DATE: Tuesday, July 8, 1997                 TAG: 9707080278

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SERIES: SUFFOLK/ORLANDO 

SOURCE: By KATRICE FRANKLIN, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: ORLANDO, FLA.                     LENGTH:  142 lines

SIMULATION REACHES INTO CIVILIAN SECTORFROM GAMES TO SCHOOLING, EXPERTS SAY THE INDUSTRY IS GOING TO EXPLODE, PERHAPS LIKE THE INTERNET HAS.

Think back to when you were in school trying to learn all that stuff about Columbus.

You sat there, pen in hand, head spinning, as the teacher droned on. 1492 . for trading.

And then came the test and all those facts seemed to sail out the window and out of your mind.

What year was that? What three ships?

But what if,instead of that lecture, you were told to sit in a room with a computer, and you could see Christopher Columbus cruise into view? You could actually feel the ocean breeze, hear the birds, and even sway with the ships' motions? Wouldn't that history lesson have been more interesting? And that test simple?

In the near future, many educators predict, that's how children will be taught.

Simulation also will impact on much of our every day life in the 21st century. Building your house won't involve just glancing at blueprints. You'll be able to sit with your architect, walk through your home and physically feel if that closet is big enough. Instead of hiring traffic engineers to study the bottlenecks in your neighborhood, you'll be able to dial up your street, plug in statistics and analyze how to diminish the driving chaos yourself.

``The applications will be endless,'' said Thomas Mastaglio,director of the a state nonprofit simulation center in Suffolk. ``It will be to us like the Internet is today.''

Run by Old Dominion University, the Virginia Modeling Analysis and Simulation Center wants to be a leader in bringing simulation into the commercial world. And to Hampton Roads.

On College Drive at Tidewater Community College, the center is minutes away from Suffolk's military simulation facility where technology is used to train troops.

ODU envisions Hampton Roads growing into one of the nation's leading simulation centers, much like Orlando's Alafaya Trail. The area houses about 150 simulation companies that have pumped millions of dollars into Orlando's economy and generated more than 8,000 $50,000-a-year jobs. By contrast, 50 percent of two-income families in Suffolk make about $44,600, according to the 1990 census report.

But achieving Orlando's success, could be a long road. Unlike Orlando's simulation center, which has had 15 years to attract the buildings and businesses, Suffolk's center is basically Mastaglio.

Experts predict, though, that the industry is waiting to explode.

``Hundreds of billions of dollars worldwide are spent in the simulation industry,'' said Ralph V. Rogers, program coordinator for the modeling and simulation curriculum at the University of Central Florida. ``Unfortunately it's been buried - not articulated well.''

But that, Rogers said, is going to change. ``It'll be a tool to deal with the complexities of the 21st century.''

While most people think of simulation as technology's latest frontier, it has been around for years.

``We've done simulation forever,'' said William M. Yerkes, captain at the Navy center in Orlando, which awards simulation contracts. ``A flash card for Morse code is one of the simplest forms.''

Simulation originally was used in the military to create battle scenarios and to train enlisted soldiers. The technology is now essential in the their daily practices. It's saferand cheaper, which is vital at a time when the defense industry is short of federal dollars.

``When you use a simulator of an airplane, you don't have to buy the fuel,'' Yerkes said. ``If you learn to shoot a gun with one, you shoot fewer bullets. Then you don't have the environmental considerations. You don't have to pick up lead from the water.''

The technology saved the Navy facility $43 million in fiscal year 1991 alone, he said. The cost to fly a flight trainer is almost $4,000 an hour. Operating a flight simulator is only about $220. That is a savings ratio of 18-to-1.

``Simulation is not a replacement for live training, but it does supplement it,'' said Col. Jim B. Godwin, chief of staff in the Army simulation center in Orlando. ``There aren't as many restrictions. No one's ever died in a simulator.''

Many of the military's simulations are now being used in the civilian world.

In Orlando, the Department of Justice is looking at a military simulation of a weapons team trainer to instruct law enforcement agencies. The nuclear power industry is examining a military simulator to train its staff how to operate under stress.

Through the technology, you can do things that you can't do in real life, said Robert T. Hays, a civilian working on a submarine simulator at Orlando's Navy center.

``Students learning to drive can't practice under bad weather conditions,'' Hays said. ``But with car simulators, your child will be able to practice driving in the snow. They'll be better equipped.''

One of the most popular forms of simulation is in the entertainment industry. Companies are building simulator games.

Suffolk native John R. Taylor III, who started his own computer online game simulation company in 1982 with a few employees, said Kesmai Corp., which now has a staff of 65, is one of the top in the market.

His games, which simulate flights, wars and casinos, can be played by thousands of people from all over the world at the same time.

``Fathers and sons who live in different parts of the country have dates to play against each other every Thursday night,'' said Taylor, who sold his company several years ago to Rupert Murdoch. ``Up to 40,000 people a day and 800,000 a month play our games.''

Another major market is virtual reality - an industry valued at more than $1 billion. Players are so immersed in the simulation games, that they actually believe they're in a space ship or driving a racecar.

A few years ago, Lockheed Martin Corp. partnered with Sega Ltd., a Japanese video game company, to commercialize the simulations they built for the military. Sega writes the games, and Lockheed provides realistic computer graphics.

The Orlando-based company, called Real 3D, has sold more than 175,000 games since 1994. In 30 years, Lockheed sold only about 600 military simulations.

``The potential to make money is here,'' said Stephen D. Detro, sales and marketing manager for Real 3D. ``Through Real 3D, the cost is lower. For so long, military simulations have been very expensive. But through more usage, the cost is coming down.''

Real 3D, whose games include Daytona USA and Indy 500, started with 100 employees. Today, it has 166.

Suffolk soon will house its own virtual reality firm. Mariah Vision 3 Entertainment announced two weeks ago that it was moving its headquarters from Pittsifeld, Mass., to Atlantic Film Studios on Virginia Route 10.

Mariah produces real-life sports games for amusement parks. In its hockey game, for example, participants ``play'' goalie on a virtual ice rink and try to catch slap shots from the likes of Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier.

Mastaglio said no one can really forecast the technology's future.

But one thing is for sure: ``There's no doubt that simulation is where we're heading,'' he said. ``In less than 10 years, we'll all be sitting at PCs using it,'' Mastaglio said. ``You'll be doing things like test driving your car.''

And learning about Columbus. MEMO: PILOT ONLINE: Part 1 of this series, on the simulation industry in

Florida, is available at http://www.pilotonline.com ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

INSTITUTE OF SIMULATION AND TRAINING

Students from the University of Central Florida wear 3-D glasses and

look at a view of the Earth from outer space on an Orlando

simulator.

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