The agreement between the Army and the university promotes research engagement in areas of mutual benefit. The CRADA will provide the Army with innovative science and technology solutions. The effort also provides students at Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ with the opportunity to intern with the Army where they can contribute to the development of science, engineering, mathematical and information technological solutions. The two organizations benefit mutually through the sharing of laboratory space, capabilities, and equipment among other assets.

Outreach and mentoring the next generation of scientists and engineers is a vital part of the mission of DEVCOM Soldier Center. Research agreements like this provide the Army with potential new talent helping to fuel innovative ideas that benefit the nation’s warfighters and the nation, according to the Army.

The connection between Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ and the Army goes back to the 1990s through the university’s . The growing relationship led to the first CRADA between what was then the U.S. Army Research Development and Engineering Command and the Simulation and Training Technology Center at Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½. That agreement led to the expansion of collaborative science and technology work in the areas of medical modeling and simulation, super-computing, and cultural awareness training.

“As we enter into this new agreement, we not only strengthen our partnership, but we bolster our current and future workforce with the best scientists and engineers,â€� says Craig L. Rettie, director of the Research and Technology Integration for U.S. Army DECVOM SC. “… It will provide a collaborative laboratory environment for engineers and scientists from the Soldier Center, Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ and other partnering organizations working on technology to enhance technical knowledge of the basic and applied research areas. Finally, this collective effort will help to identify emerging simulation technologies and applications that will efficiently and cost-effectively support the Army.â€�

Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ serves as an academic anchor for Central Florida’s $6 billion modeling and simulation industry. The university is also the No. 1 supplier of graduates to U.S. aerospace and defense industries and has strengths in lasers and optics, cyber security, sensor sand microelectronics, machine learning and AI, simulation, and training and hyper sonics.

“While the unrelenting pace of technological advancements makes this a challenging time, it also presents an amazing opportunity for those willing to work together to have a significant impact on society,â€� says Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ President Alexander N. Cartwright. “This CRADA will help Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ faculty develop a better understanding of the modeling and simulation community. It will also provide greater opportunities for our students to learn of a multitude of possible career paths in this rapidly evolving research and development area and help them be well positioned to enter private industry or government.â€�

Held at the Founders Inn and Spa in Virginia Beach, Va., the International RoboBoat Competition challenges student teams to race autonomous surface vehicles (ASV) – vehicles that operate on the surface of the water without a crew – of their own design through an aquatic obstacle course.

The competition’s maritime obstacle course included an optional navigation channel and advanced challenges that include: docking and deploying an amphibious robot, shooting foam darts through hula-hoops on the shoreline, capturing a flag that was moving on a small boat, identifying a push button near the shore and depressing it, and identifying and classifying a heated target on the shore.

Sponsored by the Army Research Lab’s Simulation and Training Technology Center (STTC) and Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½â€™s Institute for Simulation and Training (IST), students from the Robotics Club at Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ worked on their boat’s design for the past year. They made improvements in hardware and software to last year’s entry, the Grey Goose, which won fourth place.

The team struggled early on in this year’s competition with a hardware issue that caused the robot’s motor to cut-off during runs early in the week. The team persevered and perfectly navigated the channel in the final round, winning them second place.

Teams were judged based on their performance during the course, in addition to utility of their team website. Teams were also required to submit a ten page journal paper and presentation video for evaluation by the judges. The paper described the design of the vehicle and rationale behind the design choice.

The competition was created in 2008 as an opportunity for students to develop skills in systems engineering by accomplishing realistic missions with ASV’s. The competition’s goal is to get young engineers excited about careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).

The competition draws entries from all over the world. Competitors included teams from Bradley University, Cedarville University, Electronic Engineering Polytechnic Institute of Surabaya, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Florida Atlantic University, National Cheng Kung University, Old Dominion University, University of Florida, University of Michigan, University of Rhode Island, University of Texas at Arlington and Villanova University.

The Robotics Club at Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ includes:  Brandon Parmeter, Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ student and team captain; Andrew Watson, Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ student and lead software developer; Christopher Brice, Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ student; and Daniel Barber, Ph.D., a research associate at Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ and faculty advisor for the team.

“Competition this year was extremely competitive,� said Barber. “Despite challenges and bad weather, our team persevered and excelled. As always, we’d like to thank all our supporters from STTC and IST. The experience the students receive is invaluable, and it wouldn’t be possible without the help of our supporters.�

The game won one of four awards presented to Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ researchers at the recent Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference in Orlando.

Garden Defense, designed by students working in the RETRO Lab at the university’s Institute for Simulation and Training, was chosen as the Best Student Game at the conference’s Serious Games Showcase & Challenge. The game is a component of a more comprehensive simulation, Walk in My Shoes, which provides information about everything troops need to do before they deploy, including conflict management and strategies to cope when they come home. The game tries to prepare troops for the military experience and the possible effects of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Garden Defense is played as an assessment to determine which information needs to be reviewed by troops about to be deployed. Developers designed a game that requires players to answer questions correctly to generate currency needed to continue playing.

Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Modeling and Simulation doctoral student Lucas Blair designed the game. Blair, with RETRO Lab teammates Danielle Chelles and Katelyn Procci, managed production. Danielle Chelles provided art assistance and Skyler Goodell, an undergraduate in the university’s computer engineering program, provided programming assistance. The subject-matter expert was clinical psychologist Michael Kofler, and the instructional systems architect was Anya Andrews. RETRO Lab directors are professors Clint Bowers and Jan Cannon-Bowers.

Development of the game was funded by the military’s Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health & Traumatic Brain Injury.

Other Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ awards at the conference:

* Two of six finalists in the Governor’s Award for Outstanding Achievement in Modeling and Simulation were from IST. They competed in a field of 58 teams and individuals from academia, government and private industry.

Judges selected IST for developments in practical ways to produce effective training, including the use of digital puppeteers, portable battlefield first-aid training devices and mobile-learning technology.

Also selected as a finalist was a team from IST’s ACTIVE Lab leading a project for the Office of Naval Research. Headed by IST’s Stephanie Lackey, the team developed a system that enables leaders from small military units to harness the power of simulation-based technology to provide training.

The Governor’s Award was presented to a team from the U.S. Army Research Laboratory, Human Research and Engineering Directorate, which works in the Simulation & Training Technology Center in the Central Florida Research Park next to the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ campus.

* Marissa Shuffler, a Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ psychology graduate, was presented with a $10,000 scholarship. Shuffler is a doctoral candidate and a graduate research associate at IST. Her areas of expertise include team and leader training and development, intercultural collaboration, multi-team systems, and decision-making/adaptation, with an emphasis on high-risk and complex environments.