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The world’s largest modeling, simulation, and training (MS&T) event is set to open Monday, Nov. 28 at the Orange County Convention Center.
More than 17,000 attendees are expected to participate in the 2022 Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference (I/ITSEC) where they will be exposed to professional workshops, paper presentations, tutorials, competitions, STEM events, and more than 450 exhibitors centered in MS&T.
Organized and sponsored by the National Training and Simulation Association (NTSA), the theme for I/ITSEC 2022 is “Accelerate Change by Transforming Training — “It’s Time to ACTT!!””
The official event kickoff is the Opening Ceremony, which will feature remarks from the I/ITSEC Conference Chair, Matt Spruill, Trideum Corporation, a Fireside Chat with senior military leaders, and an industry keynote speech by the CEO of Trideum Corporation, Van Sullivan. This will take place in the Hyatt Windermere Ballroom on Nov. 29, at 8:15 a.m.
During the Fireside Chat, General David W. Allvin, U.S. Air Force Vice Chief of Staff and Major General Shawn N. Bratton, U.S. Space Force Commander for Space Training and Readiness Command, will discuss their perspectives on the impact of MS&T and I/ITSEC for the military services.
Another major I/ITSEC event featuring senior military leaders is the Senior Leader Panel. Held immediately following the opening ceremonies in the Windermere Ballroom, the panel includes senior representatives from U.S. Military Services, DHS, OSD and NATO.
During the panel, these senior military leaders will address current and future environments within the context of this year’s conference theme, “Accelerate Change by Transforming Training – It’s Time to ACTT!” As global forces continue to be challenged by erratic budgets and complex threats, the services continue to prepare for a wide array of missions that range from disaster assistance to the return of great power competition. With the opportunities and challenges presented to the services by accelerating technology and cybersecurity, the panel will have a wide variety of subjects to discuss.
Moderating the panel, Rear Adm. James Robb, USN (Ret), NTSA President, will navigate the issues with panelists, who include: Dr. Dimitri Kusnezov, Under Secretary for Science and Technology, Department of Homeland Security; Lt. Gen. Kevin M. Iiams, Commanding General, USMC Training and Education Command; Vice Adm. Francis “Frank” Morley, Principal Military Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research, Development and Acquisition); Caroline Baxter, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (DASD) for Force Education and Training; Lisa Costa, Ph.D., SES, U.S. Space Force Chief Technology and Innovation Officer (CTIO); Kevin D. Stamey, SES, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Director for Information Dominance Programs; and Lt. Gen. Michael Claesson, Swedish Army Chief of Joint Operations.
Another key feature of this year’s conference is the “Next Big Thing” (NBT). Focused on the next 3-5 years, the NBT Forum supports government, industry, and academia to explore the use and impact of technological advancements. This year, many of the NBT forums enable novel discussions and perspectives on XR and the Metaverse.
The NBT Talx series includes senior military, government, academic, and industry leaders.
Imagining the Future Fight Through Emerging Technologies
Monday, November 28, 2:30-3:45 p.m., Room W 300 (Theatre)
Changes in technology are fundamentally altering the future battlespace, with key implications for how the military may plan, train, and conduct operations. This panel discussion, which will result in a podcast released by the U.S. Army’s Mad Scientist Laboratory, explores the emerging technologies that may radically reshape the future of competition and conflict — from extended reality interfaces to artificial intelligence, and new means to empower the metaverse.
The Consumer Metaverse Meets Defense
Wednesday, November 30, 8:30-10 a.m., Room W 311 ABCD
A global and converging evolution of technology, the Metaverse is going further than the classic boundaries that currently exist in the simulation and training community. Viewing the Metaverse through an MS&T lens limits understanding of its full potential. The innovation coming from the simulation industry has started to converge with other industries. Nowhere is this truer than with the foundational technologies used to build the metaverse. Thought leaders from several industries who’ve adopted the advancements provided by the Metaverse will discuss how these changes have benefited their paths into the future.
Beyond the Hype: Perspectives on XR and the Metaverse for Training
Wednesday, November 30, 10:30 a.m. – noon, Room W 311 ABCD
General Charles Brown, Jr. challenged the Department of the Air Force (DAF) to accelerate change or lose. The DAF and other DoD organizations are tapping into the power of extended reality (XR) to rise to this challenge with respect to training and education. The goal is to transform training to develop warfighters that maintain superiority in mission capability, readiness, and lethality. XR experts and influencers from government and industry will share what it means to change the training paradigm and how XR-powered immersive training is being adopted to prepare U.S. forces to dominate and win the high-end fight. Panel discussion will include how XR will revolutionize training and enhance the U.S. military’s competitive advantage and will highlight realized successes in application of XR to eliminate skill gaps and instructor shortages.
Defense Leaders’ Perspectives on the Military Metaverse
Wednesday, November 30, 2-3:30 p.m., Room W 311 ABCD
The metaverse is the next era in the evolution of the internet – a 3D spatial overlay of the web linking the digital world to our physical world. In this new iteration of the internet, websites will become interconnected 3D spaces akin to the world we live in and experience every day. Many of these virtual worlds will be reflections of the real world linked and synchronized in real time. They will be designed for training, simulation, gaming, socializing, and even entertainment, matching the real world’s laws of physics in some cases, but often choosing to break them to make the experiences more engaging.
Simulators, XR devices, and robots will act as portals between the physical and virtual worlds. Humans will portal into virtual worlds with VR and AR devices while AIs will portal out to the physical world via robots. Just like in the infancy of the internet, no one can predict exactly how it will grow or how large it will become. But today, the foundations are being laid and require two things. First, a standard, open and extensible way to describe all of the things in the virtual worlds of the metaverse similar to HTML’s purpose in today’s 2D world. Secondly, a computing platform designed for the creation and simulation of virtual worlds is the next era of the 3D internet.
Vision of the Military Metaverse
Wednesday, November 30, 4-5:30 p.m., Room W 311 ABCD
In the final NBT Talx series event, panelists will provoke thought about the potential and power of the military metaverse. As technology converges and moves beyond the limits of legacy live, virtual, and constructive simulations, the military is poised to leverage the significant investment and advancements made in the commercial metaverse market, and to harness the power of the metaverse to improve readiness for the complex battlespace. Attendees can expect to leave this Talx series event with a vision for how their organization can harness and contribute to the metaverse.
I/ITSEC offers a number of other opportunities to engage with technology and innovation, including the IronDev Competition, I/ITSECverse, the Serious Games Showcase and Challenge, and the conference’s Cyber Pavilion. The conference also features a number of tutorials, paper presentations, and panels to stay in touch with the future of MS&T. Learn more about the NBT Talx and other events by visiting the detailed I/ITSEC agenda.
To register for I/ITSEC, visit https://www.iitsec.org/.
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