The new
platform brings immersive games-based technology to
training and learning, decision support, and R&D
modeling for military and commercial aviation
organizations.
REDMOND,
Wash. — Nov. 14, 2007 —
Microsoft Corp. today announced plans for a new
visual-simulation platform, Microsoft ESP, available
in January 2008. Microsoft ESP enables the
innovative use of visual simulation for immersive
learning and decision-making, supports PC-based
commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware and
software, and enables simulations to be built faster
and more cost-effectively. Simulations built on the
Microsoft ESP platform will help government,
commercial and academic organizations apply
immersive games-based technology and interactive
learning experiences to improve work-force readiness
and increase operational excellence.
Capitalizing on years of investment in the Microsoft
Flight Simulator franchise, Microsoft ESP allows
partners and developers to focus on creating
compelling and differentiated Windows-based
solutions that go beyond entertainment and are
consistent with the industry’s move toward serious
games and games-based learning as training tools.
The initial version of the platform focuses on
Microsoft’s established strength and expertise in
aviation capabilities and is targeted to military
and commercial aviation audiences. Future versions
of Microsoft ESP will expand beyond aviation into
ground and maritime operations, indoor and
avatar-centric simulations for commercial,
government and academic learning opportunities.
“With over half of today’s work force having grown
up playing immersive computer-based games,
businesses, governments, trade schools and
universities are seeking affordable solutions that
enable immersive learning experiences,” said Shawn
Firminger, studio manager for the Microsoft ACES
Studio at Microsoft. “Improving training and
learning outcomes is an important goal of most
organizations. Microsoft ESP makes it easy and
cost-effective for organizations to apply the
advantages of games-based technology to serious
learning and training endeavors.”
As a
platform technology, Microsoft ESP provides a
PC-based simulation engine, a comprehensive set of
tools, applications programming interfaces,
documentation to support code development, content
integration and scenario-building capabilities,
along with an extensive base of world content that
can be tailored for custom solutions. Partners and
developers can add structured experiences or
missions, content such as terrain and scenery,
scenarios, and hardware devices to augment existing
solutions, or they can build and deploy new
solutions that address the mission-critical
requirements of their customers.
To
support high-fidelity, dynamic, 3-D immersive
experiences, Microsoft ESP includes geographical,
cultural, environmental and rich scenery data along
with tools for placing objects, scenery and terrain
customization, object activation, special effects,
and environmental controls including adjustable
weather. Realistic land, sea and air environments
enable fully immersive experiences that can be used
for the following:
• |
Flight training and rehearsal.
Includes cockpit
familiarization, checklists and cockpit
flows, and capability-based training such as
aerial refueling and basic sortie |
• |
Preparedness and
decision-making.
Includes experiences such as allowing a
pilot to pre-fly a new route or become more
familiar with new terrain, approach patterns
and weather patterns |
• |
Research and development
modeling. Allows a
user to visualize ideas, create mockups of
cockpits or instrument panels, design specs
in 3-D, and evaluate runway configurations
or lighting schemes |
Simulations built on the Microsoft ESP platform can
take advantage of an extensive set of capabilities
to create dynamic, immersive environments, including
the following:
• |
Configurable weather model.
Includes
user-adjustable weather conditions,
limitless variations using four cloud types,
wind-speed and directional controls,
visibility effects and precipitation
modeling, or use of near-real-time weather
from an external data source feed |
• |
Extensive scene generation
and scenery support.
Has support for up to five
seasons including hard winter, continuous
time of day, night textures and scenery
support including automatic fill-in |
• |
After-Action Review.
Allows for effective performance playback
and analysis. |
• |
Support of standardized data
sources. Supports
Digital Elevation Model data, vector data,
WGS-84 datum, METAR weather data, dynamic
objects, Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound and others |
• |
Multiplayer functionality and
Internet support including Voice over IP.
Allows up to 30
people to interact around the world using a
peer-to-peer broadband connection |
Microsoft ESP 1.0 will be available for purchase on
Jan. 1, 2008, via Microsoft’s Volume Licensing price
list. Client licenses for Microsoft ESP 1.0 will
have an estimated list price of $799 (U.S.) per
machine, and the Microsoft ESP software development
kit will have an estimated list price of $99 (U.S.).
Founded in 1975,
Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in
software, services and solutions that help people
and businesses realize their full potential.