Get ready for acronyms. In a press release we received, Forterra Systems says that it will be working with the Orlando-based Defense Department’s Joint Advanced Distributed Learning (JADL) Co-Laboratory, with the aim of determining how MMO games might best be used in military counter-IED training -- Forterra says they'll even develop a demo prototype.

In other words, the effort is targeted to directly benefit the current U.S. military mission in Iraq, developing a highly realistic virtual training environment based on MMO technology that can support counter-IED training capabilities. Although this particular venture will focus on the IED mission, Forterra says the results will be applicable to other defense missions and training requirements.

The system that the Forterra team develops might even lead to an optional further project -- its possibly use in actual trials to study the training of soldiers around key aspects of counter-
IED operations.

The specifics of the research and development phase initially involve the provision by Forterra to JADL of its Forterra’s OLIVE (On-Line Interactive Virtual Environment) software platform that enables the generation of collaborative 3D online virtual worlds that can be scaled from single user applications to large-scale simulated environments supporting thousands of concurrent users.

The Forterra-led team includes Intelligent Decision Systems, Inc. (IDSI) and Rustici Software. IDSI will provide support for the instructional design required to determine the efficacy of the MMO tech as it's modified to support SCORM standards, while Rustici Software will provide valuable experience and insight into the technical issues around SCORM standards, Shareable Content Objects (SCOs), and the ADL runtime environments.

“Advanced distributed learning, reuse of content, and game technologies offer potential solutions for the training challenges facing the U.S. military, such as how to effectively combat Improvised Explosive Devices, or IEDs,” said Mike Macedonia, VP and general manager of Forterra’s National Security Division. “The research that we are undertaking will focus on defining technologies, interfaces, and standards so SCORM-compliant content can be used in an immersive 3D environment where smallor large groups of users that are physically distributed can collaborate for the purpose of training, experimentation or mission rehearsal.”