BBN Technologies

DARWARS Training Superiority Program Participants Demonstrate Systems at I/ITSEC

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., December 6, 2004 — BBN Technologies, a leading provider of advanced technology research and development (R&D) and the DARWARS systems integrator, and nine additional leading-edge providers of advanced training technology who are participating in the DARWARS Training Superiority Program will demonstrate recent advances in the DARWARS booth (#3102) at this year's I/ITSEC (Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation & Education Conference) tradeshow in Orlando, FL from Dec. 6-9, 2004.

DARWARS is sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to accelerate the development and deployment of experience-based training--the next generation of scalable, low-cost, simulation-based training systems based on PC technology. The goal of the DARWARS Training Superiority program is to revolutionize on-line, experience-based training. This next-generation of training systems uses new technologies such as massively multiplayer on-line games, virtual reality, on-line communities, and intelligent agents to create compelling practice environments that are available anytime, anywhere in the world, and that give students critical feedback on their performance in carefully chosen scenarios. Experience-based training allows students to learn more efficiently and effectively by practicing skills in a simulated environment and acquiring the knowledge needed to apply these skills.

Organizations participating in the DARWARS booth include BBN Technologies, Acuitus Inc., CHI Systems Inc., USC/ISI, Teknowledge, University of North Carolina, Vcom3D, MÄK Technologies, Quicksilver Software Inc., and Sonalysts, as well as partners Micro Analysis and Design Inc. and Total Immersion Software, Inc. These organizations will demonstrate sophisticated training systems and tools operating within the DARWARS web-based infrastructure. The training systems to be demonstrated cover a range of skill and knowledge areas, including foreign languages, battlefield tactics, naval strategy, and military operations in urban terrain. Also demonstrated at the booth will be the DARWARS Core -- a flexible and open technical architecture that supports a full suite of technologies for deploying, launching, managing, and maintaining experiential training systems.

"I/ITSEC provides us with a unique opportunity to demonstrate the DARWARS program to the military training community and to meet with potential new partners as the DARWARS program moves forward," said Dr. Ralph Chatham, DARPA Program Manager for DARWARS. "The systems we are demonstrating at I/ITSEC show that personalized, effective, engaging, deployable, affordable on-demand training is not only possible, but is being developed and deployed now." The training systems demonstrated at I/ITSEC have already achieved considerable success. For example, DARWARS Ambush!, developed by BBN Technologies, provides an innovative approach to convoy training. DARWARS Ambush! lets soldiers practice the skills and critical thinking required in convoy ambush situations by experiencing the lessons learned by actual convoys and creating new scenarios based on their own experiences in the field. DARWARS Ambush! is now being deployed in Iraq after extensive testing with troops at Ft. Lewis, Washington.

Also being demonstrated is the Information Sciences Institute's DARWARS Tactical Language Trainer, which rapidly teaches students linguistic skills, including cultural and gestural cues in addition to basic vocabulary, through simulated interactions. Artificial intelligence software coaches individual students in pronunciation and appropriate use of gesture, and simulated interactions provide opportunities to apply the skills in real-life situations. Their paper describing this system was selected as Best Paper in the Training category at I/ITSEC this year. "We have already received MOAs for training systems from the US Army Training Support Center, the USSOCOM Advanced Technology Program, the Naval Aviation Training Systems PMA205, and the Naval Education and Training Command," said Dr. Chatham, "and I expect that interest in DARWARS and experiential training will accelerate rapidly as more people have the opportunity to view these systems and assess their effectiveness."