Virtual Worlds OverviewDTIC Presentation

Eric Hackathorn5/24/2010

What are virtual worlds?

3-D Visualizations

• Immersive storytelling

• Bringing research to life

Social Interaction

• Communication• Collaboration• Community

Global Audience

• Scalable experiences

• Untapped market

… and creating scalable branded experiences.

Taking flagship organizational assets…

Virtual World Demonstrations

Less Interactivity• Video, Photo

Sharing• Podcasting• RSS

More Interactivity• Blogs• Social Networking• Wikis• Contact & Location

Sharing

Most Interactivity• Virtual Worlds

OpenSimAn Open Source Virtual World Alternative

Demonstration

Demonstration

Why should DTIC care?

30%

22%18%

15%

10%4% 1%1%ArmyIndustryNavyAir ForceDOD WideEducationalFed GovForeign

Helen Q. Sherman, 2008 DTIC Registered Users

DTIC Stakeholders

Army RecruitmentArmy

; 30%

•One of the ten most popular PC action games played online•Virtual recruitment center provides interaction with combat veterans•In-world training based off of Army standards•Effort augmented by Second Life islands• Information hub and providing other outreach activities

Northrop Grumman Industry22%

“It didn’t take long to identify a myriad of effective uses that could either save corporate monies or generate them. We found a way that this could benefit every single NGC employee”

• --Matt Furman, Project Lead, Northrop Grumman

Naval Undersea Warfare Center Navy18%

•Thirteen regions in Second Life named after submarine classes•Visitor center with information on all the divisions•Virtual attack center to simulate various combat situations•Sonar data visualizations

Air Force MyBase ProgramAir Force

15%

•Every new cadet would be issued an avatar•Avatar follows cadet throughout their career•Airmen can attend virtual training and receive credit•Recruitment information and outreach

“MiLands” or Military Islands DOD Wide10%

•A growing joint military virtual continent•Family counseling, simulation, prototype testing, and training•Starting virtual joint military exercises

How can DTIC get involved?

What is vGov?

Pros• Multi-agency inertia• Securely hosted• Strong

authentication• Knowledgeable

staff

Cons• Unknown price

structure• Externally hosted• Internal

applications only• Virtual world

technology changes fast

vGov Highlights

vastparkhttp://www.vastpark.com/

Pros• Lightweight

“player”• Industry

standard formats including IMML

• Asset discovery service

Cons• Looks like a solid

platform, but until last week I had personally seen very little content

Vastpark Highlights

Teleplacehttp://www.teleplace.com/

Pros• Large scale

meetings• Telepresence

augmentation• Cross platform

application sharing

Cons• Telepresence

augmentation• Limited physics

Teleplace Highlights

web.alivehttp://avayalive.com/WaStore/

Pros• Simple web

plugin• Based off the

sophisticated UDK engine

Cons• Much of the

UDK engine hasn’t been implemented

• Limited physics

web.alive highlights

OLIVEhttp://www.saic.com/products/simulation/olive/

Pros• Long history

with the government

• Strong physics capabilities

Cons• Sizable client

download• Recent

company turnover

OLIVE Highlights

DTIC Use Cases

Advancements to

search capabilities

(DTIC Online)Data visualization

Procurement design contests (DefenseSolutions.gov)“Ask a Librarian”

Integrated customer interface

Document management processScience fairs

Collaborative design &

development

Recruiting &

onboardingLearning &

developmentRemote facility management

Meetings &

conferences

Advancements in Search

Imagine a vast virtual work area….

Populated with millions of data objects…

Analyzed by thousands of people…

DTIC’s Document Network

Advancements in Procurement

“We are presenting a problem without specifying a solution.”

– Christopher Thomas

http://fvwc.army.mil/FVWC-Main.html

•Reaching a global development community •Innovative training and analysis solutions•Collaboration, skill buildings, instruction, and visualization categories•Open to all contestants•Winners showcased at GameTech•25+ “real” submissions received•Government and non-government winners•~50K in prize money

Advancements inFirewall Visualizations

• Contact me!• Join a virtual world and create an avatar• Ask your kids about virtual worlds• Ask your staff about virtual worlds• Bookmark several virtual world news sites• Read DTIC’s Vision Paper for Virtual Worlds (Due

Sept 2010)

An Executive Guide forKeeping Up with the Virtual World

Questions?virtual.worlds@noaa.gov