US Military Runs First Alternate Reality Game

BBN Technologies to develop ARG for first DoD evaluation as
long-term situation management training solution
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(Business Wire)--
Several weeks ago, a tsunami devastated a small island off the
southern coast of the US, and now an unexplained illness is spreading
among the survivors. The joint task force formed to support the relief
effort, originally focused on delivering essential services, now must
contend with a medical epidemic as well. Are they prepared for this
mission?

This is the scenario behind a new ARG created by BBN Technologies
and Dave Szulborski, author of This Is Not a Game and creator of five
well-know ARGs. ARGs have been used with great success to promote
books, movies and television shows and BBN scientists proposed that
the method could be applied to serious training with equal success.
Now, the US military is testing that hypothesis with the first
evaluation of an ARG as a tool for training military personnel. In a
month-long demonstration, a group of 124 participants made up of
active duty military, reservists, government staffers, and university
students is working together to cope with the tsunami scenario. This
is the kind of situation that is most difficult to train for; not an
acute, episodic crisis than can be simulated in a short course or in a
classroom, but a longer term situation that changes as the
circumstances unfold. ARGS offer the benefit of allowing trainees to
practice the skills needed for such exceptional situations while they
continue to do their regular jobs and to develop real relationships in
a virtual scenario that will help them respond effectively when they
are required to cope with an unexpected situation such as the tsunami
scenario.

Bill Ferguson, division scientist at BBN Technologies, one of the
partner organizations for the demonstration, said, "The military needs
a training solution for longer term, intermediate intensity situations
that involve multiple agencies. Because ARGs are inherently
distributed and built on complex, engaging scenarios, they are an
effective and cost efficient way to train for the long duration,
large-scale problems that require individuals to respond both
collectively and individually."

Jointly funded by the Joint Forces Command and the Defense
Advanced Research Projects Agency, the demonstration is being executed
by BBN Technologies, Dave Szulborski, and Aptima. BBN, which was
contracted to develop the tools and pedagogy and administer the
demonstration, provides tools to support ARGs under its trademark,
Helical Training. BBN engaged Szulborski to develop the ARG's initial
scenario and to build on the rich content as the responses and
changing circumstances affect the fictional situation. Aptima will
evaluate the demonstration and measure participants' responses against
specific learning goals.

BBN's Helical Training is a novel application of ideas inspired by
ARGs that focuses on information management, distributed coordination,
and organizational navigation. A Helical Training event is an
immersive, interactive training course that virtually brings together
many trainees from different locations to work together to accomplish
both individual and group goals in a shared scenario.

About BBN Technologies

BBN Technologies solves real problems through the creation and
disciplined application of advanced technology. With expertise
spanning information security, speech and language processing,
networking, distributed systems, and sensing and control systems, BBN
scientists and engineers have amassed a substantial collection of
innovations and patented solutions. Today, BBN is managing the
planning and design of GENI, an advanced network facility spanning the
United States; is saving lives in Iraq and Afghanistan with its
Boomerang Shooter Detection System; operates the first metro quantum
cryptography network; has deployed the first real-time foreign
broadcast monitoring system; and has demonstrated the benefits of the
world's first stereoscopic digital mammography system in clinical
trials. For more information, visit www.bbn.com.

BBN Technologies
Joyce Kuzmin, 617-873-8193
jkuzmin@bbn.com
or
BBN Technologies
Mark Gauthier, 978-325-7048
mgauthier@bbn.com

Copyright Business Wire 2008