Media Contact: Terri Bernhardt (407) 883-5181

ECS Launches New Virtual World, Enhances Communication Capabilites

December 1, 2011. Orlando, Fla. Engineering & Computer Simulations (ECS) launched a new live demonstration this morning on the showroom floor at the annual Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation, Education Conference (I/ITSEC) called ZTech.

ZTech is an exciting new browser-based virtual world that works in almost any secure environment without security exemptions while employing an immersive environment. The new technology offers a rapid response system enabling users to react to their environments in a realistic way. ZTech also uses Flash 11, enabling users to have little or no security issues when using the new technology in a military or security intensive environment.

ZTech is quick to respond to user commands, contains an intuitive user interface, and requires no additional installs. This 3D browser based technology gives users the freedom they need to attend training or interactive meetings across the globe or in their own living room. ZTech helps to solve the problem of training personnel in a real world situation without having the time constraints, incurred costs, and travel requirements a real world scenario would entail. ECS’ newest technology provides excellent, dependable, and customizable training without a big resource price tag.

“With the combination of other ECS products such as Web Nexus and EMST, ZTech gives users the opportunity for collaboration and team work training that is simple – simple for Government use, simple interactions, and simple to meet the security requirements, stated Tracy Boyd, ECS’ ZTech Product Manager. “This is the easiest virtual world to use and to set up. That is because there is no set up.”

ZTech’s 3D virtual world ensures that users have an interactive experience that is ideal for training real world scenarios. For example, FEMA uses the ZTech to train for future disasters, so when real disasters strike, FEMA personalare prepared and experienced to handle them in the most effective and efficient manner possible.

ZTech’s robust framework includes extensive interaction and network managers, enhancing the user experience. The interaction manager gives ZTech enormous 3D object interaction capability, thus increasing user’s training and immersive experience. Also, since ZTech utilizes Flash 11; no additional installs are required and has minimum user hardware requirements. All a user needs is a browser and a willingness to learn.

About ECS

Engineering & Computer Simulations, Inc. is a software development and solutions company located in Orlando, Florida. The core mission of the organization is to provide advanced learning technology solutions to clients within the Commercial and Government sector. The company’s technology portfolio of immersive virtual worlds, serious gaming, performance assessment, staff training, and mobile innovations offers efficiencies in education, training and collaboration.

Media Contact: Terri Bernhardt (407) 883-5181

ECS Debuts Virtual Medic, Serious Game for Medical Training, at Worldwide Simulation Conference

November 30, 2011. Orlando, Fla. Engineering & Computer Simulations (ECS) announced today that they will be debuting an update to their serious game for medical training. The Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TC3) simulation was developed as a result of the partnership forged between Army Research Lab (ARL) Simulation Training Technology Center (STTC) and the U.S. Army Medical Department Center & School, the Department of Combat Medic Training (DCMT) at Fort Sam Houston, TX, to develop and implement new technologies to support simulation-based training environments for Army combat medics.

The United States Marine Corps leveraged the TC3 Sim game development to create the Computer Based Corpsmen Training System (CBCTS) and in the process, upgraded many of the TC3 features and capabilities. Additional research was required, however, to incorporate the CBCTS capabilities into the TC3 Sim baseline as well as migrate to an Open Source game engine, Ogre3D.

The Virtual Medic (vMedic) is an immersive, first person medical training system that presents students with an interactive 3D Serious Game for learning and practicing battlefield medicine. This system builds upon the US Army’s TC3 Sim and the US Marine Corps’ CBCTS. With vMedic, ECS aimed to improve and enhance the effectiveness of learning content delivered by state of the art instructional technologies to include porting the existing architecture to Ogre3D. The vMedic system also assists in developing new tactical environments with enhanced realism, expands from single player mode to multi-player mode allowing for collaborative training between a Combat Lifesaver and Medic, and integrates with ECS’ Learning Management System, SIMILE, for enhanced assessment capabilities and integration with other performance assessment systems such as MeTER.

vMedic represents the next generation serious game for medical training because it paves the way for collective medical training. “Much like tactical training, medical training focuses on a team. This game provides an opportunity for Combat Lifesavers and Medics to train together to save fallen warriors’ lives as they will do in theater,” stated Joe O’Connell, Vice President, Business Development, ECS. “Whether in the classroom or prior to deployment, trainees can practice critical thinking skills in collaboration with their counterparts, thus better preparing them for battlefield medicine.”

vMedic provides mission-driven scenarios that include synthetic casualties generated from realistic visual, behavioral, and physiological models. Combat Lifesavers and Medics are presented with one or multiple casualties that they must keep alive and evacuate by selecting the appropriate interventions during combat. The trainee takes on the first person view of a Combat Lifesaver or Medic attached to a unit in Afghanistan. During the mission, squad members and civilians are wounded and the injured have to be triaged, treated, and safely evacuated.

After each scenario, learners are presented with an After Action Review that analyzes and evaluates their decision-making skills. The AAR evaluates every critical measure of treatment on a casualty and provides an explanation of a learner’s performance and why it was, or was not successful. This assessment is encoded into rules that are active, based upon the casualties, or combination of casualties in any given scenario. A mission editor is also included that allows users to create and modify the environments, casualties, and scenarios a learner will encounter. New objects and environments can also be imported into the editor from a number of commercially available tools

About ECS

Engineering & Computer Simulations, Inc. is a software development and solutions company located in Orlando, Florida. The core mission of the organization is to provide advanced learning technology solutions to clients within the Commercial and Government sector. The company’s technology portfolio of immersive virtual worlds, serious gaming, performance assessment, staff training, and mobile innovations offers efficiencies in education, training and collaboration.

Media Contact: Terri Bernhardt (407) 883-5181

ECS Unveils Upgraded EMST, to Fully Customized Training

November 29, 2011. Orlando, Fla. Engineering & Computer Simulations (ECS) announced today added enhancements to the Emergency Manager Staff Trainer (EMST). The EMST is a simulation-based training system that allows individuals or teams to make decisions in realistic situations and see the outcomes. It is a completely web based program that does not require the user to install any software on their computer. Additionally, it is free to use.

The EMST trains novice to expert level with an emphasis on Naturalistic Decision making skills. This is achieved by first teaching the basic knowledge of a domain and tactical decision making. Once the user has a general understanding of their role, they can jump into individual training to refine their skills by exercising with simulated teammates. EMST also has the ability to run team exercises to teach the user how to make effective decisions as a team.

During an exercise, the user will be given injects from many different sources such as email, news articles, television news clips, simulated phone calls and more. These pieces of information will allow the user to make key decisions for their role within the simulation. Based on the user’s action, or inaction, there may be consequences that follow that change the outcome of the simulation.

EMST uses a variety of ways to gauge how the player is performing their role. These ways include tracking whether or not the user sent a key piece of information to another player, such as a filled out form, multiple choice questions, free response questions, and more. Throughout the exercise, these essential actions are automatically tracked and are viewable in an after action review. An instructor or facilitator also has the ability to grade the user’s free response questions and leave beneficial feedback on specific tasks to further improve training.

EMST use is on the rise, with over 1000 different users and clients. Some of the various current stakeholders include FEMA, the National Academies of Sciences, the National Guard Bureau, the Center for Disease Control, U.S. Army RDECOM, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

“Looking into the near future, one of the most requested features is about to make its debut – a scenario builder that will allow users to tailor existing scenarios or even create their own without the need of any programming experience,” stated Joe O’Connell, Vice President, Business Development. “This feature will make it possible to fully customize any training event to meet your organization’s specific training needs.”

About ECS

Engineering & Computer Simulations, Inc. is a software development and solutions company located in Orlando, Florida. The core mission of the organization is to provide advanced learning technology solutions to clients within the Commercial and Government sector. The company’s technology portfolio of immersive virtual worlds, serious gaming, performance assessment, staff training, and mobile innovations offers efficiencies in education, training and collaboration.

Media Contact: Terri Bernhardt (407) 883-5181

ECS Wins Five Year NATO ACT Contract to Develop Immersive Learning

November 28, 2011. Orlando, Fla. Engineering & Computer Simulations (ECS) announced today that it received a five year contract from the NATO Allied Command Transformation (ACT) to develop its Immersive Learning Environment.

NATO ACT is continuing its training transformation through the use of new advanced learning technologies to include immersive virtual worlds. ECS has previously been awarded three contracts to provide its Nexus virtual world solutions to meet a variety of requirements for NATO ACT. This new contract leverages the award-winning “Boarders Ahoy” prototype that ECS developed to support NATO maritime interdiction training requirements. Bringing the best of two worlds together, NATO ACT required the importing of the Nexus-based Boarders Ahoy into VBS Worlds. NATO ACT currently also uses VBS Worlds/VBS2 for myriad education and training efforts.

In partnership with Bohemia Interactive Simulations, ECS will develop a series of training scenarios to be used by NATO ACT Joint Force Trainer. Potentially, these will include Counter IED and Security training.

ECS Vice President and Chief Technologist Matt Spruill stated, “The merging of ECS’ and Bohemia’s technologies makes perfect sense for NATO given the synergies of both organizations and our solutions for joint force training.”

NATO ACT’s Immersive Learning Program Manager Paul Thurkettle stated, “Following the success of the Boarders Ahoy! prototype, NATO has fully recognized the potential value of this type of learning and working with VBS Worlds. We plan to develop a series of training scenarios to support NATO’s education and training needs.”

About ECS

Engineering & Computer Simulations, Inc. is a software development and solutions company located in Orlando, Florida. The core mission of the organization is to provide advanced learning technology solutions to clients within the Commercial and Government sector. The company’s technology portfolio of immersive virtual worlds, serious gaming, performance assessment, staff training, and mobile innovations offers efficiencies in education, training and collaboration.

Virtual Medic (vMedic) is a single-player and multi-player training system that uses game-engine based simulation and state-of-the-art instructional development technology to support a trainee’s need to master a variety of competencies and to apply them in unique situations. The simulation immerses trainee into scenario driven events intended to teach and evaluate a trainee’s knowledge regarding the essential tactics, techniques and procedures required to successfully perform as an Army Combat Medic and Combat Lifesaver (CLS). Those key tasks include the ability to assess casualties, perform triage, provide initial treatment, and prepare a casualty for evacuation under battlefield conditions.

The Emergency Management Staff Trainer is a multi-player simulation-based exercise system geared toward emergency response professionals. EMST provides scenarios, exercises, and other capabilities that support the structure of the National Incident Management System (NIMS), including both individual and team training for the fifteen FEMA Emergency Support Functions (ESFs). EMST is an all-hazards trainer, with a range of scenarios including natural disasters, terrorist attacks, pandemic, and civil unrest. Each EMST exercise scenario presents an unfolding situation through email, news videos, website articles, simulated phone calls, meetings, maps, images, and other injects, and requires the participant to take action to respond to or mitigate the situation.

EMST is web-based and requires no software installation; participants simply log in through any available web browser and proceed through an exercise. Scenarios within EMST are scalable and can provide role-specific training for a single person, a team, or multiple agencies working together in any domain where communication, collaboration, workflow, processes and procedures are critical. EMST also incorporates an After Action Review capability and automatically assesses how well each participant handles each situation, which results in a full readiness assessment. Although EMST is broad in scope, scenarios can be tailored to specifically address the complex requirements associated with the disaster medical response community. These tailored scenarios will enable a disaster response team to achieve particular readiness levels over a variety of mission types. Readiness levels can be achieved individually, as a team, and as an organization.