The Institute for Creative Technologies (ICT) is a University Affiliated Research Center at the University of Southern California located in Playa Vista, California. ICT was established in 1999 with funding from the US Army.
Dr. Mike Andrews, chief scientist of the US Army is described as "founder of and inspiration behind" ICT. He followed up on discussions between US Army leadership (four-star general Paul J. Kern) and Disney Imagineering president Bran Ferren, on how to gain access to Hollywood entertainment industry expertise in high-technology areas such as computer-based Modeling & Simulation, and Virtual Reality. The name was derived from Ferren's title at the Walt Disney Company.
It was created to combine the assets of a major research university with the creative resources of Hollywood and the game industry to advance the state-of-the-art in training and simulation. The institute's research has also led to applications for education, entertainment and rehabilitation, including virtual patients, virtual museum guides and visual effects technologies. Core areas include virtual humans, graphics, mixed-reality, learning sciences, games, storytelling and medical virtual reality.
Honors and awards 2010 - Scientific and Engineering Academy Award 2018 - Second Academy Award for Technical Achievement 2022 - Emmy (Technical Achievement)
Army affiliation ICT is a DoD-sponsored University Affiliated Research Center (UARC) working in collaboration with the U.S. Army DEVCOM Soldier Center. ICT is one of the Army’s four University Affiliated Research Centers (UARC). UARCs are a strategic United States Department of Defense (DoD) Research Center associated with an American university. UARCs are formally established by the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (USD(R&E)) to ensure that essential engineering and technology capabilities of particular importance to the DoD are maintained and readily available. The mission of the ICT UARC is to conduct basic, applied, and advanced demonstration research to develop the new tools, methods, and technologies required to improve military training, education, and combat operations. The ICT UARC accomplishes this mission by employing a resident faculty that leverages government research with the research capabilities of academia, private industry, and the commercial entertainment industry (e.g., Hollywood, theme parks, and the commercial gaming industry).
Army program managers include Mr. Mark McAuliffe, Dr. Jim Blake, Dr. Jeff Wilkinson, Dr. John Hart (2008-2022) and Dr. Keith Brawner (2022–present).
Major projects and accomplishments
Year StartedProjectDescription1999Virtual HumansICT advances research in computer-generated characters that use language, have appropriate gestures, show emotion, and react to verbal and non-verbal stimuli.2000Emotion ModelingOne of the first, and most comprehensive computational models of human emotion provided virtual humans with the ability to exhibit and understand human emotions.2000Mission Rehearsal ExerciseMission Rehearsal Exercise (MRE) is ICT’s earliest virtual human project combining artificial intelligence software and basic research to create simulated scenarios used to teach young officers to make decisions.2003Joint Fires and EffectsTraining System (JFETS)The JFETS was a suite of state-of-the-art immersive virtual reality environments designed to help Warfighters make critical decisions under stress and provide collective team training and situational awareness. Tasks not only focused on the technical application of skills, but also on the thought processes involved in employing those skills. By leveraging the ICT's mixed reality technology, JFETS recreated environments that placed Warfighters in real world, current operational settings. Stressors included heat, wind, explosions, human distress noise, and snipers. JFETS provided artificial intelligence behaviors to insurgent forces and realistic, reactive behaviors to civilians. Installed at Fort Sill, JFETS trained over 16,000 Warfighters beginning in 2004, and was used by members of the US Army and Marine Corps for training prior to deployment to Afghanistan and Iraq.2003Full Spectrum CommandFull Spectrum Command (FSC) is a PC-based training aid that modeled the command and control of a U.S. Army Light Infantry Company in a MOUT environment. As the Captain of a U.S. Army Light Infantry Company, the user interprets a five-part Operational Order (OPORD) for a given scenario, organizes his platoons, develops a multi-phase plan and coordinates the actions of approximately 120 soldiers during the engagement. The scenarios were designed to develop cognitive skills: tactical decision-making, resource management and adaptive thinking. These scenarios focused on asymmetric threats within peacekeeping and peace-enforcement operations. Each scenario was developed in conjunction with subject matters experts from the US Army Infantry Center in Fort Benning, Georgia to ensure both military and pedagogic fidelity.2004SLIM ES3A web-delivered, web-enabled, combat patrol training tool for U.S. ground forces, providing Active Surveillance, Threat Indicator Identification and Information Operations.2004BiLATDriven by Iraq early security and stability operational needs, ELECT BiLAT was developed as a prototype game-based simulation for Soldiers to practice conducting bilateral engagements in a cultural context. The prototype provided students with the experience of preparing for a meeting including familiarization with the cultural context, gathering intelligence, conducting a meeting and negotiating when possible, and following up on meeting agreements as appropriate. The ELECT BiLAT architecture was based on a commercial game engine that is integrated with research technologies to enable the use of virtual human characters, scenario customization, as well as coaching, feedback and tutoring. BiLAT became a part of the Games for Training Program of Record administered by PEO STRI.2004BravemindBravemind is a basic and applied research effort utilizing virtual reality exposure therapy in providing relief from pat-traumatic stress.2004Sgt. John BlackwellSGT John Blackwell, a virtual human, was created for the 2004 Army Science Conference, as a demo of ICT virtual human technology, including spoken question-answering ability, and a mixed-reality presentation on a transparent screen.2004High Dynamic Range ImagingHigh Dynamic Range Imaging is the ICT Vision & Graphics Lab’s first efforts inbasic research that helped pioneer the trajectory in high dynamic range imaging, a technique used in imaging and photography to reproduce a greater dynamic range of luminosity than what is possible with standard digital imaging or photographic techniques.2004FlatWorldFlatWorld is a virtual reality environment which allows users to walk and run freely among simulated rooms, buildings, and streets. The system integrates Hollywood set construction techniques with state of the art computer graphics and immersive display technology. FlatWorld provides a powerful, flexible tool for experiential simulation and training.2004Army Excellence in Leadership (AXL)AXL provides an engaging and memorable way to transfer tacit knowledge and develop critical thinking through case-method teaching, filmed storytelling and interactive training. The primary products are filmed cases created in collaboration with Hollywood talent to address specific leadership issues and an easily modifiable website, AXLnet. ICT developed five filmed leadership cases addressing complex decision-making skills for the U.S. Army. The films, all based on real-life situations, were brought to life by experienced Hollywood screenwriters and professional Hollywood actors. AXLnet provides a dynamic and interactive experience for students and easy-to-use tools for instructors to author customized lessons. The system draws on ICT's research in natural language processing to allow students to interview characters from the cases through free-text questions. The system can also provide feedback and tailor the learning experience based on student responses. Over 10,000 Soldiers were trained with AXL, including West Point cadets who used it in a Leadership course at the Academy.2005Full Spectrum WarriorFull Spectrum Warrior (FSW) is a squad-based, tactical-action game that places the player into the 21st century set in a Middle Eastern MOUT environment. In FSW, players assume the role of a squad leader, in command of a squad of two fire teams of US Army infantry soldiers. It is their responsibility to achieve specific objectives through the skillful deployment and use of the men under their command. It is the combination of tactical planning and guided execution on modern, asymmetrical battlefield that is the foundation of FSW. FSW was released for Xbox on June 1, 2004 and later released by other entities for Windows and PlayStation 2. Full Spectrum Warrior was the first military training application published for a commercial game console. The game was a critical and commercial success, acquired for commercial release by game publisher THQ. At the 2003 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) Game Critics Awards, Full Spectrum Warrior won “Best Original Game” and “Best Simulation Game.”2005Full Spectrum LeaderFull Spectrum Leader (FSL) extends the Full Spectrum suite of applications to the Light Infantry Platoon level with a cognitive leadership trainer featuring several innovations. FSL showcases a computer opponent with an adaptive intelligence. Unlike most games and simulations that have a fixed (albeit concealed) OPFOR Plan, FSL’s opponent attempts to recognize players’ actions and respond dynamically. Additionally, FSL includes close air support, artillery calls-for-fire and casualty evacuation to heighten the realism and training value of the game. FSL is the first Full Spectrum application to include a “hasty defense” mission.2005Smart BodyThe SmartBody basic research program discovered the knowledge and modular framework architecture for virtual human animation that accelerated industry capabilities.2006UrbanSimUrbanSim is a PC-based virtual training application for practicing the art of mission command in complex counterinsurgency and stability operations. It consists of a game-based practice environment, a web-based multimedia primer on doctrinal concepts of counterinsurgency and a suite of scenario authoring tools. The UrbanSim practice environment allows trainees to take on the role of an Army battalion commander and to plan and execute operations in the context of a difficult fictional training scenario. In April 2011, UrbanSim transitioned to the Army and is available at the MilGaming portal. It was named a program of record for two Army programs, Games for Training and the Army Low Overhead Training Toolkit (ALOTT), and has seen widespread application across institutional and operational settings. Key deployment sites include; the School for Command Preparation, Ft. Leavenworth, KS; the Maneuver Captain’s Career Course, Ft. Benning, GA; and the Warrior Skills Training Center, Ft. Hood, TX2007Sergeant StarA recruiting tool developed in collaboration with Accessions Command to support Army recruitment requirements.2008DMCTIWinner of a 2008 Army Modeling and Simulation Award for Army-wide team trammg, the DMCTI prototype application trains US Army logistical planners and supports the
understanding of the Army distribution management process. The DMCTI promotes the development of strategies for best exploiting the capabilities of logistics management systems, including the Army's recognized logistics command and control tool, Battle Command Sustainment Support System (BCS3).2008CAD-TSCognitive Air Defense–Training System, Engagement Control Station Simulation – Trained and assessed soldiers’