Alabama (October 30, 2012) - AEgis Technologies’ first game submitted to the Serious Games Showcase & Challenge has already been selected as a finalist for the 2012 competition being held at I/ITSEC December 3-6, 2012. The military training game Combat Vehicle Detection & Identification (C-ID™) is the first in a series of projects where AEgis will continue to explore the latest technologies to better train the warfighter.
AEgis Technologies is an established leader in the UAS training market with more than 7,000 licensed copies of training simulations in the field by early 2013.
“Visualization and Training are nothing new to AEgis,” said David King, VP of Simulation Development. “It is a natural progression for us to take this experience and enhance it into the immersive visualization of gaming to train young soldiers while attracting and keeping the attention of young soldiers at the same time.”
“C-ID™ is a game idea that originated here at AEgis,” said Victor (Rusty) Courson, Geospatial Group Manager. “We wanted to allow soldiers to practice vehicle identification in combat scenarios. We also wanted to adapt to today’s current engagements that are becoming more UAV-centric, while also building the game on modern mobile platforms that are commonly available.”
What resulted is a game that utilizes the highest quality graphics across multiple mobile platforms; a game that can also train multiple numbers of soldiers in a shorter timeframe. C-ID™ challenges players to embark on a series of missions and battlefield environments, correctly identify combat vehicles and then determine if they are friend or foe. After familiarizing themselves with the features of 30 potential vehicle targets in the Training Garage, the player enters the battlefield environment and must locate and select vehicle targets, evaluate and identify with the option to zoom and then select the vehicle ID from an onscreen set of options. An onscreen After Action Review provides the player instant feedback on their performance and gives them a proficiency ranking.
“Our goal was to provide a means for UAV operators to train on target identification in an environment that emulates real world UAV missions and the challenges these operators face while trying to identify friend or foe in full color and infrared spectrums. We adopted the Serious Games philosophy of making a highly challenging and interactive training game, with clear and concise learning objectives that challenge and reward the player as their air-to-ground identification skills improve,” Courson added.
Research was done by consulting both DoD and industry subject matter experts as well as military trend reports that show fratricide and combat vehicle recognition are still issues in current operations.
Development of C-ID™ began by determining what vehicles are most commonly used in combat, both friendly and enemy, providing a training environment to educate the user on those vehicles (the C-ID™ Training Garage) and then placing them in a realistic environment that will allow them to test their proficiency in positively identifying the vehicle and eliminating the threat if it exists.
While most of AEgis’ customers are within the Department of Defense, two commercial versions of the game will be released both in the Apple Store and the Android Marketplace by early December. C-ID™ Lite is free for download and includes the training garage and one complete level of gameplay. Three additional levels are available for a nominal fee with the full pay to play version of C-ID™. AEgis’ first publically available game focuses on the UAV market, however the same games for training principles can be applied to multiple scenarios including land and sea.
AEgis will demo C-ID™ at Booth #813 at the Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference (I/ITSEC) to be held in Orlando December 3-6.
About The AEgis Technologies Group Inc.
Awarded one of the Top 20 Best Places to Work in 2012 by the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce. Also awarded the 2012 Small Business of the Year (Outstanding Small Business category 51-350 employees) and awarded the 2012 Russell G. Brown Executive Leadership Award for excellence in leadership and entrepreneurship for AEgis President & CEO Steve Hill by the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce.
AEgis Technologies is a privately held small business headquartered in Huntsville, Alabama, USA, that provides advanced technology and expert consulting services to industries throughout the world. AEgis specializes in modeling & simulation (M&S) and micro/nanoscale technology development. The company’s M&S products and services include simulation software and training simulators; geospatial databases; 3D models; war fighter exercise support; systems engineering and analysis; verification, validation, and accreditation (VV&A); test and evaluation support; Hardware-in-the-Loop (HWIL) and Man-in-the-Loop (MIL) simulation. AEgis’ Nanogenesis Division excels in advancing cutting edge micro and nanoscale technologies from concept to deployment with applications ranging from defense to energy to biotechnology.
AEgis has enjoyed steady growth with revenues increasing to $60 million in sales and employment of 265+ professionals. AEgis has been instrumental in the acceptance of M&S as a profession, as a graduate program of study among many colleges and universities and in the creation of an M&S standards and professional certification across the international M&S professional community-of-practice. Since its founding in 1989, AEgis is committed to honesty and integrity and was recognized for its honorable business practices by receiving the Better Business Bureau’s Torch Ethics Award. The company’s highly skilled work force is dedicated to building lasting relationships and providing superior products and services to our customers.