VANCOUVER, B.C., 28 Nov. 2005. NGRAIN announced today that the U.S. Army's Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) is using the company's interactive 3D training solution to deliver potentially life-saving training to soldiers performing Battle Damage Assessment and Repair (BDAR) procedures on the Stryker armored vehicle.
The Stryker BDAR training program has been deployed to Camp Victory, Iraq, as well as bases in the United States, within a timeline of 90 days.
As a result of feedback from soldiers in Iraq, TRADOC and the Army Training Support Center (ATSC) identified the need to provide troops with more extensive BDAR training on the Stryker. With a limited number of BDAR instructors, and Stryker Brigade soldiers geographically distributed in the United States and Iraq, TRADOC and ATSC quickly determined that they could not depend on delivering the training via onsite instructor-led classes.
TRADOC and ATSC decided to deliver the mission critical training via distributed learning technologies, leveraging NGRAIN's unique interactive 3D solution. Traditionally, the distributed learning development process would take 12 to 18 months to complete. However, NGRAIN worked closely with the Army, Camber, C2 Technologies, and CollabWorx to complete the project in an unprecedented 90 days.
"The NGRAIN team worked with us as a partner, providing exceptional training, mentoring and support, " said Jim Threlfall, deputy division manager of C2 Technologies and project manager. "The resulting courseware, which has already been field tested in Iraq and the U.S., is enabling soldiers to get the latest information and techniques to survive on the battlefield."
The Stryker BDAR courseware uses NGRAIN's interactive 3D training solution in conjunction with multimedia such as Macromedia Flash. In addition to being delivered as part of the self-paced course, the NGRAIN solution is fully integrated with CollabWorx audio, video, instant messaging and document sharing and deployed on the Army network. Soldiers in Mobile Training Classrooms in Iraq are using the self-paced courseware, as well as interacting collaboratively over the Web with instructors located at Army installations in the United States.
The NGRAIN-enabled BDAR training solution is in use at Camp Victory in Iraq, Aberdeen Proving Ground, and Fort Benning in the United States, and has shown immediate results:
* proving that task-based interactive 3D-enhanced training content can be developed within 90 days in response to new training requirements from the field
* delivering critical BDAR training to soldiers in the field that allows virtual hands-on practice
* reducing the need for instructors to travel, while providing soldiers with access to training content and instructors anytime, anywhere
* improving the effectiveness of training by immersing soldiers in a scenario-based simulated environment, and
* increasing soldiers' confidence in their ability to perform BDAR tasks
"The ability for NGRAIN Professional Services and partners to meet the Army's demanding 90-day deployment requirement is a testament to the ease-of-use of NGRAIN's interactive 3D training solution. Using NGRAIN, the Army was able to deliver mission critical training to soldiers significantly sooner than via traditional methods, while also accelerating the learning process itself. We feel privileged to have been a part of this project," says Gabe Batstone, vice president for sales and professional services at NGRAIN.
NGRAIN delivers interactive 3D task-based training solutions to the defense industry. The company's solutions expedite installation, maintenance and repair training on complex equipment, and ensure first-time-right performance, resulting in greater operational readiness at lower cost.
By delivering an unsurpassed level of 3D interactivity on common PCs, and empowering everyday computer users to rapidly produce information-rich virtual equipment to enhance existing electronic training materials, NGRAIN is unique in its ability to transform training and optimize operations at a significantly lower cost.
NGRAIN customers include the U.S. Army and Air Force, the Canadian Department of National Defence, and Lockheed Martin. NGRAIN also licenses its breakthrough graphics technology to leading organizations across multiple industries and application areas. For more information, see www.ngrain.com.
