Best of I/ITSEC 2019: Major contract deals, views from Congress, record crowd

ARLINGTON, VA – Six small businesses new to working in defense won $1 million contracts each at the first Simulators Pitch Day with the Air Force, just one of several major highlights from the Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference (I/ITSEC) last week in Orlando.

Perceptronics Solutions, DTI, Information Systems Laboratories, PlaneEnglish, King Crow Studies and Take Flight each won contracts following quick proposals done in a “Shark Tank” styled event during the annual training and simulation extravaganza. The largest event of its kind in the world, this year’s I/ITSEC had a record crowd of more than 17,000 attendees and 550 vendors at the Orange County Convention Center.

I/ITSEC is presented by the National Training and Simulation Association, an affiliate of the National Defense Industrial Association.

Other notable I/ITSEC news: 

• A panel with Reps. Jack Bergman (R-MI), Stephanie Murphy (D-FL) and Bobby Scott (D-VA), members of the Congressional Modeling and Simulation Caucus who discussed their initiatives on Capitol Hill regarding modeling and simulation in national preparedness. 
• Keynote speaker Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Steven Wilson, who addressed Defense Department efforts to include advanced training solutions as it focuses on new threats. 
• A robust health care industry presence at the show, as modeling and simulation grow increasingly in this field. Vendors and panels discussed how these technologies can contribute meaningfully to patient safety; medical mistakes now are the third largest cause of death in the United States, according to a 2018 Johns Hopkins Medicine study. 

The Dec. 2-5 show featured an abundance of other events that examined such topics in modeling and simulation as the threat of deep-fake technology, the increasing roles of haptics and artificial intelligence.

I/ITSEC continues to be “strong and growing stronger,” said James Robb, NTSA president and a retired Navy rear admiral. Robb noted the steady growth in attendance and in the diversity and quality of the hundreds of exhibits on the show floor among growth factors.

The Army will be the host service for I/ITSEC 2020, taking place Nov. 30-Dec. 4 at the Orange County Convention Center. For information, visit IITSEC.org. For media queries, contact John Williams at jwilliams@NDIA.org.