies almost 200,000 square feet. "This makes I/ITSEC the biggest exhibition of modeling and simulation technology ever worldwide", according to Fred Lewis, president of the National Training and Simulation Association, the event's organizer.
Lewis, a retired U.S. Navy Rear Admiral, says the reason for the dramatic expansion in size over the past decade is the simulation industry itself. "We're witnessing a surge of this technology into many areas where it was not used before. We're long past the time when simulation and virtual reality was just used to train people how to fly airplanes or drive vehicles. Today, modeling and simulation are critical training tools in a host of new areas, many vital to our personal and national well being."
Examples of how the technology is spreading include medical training, which can now place students in a hyper-realistic virtual operating room before taking the next step with actual patients. "Today we stand at a critical juncture in medical modeling and simulation, according to Rep. Randy Forbes (R-VA), co-chair of the Congressional Modeling and Simulation Caucus. "As partners in this endeavor, medical professionals, elected officials, businesses, academia and military consumers of modeling and simulation...can harness the power of M&S in support of (this) new technology". At I/ITSEC, demonstrations of remote and virtual surgical procedures will coincide with panel discussions and other events aimed at further expanding the frontiers of this critical M&S application.
One event will navigate through the human body, incorporating presentations on physiology modeling, distributed medical training environments, tele-medicine and VR for behavioral health, including Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) .
Another important aspect of I/ITSEC for 2008 will be emphasis on Serious Games. Over the last several years, Serious Games and virtual worlds have emerged as powerful tools for communication, collaboration, training and education in a wide variety of enterprises and organizations. A special event at I/ITSEC will focus on how multiplayer games and associated technologies are being leveraged to help train and educate the existing and future workforce. Participants will include representatives from Qwaq, Inc, Lockheed Martin, Digital Garage, BP America, North Carolina Virtual Public Schools, and PowerU to name a few. In addition, I/ITSEC will feature a "Serious Games" competition, where entries from students and researchers, small firms and large corporations are entered in a number of categories, judged and displayed in the exhibition hall. All applications, from "mods" to mobil, virtual worlds and original development will be included.
In all, 575 exhibitors will cram the exhibit hall floor, demonstrating the state of the art of modeling and simulation across the board. Exhibitors range from giant corporations to small companies displaying fascinating and in many cases ground-breaking niche technologies. In 2007 20% of I/ITSEC exhibitors were non-us - representing 49 countries from around the world. I/ITSEC 2008 will run from December 1-4, and large crowds are expected.
I/ITSEC is typically attended by professionals in the modeling and simulation fields as well as military and defense industry personnel. Attendees also include medical training professionals as well as students and others interested in modeling and simulation. More information about attending the conference can be found at www.iitsec.org.
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