TATRC West / SUMMIT Workshop at MMVR

Creating Games & Simulations for Learning-One Year Later

Government Funding Initiatives.....and how to use them

David ShorrockMMVR 2006

OVERVIEW

Introduction

Topics One view of the landscape and the opportunity for serious

games in the Government Medical Training and Simulation Segment

The challenges faced by the Defense Community in the technology and solutions acquisition process

The contemporary and future operating environment-Afghanistan and Iraq.

Training solutions to the warfighter. Training Transformation

The process for Broad Agency Agreements (BAA’s), Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR’s) and budgeting for large training system deployments

Future Challenges and Opportunities A Combat Medic Story

THE PLAYING FIELD

Military advocates of Serious Games see this as a positive ”disruptive technology” in the context of a new training solution.

Cambridge University Press dictionary definition: disruptive“causing trouble and therefore stopping something from

continuing as usual” Skeptics renew their subscription to the “Flat Earth Society”

The Department of Defense has mandated “Training Transformation”, which seeks to change the way our forces are trained for combat and non-combatant operations; aka “Train as we Fight”

Their “Way points for the future”; Individual Units trained prior to their arrival at the Combatant

Command New Joint Operational Capabilities in a “Future Force” Real Time Planning and Mission Rehearsal and Situational

Awareness

THE CONTEMPORARY OPERATING ENVIRONMENT

Defined by the global war on terror and peacekeeping in Afghanistan and Iraq.

For the Combat Medic this “asymmetric warfare” is illustrated by such events as those depicted in “Blackhawk Down”; an example of the “three-block” war and things that can go wrong. There is a training and education impact now, and solutions are needed today Emergency Medical Aid to Civilians Army 91W Combat Medics, Navy Corpsmen, Air Force Nurses, Special

Operations Forces Para-Rescue and Physicians have to adapt The Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear or Explosive (CBRNE)

threat to all nations Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Relief (Emergency Services, Police,

Guard/Reserve) Coalition and multi-cultural participation Examples of the requirements changing:

Consideration of multi-player game technology for team and forward deployed collaborative training and advanced distance learning

Medical Mission Rehearsal-Mission Preparedness Joint Missions; “train as we fight” now equals joint training. Army

91W schoolhouse will provide joint (multi-service) training Transition to peacekeeping; civilians and training for IRAQI

authorities

ACQUISITION CHALLENGES

The training solutions needed today, were not imagined at the beginning of the program budget (POM) and funding cycle

At this time, Program Executive Officers ( PEO’s) have very few budget line items for game-based training,

Today’s recruits, and even seasoned combat medics or pilots, expect this technology to be part of their training

There has been relatively little consideration of the “learning wrapper” in which game technology can be delivered and validated

The good news! The problem is known, and efforts to transform are underway,

and can be recognized by the subject matter of R&D requirements in solicitations such as BAA’s (Broad Agency Announcements), SBIR’s (Small Business Innovative Research). There are some “work-arounds”, based on a high priority operational needs statement.

BAA, SBIR & PROGRAM PROCESS

BAA Contract vehicle extends over multiple years Large budgets >$50m Large corporations compete Annual “calls” for topics Start with a white paper

SBIR Small Business set-aside Designed to produce an innovative, marketable product Low proposal expense (15 pages) Three phases; $100K+, $500k+ then a commercialization plan (This is a

very important evaluation factor) Large Training System Programs

Example; Army 91W Combat Medic Training Centers for PEOSTRI Medical component for all Constructive (war-games) simulation Future Combat System-Embedded Training

LINKS TO SOME SBIR AND BAA SITES

Army Research Institute-BAA and SBIR http://www.rdecom.army.mil/STTC/baa.html http://www.aro.army.mil/arowash/rt/sbir/sbir_process.htm

United States Air Force-Force Health Protection BAA http://www.fbo.gov/spg/USAF/DRU/11CONS/BAA%2D06%2D01/listing.html

Office of Naval Research-BAA’s/SBIR’s http://www.navysbir.com/

Special Operations Forces http://www.dodsbir.net/solicitation/sbir061/socom061.htm

Business opportunities US Navy and Army Simulation http://www.ntsc.navy.mil/EBusiness/BusOps/Acquisitions/Index.cfm?

client=NAWCTSD http://www.fbo.gov/spg/DON/NAVAIR/N61339/N61339%2D06%2DR%2D0003/

listing.html SBIR Home Page

http://www.acq.osd.mil/sadbu/sbir/overview/index.htm Federal Business Opportunities

http://fedbizopps.gov/

And many more....... http://www.google.com/

WHAT ARE THE OPPORTUNITIES?

ALWAYS LOOK FOR CHANGE!

Some current SBIR Topics; Team Training-Cognitive Joint Training-Cultural and Situation Awareness In-theatre sustainment training-Advanced Distance Learning

and connectivity to the schoolhouse Mission rehearsal

Some current BAA Topics Introduction of new treatments/assets for field medicine Metrics for game technology training solutions Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Special Operations Field/Mission Medicine; physiology

modeling and triage CBRNE Emergency Preparedness

Get involved with Government Subject Matter Experts, EARLY

FUTURE CHALLENGES FOR GAME TECHNOLGY IN MEDICAL TRAINING

FOCUS ON THE CONTEMPORARY OPERATING ENVIRONMENT Team/Joint Distance Learning Mission Rehearsal Commercial off-the-shelf Hardware

TRAINING ANALYSIS Have a clear view of the new technology available, but allow the

training objective to determine the solution. Keep game immersion and free-play (fun?) as a viable learning principle

The US Military must have an environment in which to place an instructor or coach (roles to be re-defined) and the tools to enable after-action review

REALISM (clinical integrity) Put realism where it is has measurable training value. Physiology

models can be incorporated into game characters. (Avatars). It does not have to be real, all the time. Depends on the training objective. (Part-task training)

METRICS are essential Training effectiveness-training transfer Return on investment in terms of competency, reduced cost, patient

safety and outcome

A Demonstration of Multi-Player Game Technology To the Secretary of the Army - July 2005

A Demonstration of Multi-Player Game Technology To the Secretary of the Army - July 2005

Demo Showcased STTC Asymmetric Warfare Virtual Training Technology Cordon and Search Mission Recent Combat Veterans supported scenario development and participated in the exercise Active participants: Soldiers and West Point Cadets at STTC, Wounded Soldiers at Walter

Reed, Iraqi Role Players,and O/Cs at NTC

THE POWER OF SERIOUS GAMES IN A MEDICAL SETTING

Here is the story of a Navy Corpsman, who was a recovering, double amputated, gun-shot wounded survivor of an incident in IRAQ. He was convalescing at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center

He was invited to participate as the combat medic in a Baghdad high-value target re-con patrol, during which a hostage situation resulted in a soldier down. From his wheelchair, he played the role of a combat medic in this virtual training scenario, using multi-player game technology from Forterra Systems

He learned the game and understood the mission in 15 minutes. His emotional connection to this situation was profound. As a

double amputee, he was able to role-play an able-bodied combat medic and “return to duty”. The physcology of this moment was remarkable and is just one manifestation of the powerful potential for game technology in a medical training and therapeutic environment

THANKS....QUESTIONS?