World's Largest Modeling and Simulation Event Set

ARLINGTON, Va., Nov. 5, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The largest and most comprehensive conference and exhibition of modeling, simulation and virtual reality technology in the world will run from November 30 to December 4 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando.  Featured this year are a number of ground-breaking events demonstrating current capabilities of the technology, making this year's event the most diverse, exciting and relevant yet.

Both the Chief of Naval Operations and the Commandant of the US Marine Corps will attend this year, as well as several members of Congress.  This level of official attendance demonstrates the national importance of the event, known as the Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference, (I/ITSEC).  This year, I/ITSEC will feature 500 corporate, government, research, and academic exhibitors and is expected to attract over 15,000 attendees, many from overseas.

Critical national security issues will be exhaustively probed through a series of special events and via dozens of professional papers and presentations. The many other areas modeling, simulation and virtual reality are expanding into will also be represented on the exhibition hall floor.  These areas include healthcare and epidemiology, construction, maintenance, transportation and distribution, disaster preparedness, climate and weather research, and industrial research and production.

A number of revolutionary events are scheduled for this year's I/ITSEC, including Operation Blended Warrior, Black Swan and Cyber.  Operation Blended Warrior will provide I/ITSEC 2015 attendees with an examination of live, virtual and constructive capabilities (LVC) within the confines of the Convention Center.  Over 30 government and industry partners will bring LVC capabilities into a common environment in support of challenges presented in war-game-like scenarios.  The participants will tackle the challenges in the scenario as a team, rather than as competitors.  

This year, the event will use a Black Swan scenario (humanitarian assistance following a major disaster) as a backdrop.  In future years, additional complexities and concentrations will be added to the event construct. By nature, Black Swan is a low-probability, high impact event that is difficult to predict but extremely disruptive.  The event will explore the issue of whether these scenarios are truly unpredictable and therefore inherently impossible to plan for in advance. Only through virtual reality can one plan for and rehearse these events and predict their consequences, and I/ITSEC 2015 is breaking ground by exploring this phenomenon.

Perhaps the timeliest of all special events this year is an exploration of cyber risks and potential mitigation.  A world-class panel of cyber experts will share lessons from their cyber training experiences to assess the current training landscape. Together, they will address critical cyber readiness issues that ask: How can we train cyber in the right way and what role can DoD and other federal agencies play in participation with industry and academia?

In addition to these special events, I/ITSEC 2015 will also explore: blending live and synthetic training; advances in medical simulation and training in both civilian and military contexts; involvement of industry in NATO exercises; an Energy Forum where power plant simulation and training will be discussed; and the huge potential of serious games. Combined, this programming makes I/ITSEC the most important date on the calendar for anyone involved in modeling, simulation, virtual reality, gaming and a host of other related fields.  Join us at I/ITSEC 2015 as we "Forge the Future through Research and Innovation."

John Williams (Media) Debbie Langelier (All other questions)