Texture, Issue 1 2004

ISSUE 1

TEXTURE 2004

O R L A N D O ’ S

T E C H N O L O G Y

CLEAR

VIZ

JetBlue Airways lands its first-ever pilot training facility in Orlando

M I L I TA R Y A D VA N C E S U.S. Navy drafts attractions industry for virtual training

REVOLUTIONIZING

H E A LT H C A R E Med lab newcomer Cognoscenti Health Institute on cutting edge

3D H E AV E N Visual Book Productions animates “The Greatest Story Ever Told”

L A N D S C A P E

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contents

ORLANDO’S TECHNOLOGY LANDSCAPE

Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission President & CEO Raymond Gilley Vice President, Tech Industry Development Texture Editor John Fremstad Vice President, Marketing Texture Project Manager Maureen Brockman Director, Public Relations Texture Project Support Trent Flood

TEXTURE 2004 ISSUE 1, NUMBER 1 Departments

Director, CFTP Texture Project Support Amy Edge

FROM THE EDITOR 4 TECH TRENDS 6

Director, Creative Production Texture Project Support Judy Ladney

TALENT POOL 9 INTERFACE 10

Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau, Inc.

PEAK PERFORMER 12

President Texture Publisher William C. Peeper

INNOVATION ALLEY 14 NEWCOs 20

Vice President of Publications Texture Associate Publisher Deborah Kicklighter Henrichs

ON THE CIRCUIT 23 INTELLIGENT FORMS OF LIFESTYLE 36

Managing Editor Connie Sue White Publication Artists Laura Bluhm, Ranae Ledebuhr, Michele Trimble

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CLEAR VIZ 24 JetBlue Airways lands its first-ever pilot training facility in Orlando.

Senior Production Coordinator Elaine Hébert Director of Advertising Sales Sheryl Taylor 407.354.5568

MILITARY ADVANCES 28

Contributing Writers Michael Candelaria, Brian Courtney, Amy Edge, Rafaela Ellis, Denise Enos, Trent Flood, Jackie Kelvington, Brian Walker and C.S. White

The U.S. Navy taps into Central Florida attraction industry for training needs.

Contributing Photographer, Illustrator & Artist Charles Hodges, Doug Nelson and Dave Weaver This publication is sponsored in part by the Orange County Government’s Economic Stimulus Package 2.0.

Texture magazine is produced by everything ink, a division of the Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau, Inc.® (Orlando CVB), in association with the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission.

Orlando CVB: 6700 Forum Drive, Suite 100, Orlando, FL 32821, Phone 407.363.5841, Fax 407.370.5021. Texture magazine assumes no responsibility for the return of unsolicited manuscripts, photographs, negatives or transparencies. Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission 301 East Pine Street, Suite 900 Orlando, Fla 32801. Phone: 407.422.7159 or 888.TOP.CITY. Fax: 407.425.6428. E-mail: info@orlandoedc.com. Advertising information: 407.354.5512. Copyright 2004 Orlando CVB. All rights reserved. Any reproduction in whole or in part without the express written consent of Orlando CVB is prohibited. Printed in the U.S.A.

Features

SUCCESS IN MOTION 32 Visual Book Productions takes cuttingedge digital animation to a “new level”.

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from the editor

TERRITORY

Charting New

>>

You have set sail on another ocean Without star or compass Going where the argument leads Shattering the certainties of centuries

PHOTO BY CHARLES HODGES

— Janet Kalven, “Respectable Outlaw”

In an era where all is blurred, we’ve sailed beyond the familiar. Our old maps are useless, our landmarks are gone. We need a new compass for Metro Orlando’s economic transformation. A guide, if you will, that helps those of us living and working in a creative-based economy.

Texture is that guide.

A texture, by definition, is the grainy, fibrous, woven or dimensional appearance of a material, as opposed to a uniformly flat, smooth appearance. The texture of this community is the interwoven nature of our technology and entertainment industries that give unique style and dimension to all that we produce. Texture explores multifaceted topics and provides a better

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understanding of the complex economic make-up of Metro Orlando.

This is more than a magazine.

Texture is also an opening into a conversation. A conversation we hope you will join — an ongoing, organic exchange of opinions among people with differing views and experiences.

We are not offering a definitive answer, but a starting point: made up of provocative ideas, observations and predictions that will get you thinking differently about your business, your place and your future in Metro Orlando.

So, most important, Texture is an invitation. It’s an invitation to explore Metro Orlando’s many dimensions.

Many people don’t recognize the significant advantages Orlando will

have in the coming decade’s blending of industries. There is nowhere else on the planet with the same kind of strength in entertainment, technology, film production and interactive media.

For conversation’s sake, imagine a place where: ... thousands of people are masters at telling stories, sparking imagination, and providing virtual experiences; ... the military’s simulation procurement commands support the largest concentration of modeling and simulation companies in the world; ... a mature, local production industry supports a nearly $600 million film market; and ... a critical mass of companies are involved in creating tomorrow’s interactive entertainment.

There is only one place in the world that can make this kind of claim — Metro Orlando.

Examine our region’s Texture.

Engage in this conversation and enjoy.

John S. Fremstad Metro Orlando EDC vice president of Tech Industry Development & Texture editor P.S. Orlando is a place with unique creative advantages, and uniquely productive partnerships. The inaugural edition of this publication is made possible through a start-up grant provided through Orange County Government’s Economic Stimulus Package 2.0.

Our thanks to County Chairman Richard T. Crotty and the Orange County Commission for their commitment to building this region’s reputation as a thriving business and technology hub.

In Orlando, everything shines brighter. Even our people.

So, it’s no wonder that the Orange County Convention Center (OCCC) is considered the Center of Hospitality.

Our team of meeting professionals is committed to delivering the most complete, productive and enjoyable experience for planners, exhibitors and attendees.

Ten million convention delegates have not only fallen in love with Orlando’s great weather and attractions, but also our award-winning Center. And to back that up, Tradeshow Week magazine’s 28th Annual Survey of Corporate Exhibitors named Orlando the #1 meeting and tradeshow destination in the world.

With our recent expansion, OCCC now offers: • 2.1 million square feet of exhibition space that includes 2 general assembly areas – acoustically engineered to provide the finest sound quality • 74 meeting rooms /235 breakouts • 2,643-seat Auditorium • 160-seat Lecture Hall • 62,000 sq. ft. multi-purpose Valencia Room • 3 full-service restaurants /7 food courts • More than 1800 four diamond hotel rooms minutes from the Center

So, if you are looking for a Convention Center that has everything under the sun, let Jayne and Leslie help you plan your next meeting in Orlando.

Jayne King Account Executive (407) 685-5914 Northeast/Southeast/West Jayne.King@occc.net

Leslie Palmblad Account Executive (407) 685-5910 Midwest Leslie.Palmblad@occc.net

9800 International Drive • Orlando, Florida 32819 Phone (407) 685-9800 • Toll-free 1-800-345-9845 Please visit us at www.orlandoconvention.com

It’s all about the experience.

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tech trends

TECHNOTAINM

The Rise of

By Trent Flood

While many people know Orlando primarily for its tourism industry, the area’s evolution has also placed it at the forefront in the rise of

PHOTO COURTESY OF VISUAL BOOK PRODUCTIONS

“technotainment.”

COURTESY OF EDC’S METRO ORLANDO FILM & ENTERTAINMENT COMMISSION

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PHOTO COURTESY OF VISUAL BOOK PRODUCTIONS

MENT >>

What do you get when you cross a military battle simulator, an independent movie production, a blockbuster video game and a state-of-the-art theme park ride? You get Orlando — a place where storytelling and technology are intertwined.

“The future of entertainment has become increasingly intertwined with technology,” says Bob Allen, CEO of i.d.e.a.s. at Disney MGM Studios.

“The advent of the Internet, CD-ROMs, DVDs, MP3 players — all of these technological advances — has changed how people enjoy entertainment. What hasn’t changed is the importance of a good story. The future will be defined by people who can create very powerful, intentional stories and deliver them to specific audiences using the right technology.”

While many people know Orlando primarily for its tourism industry, the area’s evolution has also placed it at the forefront in the rise of “technotainment.” Consider a few facts: >> Orlando is home to the greatest concentration of modeling, simulation and training companies in the world, including more than 100 companies accounting for 16,800 jobs, both direct and indirect. >> In the past 15 years, the region has grown from a $2.5 million film-and-television production market to $586 million annually, with gross sales from local companies totaling approximately $1.2 billion per year. >> Four of the top 10 theme parks are located in the area, employing thousands of engineers, artists, writers and creative talent. >> Companies such as EA Sports (the world’s leading independent developer and publisher of interactive entertainment software) create some of their top video games at facilities in Metro Orlando.

A HISTORY OF INNOVATION

PHOTO COURTESY OF LOCKHEED MARTIN CORP.

PHOTO COURTESY OF UNIVERSAL STUDIOS

In 1971, something happened that would forever change the worldwide reputation of Orlando. An innovator named Walt Disney opened a cuttingedge theme park, Walt Disney’s Magic Kingdom. Since that time, the presence of Disney has sparked Metro Orlando’s dominance in the travel industry and a film-production industry that supports projects ranging from

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PHOTO COURTESY OF LOCKHEED MARTIN CORP.

full-length feature films to national TV commercials.

Lesser known events have also played a significant role in the region’s development. One of the most important was the 1957 opening of an Orlando plant by another entrepreneur, Glen L. Martin. Today, that facility has grown into three divisions that employ approximately 4,500 people, and is known by a different name — Lockheed Martin, one of the world’s top aeronautical and simulation contractors.

Walt Disney and Glen Martin weren’t the only ones eyeing the region for its potential. In 1962, the U.S. government designated the John F. Kennedy Space Center as NASA’s Launch Operations Center. Today, the Space Center continues to push the limits of technology, and has spawned a concentration of high tech and aviation businesses located all across the region.

PHOTO COURTESY OF WALT DISNEY WORLD ©DISNEY

HOME TO TOMORROW’S INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT This history of entertainment, combined with an established technology sector, has placed the region in a strategic position unlike any other place in the world.

“Many people don’t recognize the significant advantages that Orlando will have in the coming decade, in the development of new technology and the blending of industries,” says Russ Hauck, executive director of an industry association called the National Center for Simulation. “There is nowhere else on the planet that can make the claims made by Orlando. This area could become the epicenter of the exciting new dynamic media sector.”

Other regional assets also in place include the joint simulation procurement commands for the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast

THIS HISTORY OF ENTERTAINMENT, COMBINED WITH AN ESTABLISHED TECHNOLOGY SECTOR, HAS PLACED THE REGION IN A STRATEGIC POSITION UNLIKE ANY OTHER PLACE IN THE WORLD. A need for local engineers led to another historic event … the founding of Florida Technological University (FTU) in 1963. Located equidistant between the Space Center and the original location of The Martin Company, FTU was renamed the University of Central Florida in 1978.

Today, the school boasts more than 42,000 students, making it one of the nation’s largest universities, with students from all 50 states and more than 145 countries.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF KENNEDY SPACE CENTER

Guard; Orlando’s Central Florida Research Park, one of the top 10 research parks in the world; the University of Central Florida’s Institute for Simulation & Training, which established the nation’s first master’s and PhD programs in simulation and human performance enhancement; and the Orlando-based Florida Film Festival, which has been recognized among the top 10 film festivals in the world.

The region is already seeing significant industry growth. A variety of

businesses with local roots are developing everything from video games to interactive multimedia content and simulators used all over the globe. Here are a few examples: >> The U.S. Navy has contracted with Orlando-based i.d.e.a.s. at Disney MGM Studios to develop the first phase of its next generation interactive trainer, Battle Stations. (See pgs 28-31.) >> Orlando-based Visual Book Productions has developed the world’s first digitally animated Bible and encyclopedia suite, iLumina. (See pgs 32-35.) >> Computer programmers and engineers are developing tomorrow’s theme park attractions at Orlandobased companies including Technomedia Solutions, Oceaneering and ITEC. >> Orlando-based Kosmo Studios’ state-of-the-art kiosk system at the Pittsburgh Steelers’ stadium provides fans with interactive entertainment options, including games and live video feeds.

All told, Orlando is at the head of a global trend that is reshaping entertainment and technology. Just as areas such as Silicon Valley, the Research Triangle and Boston’s Route 128 led the technology boom of the 1990s, Orlando is positioned to play a similar role in the transformation of the art of x storytelling.

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THE

CREATIVE

CLASS

ORLANDO’S Ts NURTURE ECONOMIC GROWTH

>>

Tolerance. While that’s not generally the first word that comes to mind when describing the Orlando region, maybe it should be.

According to a nationally known cultural and societal researcher, “tolerance,” “open-mindedness” or “progressiveness” are among the best economic characteristics a community can have. And, says this noted researcher, the Orlando area is among the leaders nationwide in this category.

In his best-selling book, The Rise of the Creative Class, Carnegie Mellon Economic Development Professor Richard Florida talks about “high-tolerant” communities fostering strong economic

growth because they attract a young, skilled labor force. Florida goes on to say that the attraction of a core demographic and professional group of people, such as engineers, writers and designers — a group he has dubbed “the creative class” — is essential to any community’s business development success. The cities with the greatest levels of success, he contends, are those that embrace his three Ts: technology, talent and tolerance.

Metro Orlando has not only come to embrace those Ts, but has begun to

By Jackie Kelvington

leverage their strength.

Strong collaboration among the region’s economic development organizations, local governments, educational institutions and business leaders has bolstered technology (the first “T”) industry development here. Particular strengths include the areas of simulation, software development, photonics and digital media.

Such development has created more positive economic news for Metro Orlando, namely the broadening of its skilled talent (the second “T”) pool and company base.

This is where the third “T,” tolerance, comes in. The region has grown into a large melting pot where people from different backgrounds, cultures, countries, professions and ages have converged. Subsequently, Orlando has evolved as a desirable, trendy, opportunistic place to work and live.

In Orlando’s urban core, for example, projects are underway that are breathing new life into downtown.

Condominiums, offices and retail outlets are sprouting up. Arts and culture offerings are on the rise. And, the growing reputations of local universities, community colleges and specialized trade schools are bringing young professionals into the community, and keeping them in the job market.

One thing is for sure ... corporate heads like their companies to be where the brain trust can be found. The clustering of innovative companies and creative individuals is happening in entrepreneurial locations. New markets are emerging as the “places to be.” Metro x Orlando is one of those places.

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interface

PHOTO BY CHARLES HODGES

SELLING HER CITY

By Michael Candelaria

>>

SAIC’S BEVERLY J. KITAOKA

With more than 28 years of experience in the research, development and management of commercial and Department of Defense softwareintensive solutions, Bev Kitaoka is obviously a high-tech leader.

As a senior vice president with Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC), Kitaoka manages the Training and Simulations Solutions Business Unit for the largest employee-owned research and engineering firm in the nation. Her unit is headquartered in Orlando, with a three-story, 85,000-square-foot building that houses 350 employees at the Central Florida Research Park.

Keenly interested in economic development, Kitaoka is also a community leader. She is passionate about touting the virtues of her home city and the Florida High Tech Corridor.

Why Metro Orlando? Kitaoka offers numerous reasons for her enthusiasm, plus provides insight into SAIC’s role in this thriving high tech community.

T Texture: What is a typical SAIC project that concisely explains what

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the company does here in Orlando? bk Bev Kitaoka: No one project can tell the whole story, but let me describe our key programs. We’re working with the Army to develop One SAF — that’s One Semi Automated Force. It’s a program that’s going to satisfy the needs of trainers, as well as people who buy weapons and vehicles, and analysts who study things like how the Army should be organized. We’re also working with Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines in Miami, improving their IT practice, so they can do what they do best, which is running a cruise line. Locally, we are working with The North Highland Company to help Florida Hospital assess and advance its software development processes. We’re also developing the integrated criminal history system for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

The common theme is this: we

develop first-rate software-intensive systems. We have disciplined program management processes, and we do a lot of systems-level integration.

T Why such a large presence for SAIC in Metro Orlando? bk The large presence is due to having our main customers here, from the Department of Defense. We have the Army, with more than a $1 billion budget; plus the Navy, the Air Force and the Marines. They’re all co-located here at Central Florida Research Park.

When the Navy moved to the Research Park, we followed (in 1986) as a support contractor. I moved here in 1990 and converted SAIC from support to actually doing systems development.

T Would you describe this region as a high tech hotspot? bk Absolutely. There’s great collaboration between business and a university [University of Central Florida] that supports the high tech domain, all the way to having master’s and PhD programs in modeling and simulation.

These academic offerings have even helped attract international companies,

such as INDRA, to the region. We host a big conference here every year, called the Interservice Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference (I/ITSEC). It’s the largest annual event of its kind in the world, bringing around 15,000 people a year to Orlando every December. In addition to U.S. delegates, we had representatives from approximately 50 countries in attendance last December.

Because we have so many different military services here, they are working to provide joint solutions. They share their technologies among each other.

You combine that with the private industry that’s developed around it and the academia all along this high tech corridor. We create a very competitive labor market with good living costs, beautiful climate, tax advantages and a great airport. When you sum it all up, I think you see why it’s such a great place to be.

And, it’s not just government busi-

ness and simulation and training that makes Orlando a technology hot spot.

There are other industries, as well.

stand what we have here, and to get that message out. There is tremendous value and leverage here.

T You mentioned the labor market.

How does Orlando’s labor pool rate? bk Let me put it in these terms: I’ve never had a problem hiring the quality skill level that I need here. I think most people who come to our office and see the research and development that we’re doing, the innovative technology that we’re creating, and the way we look at solving some of our customers’ really difficult problems, are impressed.

We’re recognized for those abilities.

I think that sets us [Metro Orlando] apart from other locations trying to replicate the same thing.

T What about SAIC’s future in Orlando — do you see a continuation of growth? bk We have bought enough land to build a second building, and we’re definitely looking at expanding in the near future.

T You talk about the current situation. Does the region have high tech growth potential in the future? bk There is a lot of potential. It’s incumbent upon us to appreciate and under-

T If a company were looking to relocate or expand into Metro Orlando, what would you say to those corporate decision makers? bk I would say it’s a great environment with diversity, access to culture and academia. It’s also a great place to raise kids. I’ve raised my kids here. They can be outside all the time. There are sports year-round and good schools. In addition to that, there’s a wide variety of high tech activity here. It’s a good x place to call home.

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peak performer

Channeled

INTELLIGEN

By Rafaela Ellis

E-COMMERCE GURU ROB WIGHT

“I’m not bragging when I say we literally are running e-commerce out of Central Florida for the world. We are the only ones doing this and we are right here.”

— Rob Wight

>>

To comprehend Rob Wight’s success as an e-commerce guru, it helps to know that he began his career as a ski racer. Who better to launch an Internet start-up in the wake of the dot-com bust than a guy who thrives on speed, danger and unpredictable changes in climate?

“It’s the competition of ski racing that taught me a lot of basic truths,” says W ight, founder and CEO of Channel Intelligence, Inc., a full-service, e-commerce marketing firm based in Celebration that sold $2 billion in services last year. “Any pro athlete will tell you that the difference between winning and losing a race is hundredths of a second, so you have to put in the hard work up front to get good at what you do.”

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For Wight — a Saginaw, Mich., native whose career has included stints at Wang Labs and Microsoft — winning his race has meant spending more than two years developing a unique software system that links manufacturing clients to dealers and consumers with just a few quick clicks of a mouse.

By 2001, when Wight was ready to sell his one-of-a-kind product, he had little trouble convincing major manu-

facturers — including Kodak, HewlettPackard, Canon, and even his old employer, Microsoft — to entrust their Web marketing to Channel Intelligence.

“When everyone talks about e-commerce, they mean buying stuff on the Web,” Wight says. “Our business is the business of helping the manufacturer to help the consumer buy their product.

We’re the middle man. What we allow [companies] to do is place a button on the page where you’re looking at a particular product. When you click on that button, up pops a list of dealers

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PHOTO BY CHARLES HODGES

who have that product in stock right now, so you know what physical store has that product.”

In other words, manufacturers don’t have to hire programmers to create links between their Web sites and those of the dealers who carry their products; Channel Intelligence does it for them, using a sophisticated computer program that interlinks a client’s home page to the pages of every distributor and retailer who sells their product.

“Our service, when we launched it two years ago, finally resolved the one

problem manufacturers had that didn’t used to exist: people wanting to know exactly where to buy their product,” Wight explains.

The concept was so innovative that it spawned a cadre of competitors, most of whom Channel Intelligence quickly dispatched.

“We have never lost a piece of business to anyone,” Wight says. “It’s because of the fact that we built the technology first, instead of rushing into the market. We took our time, we innovated, and that created a foundation that other [companies] didn’t have.”

Wight chose Central Florida as his hub of operations for two reasons: familiarity and climate. As a sales and marketing executive in the 1980s, Wight spent 10 years at Orlando’s Maynard Electronics before moving to Colorado and then Washington State in a series of job changes. When doctors told him the Seattle weather was exacerbating his young son’s severe ear infections, he made a decision to move his family south.

“We could have moved to Los Angeles, Arizona or Texas, but Florida was very much home for us, so we moved to Orlando in the summer of 1998,”says Wight, whose family now includes his wife and three children, ages 11, 7 and 2.

Wight says Central Florida also was a perfect match for a company with Channel Intelligence’s ambitions.

“What other part of the country can say that, when they create something, it becomes the standard of what is done?” Wight asks. “For tourism in Florida, we are the place that people come. Think about the space coast —

we aren’t a place where rockets are sent off the earth, we are the place.”

The same is true for e-commerce.

“I’m not bragging when I say we literally are running e-commerce out of Central Florida for the world,” he says.

“We are the only ones doing this, and we are right here.”

Wight says the quality of the local workforce has also had a hand in making Orlando the new high tech Mecca.

“One of the great things that we need in this business is smart, dedicated people,” he says. “If you look at the 36 people we have in the company today, we’ve only brought in two people from outside [the Central Florida area].”

With the company poised to add some 80 jobs this year, and with a fiveyear plan calling for a total of 1,500 employees, Wight expects he’ll have to cast a wider net to attract the quality of worker he needs. But, he says, Channel Intelligence’s unique corporate structure should help in recruiting.

“Do senior people have to have more room because they’re more important? It doesn’t make any sense,” he says. Instead, every employee at Channel Intelligence, regardless of title, has an identical office with identical furniture and equipment.

Perhaps the greatest contributor to Channel Intelligence’s success, however, is Wight’s tireless drive and fast-forward mentality.

“This is truly what I enjoy doing, innovating in the software industry,” he says. “I have family, we go to the beach, we do all the fun things we can do in Central Florida, but I would say my x passion is this.”

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innovation alley

INNOVATION

The Florida High Tech Corridor

By Michelle Knapp

The 21-county region has it all... booming business; recreational activities; beaches; attractions;

>>

“It’s all about quality of life ...” This opening line of the Florida High Tech Corridor Council’s 2003 annual report emphasizes the need for harmony between creativity and industry. With a mission of attracting, retaining and growing high tech industry in the region, and the workforce to support it, the Corridor Council places high value on this need, and strives to fulfill it.

educational PHOTOS COURTESY OF FLORIDA HIGH TECH CORRIDOR COUNCIL

institutions; and tourism. Equally important, though, it boasts thriving aviation and aerospace; information technology; medical technology; microelectronics; modeling; simulation and training; and optics and photonics high tech industry sectors.

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A good quality of life is essential in attracting new businesses to the region, and to retaining them. The Corridor has a distinct advantage in this arena: the 21-county region has it all ... booming business, recreational activities, beaches, attractions, educational institutions and tourism. Equally important, though, it boasts thriving aviation and aerospace, infor mation technology, medical technology, microelectronics, modeling, simulation and training, and optics and photonics high tech industry sectors. The overall advantages are immeasurable.

In addition to quality of life, the tech-

nologies that are constantly being developed and utilized in the area foster creativity and innovation all on their own.

Groundbreaking scientific research, new applications for robots, innovative technology education programs ... it takes a creative mind to come up with the concept before a scientific mind can put it into action.

If you once thought that “creative types” and “techies” were at opposite ends of the spectrum, you’ll no longer think that after reading about some of the area’s innovations in the pages that follow.

AT ITS BEST

EXCELLENCE IN EDUCATION

WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

The universities within Florida’s High Tech Corridor are constantly striving to reach new heights. By thinking outside the box, they have broken countless barriers in scientific and technological research.

These universities — the University of Central Florida (UCF) and the University of South Florida (USF) — continue to make tremendous strides and have taken solid positions among the nation’s top research institutions.

This is accomplished through unique partnerships with high tech companies and other research institutions within the region, like the Florida Institute of Technology. This year alone, the Corridor Council invested $3.5 million in such projects, which was matched by $8 million in corporate and federal funds, for a total of $11.5 million dedicated to high tech research. Not only do these universities grow in expertise and stature as a result, but students, faculty, industry partners and the surrounding community benefit exponentially.

From electrifying laser demonstrations to virtual reality race car simulators, educators throughout the region continue to be enlightened by techPATH, the Corridor Council’s unique educational initiative. In recognition that Florida’s high tech future is dependent upon a steady stream of trained workers at all levels, techPATH has developed a series of techCAMPs, where educators gain hands-on experience and use tools for incorporating that knowledge into their K-12 curriculum.

In addition to techCAMPs, techPATH has been instrumental in the creation of innovative high tech degrees, certificates and curricula. These groundbreaking academic programs, offered in concert with UCF, USF and the 11 community colleges serving the region, include an associate’s degree in microelectronics manufacturing at Valencia Community College; a biotechnology degree at St. Petersburg Community College; a digital media degree at Daytona Beach Community

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College; and photonics technician degree programs in place at various community colleges.

Also in the works are an information technology security curriculum at Manatee Community College, a wireless technology degree at Polk Community College and a digital media degree program at Seminole Community College.

W ithin each of these “2+2 programs,” the community college collaborates with one or both of the universities to assure that, after the first two years of a student’s college career, there is a program available for them to achieve a bachelor’s degree. This provides a seamless educational opportunity, assuring future employers a well-trained workforce.

AVIATION & AEROSPACE From NASA’s Mars Exploration Rovers (MERs) conducting the most extensive interplanetary exploration in history, to university students helping a partnering company develop safer landing gear for a “gyroplane,” some exciting ideas are brewing in this sector.

Companies in the Florida High Tech Corridor are at the forefront of many of the industry’s paradigm-shifting discoveries.

Numerous aviation and aerospace research advances are being made at the K-12 level as well. One example is the “Get Smart Program,” or Gateway to Engineering, Technology, Science

and Math Resources for Tomorrow, developed at the Florida Institute of Technology and sponsored by the Corridor Council. This program consists of a video, presentations and industry site visits, and is aimed at encouraging students to pursue technology careers.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY The Corridor’s IT companies are some of the fastest-growing technology companies in the nation. One Orlando company, Riptide Software, posted an average growth rate of 6,432 percent over a five-year period. Another company, Guardian Solutions, sold its automated video surveillance system to Port Manatee and Port Canaveral, two of the world’s busiest ports. Following suit with requests for other Guardian technologies were the United States Marine Corps and the U.S. Department of Defense, and the company only debuted in the marketplace in 2002.

The university system has had a hand in the further development of IT companies within the Corridor. So much so, that both Florida High Tech Corridor partners, UCF and USF, were named among the “Top 100 Technology Transfer Universities” by MIT’s Technology Review in terms of active patent and licensing activity. In fact, UCF impressively ranked within the top 40!

These listings hold significant meaning to the Corridor as they emphasize the impact the universities have on the growth of start-ups within the region.

MEDICAL TECH Information technology has changed the face of the medical industry, further fueling the growth of the Corridor’s Med Tech sector. Innovations now help protect citizens from a biological attack and allow medical patients to be monitored remotely.

The medical technology sector started out in 2003 with a bang, earning designation as a “high-impact” sector by state officials at the BioFlorida industry association meeting. The University of South Florida has enjoyed major successes in the sector, developing a new method for safely and quickly detecting anthrax. Because of this, and many other achievements, the school was awarded a $323,600 contract from the Florida Department of Health Office of Public Preparedness to teach police officers, firefighters and other “first-responders” how to handle bio-terrorism threats and situations.

MICROELECTRONICS The Corridor’s microelectronics industry also continues to distinguish itself by the research and development of new

and innovative products. Though growth of industry leaders like Jabil Circuit, Agere Systems and Intersil is still recovering from the economic downturn, all are forging ahead by diversifying products and improving business operations.

In fact, Agere Systems recently surpassed the $100 million mark in total Sytem-onChip (SoC) shipments for data storage applications and reported its first quarterly profit since going public, demonstrating that this industry is making its way toward a turnaround.

The Corridor Council and its partners support existing technologies in the microelectronics sector, but they also go out and dream up their own.

Both UCF and USF proved this through renewed focus on researching nanostructures — structures that equal

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50 nanometers (50 billionths of a meter) or smaller.

MODELING, SIMULATION & TRAINING Soldiers fight through a battlefield overcoming the enemy, medical students save lives and teenagers learn how to drive a car, all thanks to the Corridor’s modeling, simulation and training (MS&T) industry.

Tapping into the region’s military strengths provides many successes for the MS&T industry. For example, Melbourne-based Symetrics Industries earned a six-year, $5.6 million contract to manufacture an electronic chassis for naval aircraft and Orlando-based RealSims, LLC developed a new low-cost, multi-purpose training product that can easily be configured to emulate the internal cockpit layout of any aircraft.

Innovations such as these keep Corridor companies on the cutting edge of MS&T technological development.

OPTICS & PHOTONICS Manipulating light to entertain, fight wars and heal the sick — applications of optics and photonics surround us in our daily lives. At the University of South Florida, researchers are working on various projects that will lead to better disaster reaction capabilities, higher-sensitivity robots that show 3D locations of victims during disaster rescue efforts, and laser-based systems that sense trace amounts of bio agents in the environment.

UCF Professor Peter Delfyett is a world-renowned leader in this sector, smashing the world record for laser data transmission by sending more than one trillion bits of data per second from a single device. (That’s 1,000,000,000,000 pieces of information!) UCF is also home to one of only three Schools of Optics in the nation, as well as to the Center for Research & Education in Optics & Lasers (CREOL).

QUITE A FUTURE Florida’s High Tech Corridor has been on quite a roll and the future looks even brighter. The region has committed itself to an environment that nurtures creativity, as well as technology.

In fact, the advice of noted demographer Richard Florida has become somewhat of a mantra for High Tech Corridor leaders who subscribe to Florida’s belief that “human creativity is the ultimate economic resource.”

Said Florida High Tech Corridor Council President Randy Berridge: “Our mission is not only to attract, but to retain and grow high tech industry and the workforce to support it. We recognize that the creative needs of knowledge workers are best served in an environment like that of our region — one that rewards innovation, respects diversity and supports exploration.”

For more information about the Florida High Tech Corridor, visit x www.floridahightech.com.

W H AT D O E S I T TA K E ?

E N E R G Y.

TO L I V E , WO R K , D R E A M , S U C C E E D .

At Progress Energy, we put as much personal energy into serving customers as we do into providing their electricity. After all, it’s one thing to supply the energy it takes to run a factory. But we also recognize there’s another kind of energy. The kind required to ask questions, solve problems and constantly generate new ideas.

TO GROW YOUR BUSINESS IN THE CAROLINAS AND FLORIDA, CALL OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TEAM AT 1.800.347.9060. progress-energy.com ©2004 Progress Energy, Inc.

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x

newcos

Acing the

By Brian Walker Cognoscenti Health Institute is at the forefront of research that will determine how future patients are diagnosed and treated.

TEST

C O G N O S C E N T I H E A LT H I N S T I T U T E

>>

It’s been two years since Dr. Philip Chen established Cognoscenti Health Institute, an innovative, full-service medical lab in Orlando’s east Orange County business park.

From the onset, Cognoscenti (a word of Italian origin that refers to a group that is “knowledgeable” or “cutting edge”) merged advanced biomedical testing procedures with customized Internet technology in order to expedite highly accurate test results that save local physicians both time and money.

Having launched Cognoscenti under the auspices of the University of Central Florida’s (UCF) Technology Incubator Program, Dr. Chen praises the organization for its strong infrastructure and support in helping new businesses establish themselves in Orlando. “[They] were invaluable to us in a number of ways,” he states.

In addition to flexible leasing plans and shared support costs for prospective new businesses, the Incubator Program also offers everything from a broad range of business training to expansion capital opportunities that assist companies at every step of their development.

“One area where they were of particular help was in providing financial training that helped me to formulate a more sound business plan,” Chen says of the program. Incubator representatives also introduced him to an outside fir m that handles the company’s human resource requirements.

“We’re very excited about the success of Cognoscenti Health

PHOTO COURTESY OF FLORIDA HIGH TECH CORRIDOR COUNCIL

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Institute and glad we are able to provide assistance that helps these kinds of companies reach their potential,” says Tom O’Neal, CEO of the UCF Technology Incubator. “Dr. Chen’s company is a great example of what we are trying to accomplish.”

POISED FOR FURTHER GROWTH Dr. Chen’s business, which he owns jointly with a Boston area entrepreneur, has far exceeded initial expectations.

A growing list of doctors, mostly referred from existing Cognoscenti clients, continue to be swayed by the quiet Chen’s dedication to medical research and a business concept he drafted on a breakfast napkin back in his Harvard residency days. Lab results that once took a week or more can now often be delivered inside 24 hours. Doctors can access patients’ results via the Internet or through a private direct network, cutting back drastically on the time required for analysis and diagnosis.

He points out that Cognoscenti is the area’s only established full-service lab and even handles regular samples requiring advanced testing that are flown in daily from south Florida. Chen picked Orlando as a prime market for his start-up business due to its large and growing population.

“We saw that Orlando didn’t have a local lab facility and that there were often long lag times for test results when local doctors sent samples off to national laboratories,” he explains.

It’s a commonly known fact that over time test samples degrade. The quicker analysis is performed, the more accurate and precise the results. When compared to the rest of the country, it was uncommon to find a city the size of Orlando without a resident medical lab. Chen, who has family roots in the city and attended Valencia Community College early in his academic career, quickly determined that Orlando was ideal for launching Cognoscenti Health Institute.

The company, which handles upwards of 700 patient samples daily, is currently approved by United

Healthcare of Florida’s HMO and PPO, as well as the government’s Medicare and Medicaid programs. While there is some level of frustration in working towards full acceptance by big insurance companies like Aetna and Humana Inc., Chen is confident they will eventually approve Cognoscenti.

“Because we are charging only the standard rate fees established by the insurance industry, there doesn’t appear to be any legitimate objection to utilizing our lab,” he claims.

Given his company’s growing presence with Orlando physicians’ offices, it’s most likely just a matter of time before the big healthcare providers take notice. Chen is poised for expansion, with 14 acres purchased in the Central Florida Research Park and five newly opened patient service centers for sample collection.

Currently, his advanced testing equipment is only running at about 20 percent capacity.

PRODUCING RESULTS Already, the structure of Cognoscenti’s operation provides a closer melding of physicians with the laboratory testing facility. The advantages of working with a local staff of highly trained technologists offer doctors faster and more accurate information upon which to base their diagnoses. Because of this much more symbiotic relationship, the level of personal service and information sharing is greatly increased, ultimately benefiting the patient.

Edward Lowenstein, Medical Director of local Community Health Centers, Inc., concurs. “A primary advantage for us is the consultative role Cognoscenti takes in providing and helping to select the most technologically-advanced and cost-effective testing procedures on behalf of our patients.”

There’s definitely been a movement of biomedical technology.

“We have taken clinical services at the academic level and brought them into the community,” Chen explains.

As medicine becomes more and more decentralized, advanced

NURTURING TECH BIZ The University of Central Florida (UCF) Technology Incubator opened in 1999 and has grown to include 55 emerging technology companies. The Incubators’s mission is simple: A University-driven community partnership providing early stage technology companies with the tools, training and infrastructure to create financially stable highgrowth companies.

The Incubator serves the region’s technology industry sector by specializing in leveraging the intellectual capital and resources of the University and community to give new companies a competitive advantage.

To date, the program has served more than 70 companies, which have been responsible for creating more than 450 new jobs in the area, generating more than $150 million in revenues and securing more than $90 million of investment.

For more information, visit www.incubator.ucf.edu.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF US DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY HUMAN GENOME PROGRAM

technology, once unique only to big medical centers, is following the trend and finding its way down to the level of medical practice, or the community.

Until now, doctors have been limited to a menu list of test choices offered by national labs. Conversely, Dr. Chen has shown a willingness to add to Cognoscenti’s some 350 in-house testing options and has even tailored and streamlined new analysis to fit certain physicians’ specific requirements. Additionally, Chen works closely with area doctors to custom tailor computer screens, thereby better facilitating testing procedures and offering insight and Medical Logic Models that suggest testing options relevant to documented case histories.

LEADING MEDICINE’S REVOLUTION Chen explains that the healthcare profession is poised for revolutionary changes that will focus more on “evidence-based” medical practices and take advantage of new technologies as they become available.

“Personalized medicine that focuses more directly on the individual is probably going to be the dominant influence in new medical practices for the foreseeable future,” Chen theorizes.

Cognoscenti Health Institute, with Dr. Chen at its helm, is at the forefront of research that will determine how future patients are diagnosed and treated.

“Medicine never has been a onesize-fits-all concept,” he says.

Pharmacogenomics technology, for example, is a cutting-edge scientific process designed to better understand how current medications work inside our bodies. In a nutshell, the technology is the study of how an individual’s genetic inheritance affects the body’s response to drugs. The term comes from the words pharmacology and genomics, and is thus the intersection of pharmaceuticals and genetics.

Working in conjunction with researchers from Harvard Medical School and the University of Pittsburgh, Dr. Chen is leading a case study to identify and categorize up to 37 human

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genetic markers and document how certain chemotherapy drugs have interacted with each. The hope is not just to prescribe existing drugs with a greater margin of efficacy and safety, but also to lead the development of powerful new medications that more directly target diseased cells.

Dr. Chen explains, “Rather than taking a trial-and-error approach to establish a course of therapy, pharmacogenomics will allow doctors a powerful analytical tool, whereby they have accurate medicinal data regarding a patient’s genetic profile, to prescribe the best drug therapy from the onset.”

Currently, it’s estimated that nearly 100,000 people die each year due to adverse drug response, with countless more hospitalized.

The further advantages to this new

technology are far reaching and include being able to test early for predisposition to certain diseases, creating better vaccines, improved targeting for drug testing and overall reduction in the cost of health care.

Dr. Chen is modest and unassuming when talking about Cognoscenti Health Institute, although he’s pleased with the level of success achieved.

On the other hand, he is adamant about the company’s progress and commitment to the Orlando area.

“It’s been a very rewarding experience working with local businesses. We are looking forward to continued growth,” he says.

One thing is certain, he is determined to stay abreast of the latest advances in biomedical science. And that translates to better healthcare for everybody living in Central Florida. x

x

on the circuit

>>

Don’t miss these technology-themed community events taking place across Florida’s High Tech Corridor, which includes the Orlando, Tampa Bay and Volusia County/Space Coast regions. An updated calendar is always available through www.OrlandoEDC.com’s Central Florida Technology Partnership section.

By Amy Edge

Florida Tech Transfer Conference May 17-18, 2004

Innovation Florida ‘04 Sept. 29, 2004

Presented by the Florida Research Consortium and the Tampa Bay Technology Forum, this statewide conference showcases the technologies available for licensing and commercialization from Florida’s research universities and institutions. It targets a national audience of corporate leaders, investors, and university representatives to explore issues and trends in technology transfer, and invites them to discover business opportunities with Florida’s universities and research facilities.

Innovation Florida 2004, a regional venture capital conference presented by the UCF Technology Incubator and the Central Florida Innovation Corporation, connects private technology companies with investors, venture capitalists and financiers for an exclusive financial and business development event.

www.floridaresearch.org/techtransfer Technology Regional Leadership Forum June 22, 2004 Sponsored by the Regional Board of Advisors of the Orlando Regional Chamber of Commerce, this half-day Regional Leadership Forum focuses on technology. Community leaders, government officials, entrepreneurs, economic development, education and technology experts will participate in an open discussion about issues impacting Central Florida’s economic growth.

www.orlando.org William C. Schwartz Innovation Awards Sept. 8, 2004 Successful innovation is one of the driving forces behind expanding and diversifying our economy. With this in mind, the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission’s William C. Schwartz Industry Innovation Awards program honors companies and individuals who have successfully created, developed, and implemented creative products and ideas.

www.cfic.org 150 Seconds of Fury October 2004 Held in Lakeland, his event offers companies from across the Florida High Tech Corridor the opportunity to forge strategic partnerships and alliances with other local and regional companies. Featured companies will receive 150 seconds to present information about their products, services and the type of partnerships they are seeking.

www.tbtf.org

www.orlandoedc.com

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CLEAR JETBLUE AIRWAYS LANDS ITS FIRST-EVER PILOT TRAINING FACILITY IN ORLANDO

VIZ

>>

By C.S. White

“With the number of planes in our fleet, pilots needing recurrent training, and the purchase of E190s, it made sense for us to get our own facility,” says Mike Barger, chief learning officer for JetBlue University, which conducts all aspects of the airline’s training.

Indeed it does.

JetBlue currently operates a fleet of 58 Airbus A320 aircraft serving 27 cities (including Orlando), with plans for up to a fleet total of 203. The airline recently placed an order for up to 200 EMBRAER 190 aircraft. The first E190 is scheduled for delivery in mid-2005.

Furthermore, by 2005, when the new facility is scheduled to take off,

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JetBlue University expects to annually process 440 new-hire pilots, upgrade 220 pilots and conduct recurrent training for roughly 1,500 pilots (nearly double the number it was processing at the time of this writing).

“Orlando is a natural fit for our needs,” continues Barger. “Among other things, it has great weather, things for our students to do while they’re here in training, a cooperative business climate, and land.”

MAKING THE GRADE ‘Among other things’ includes Orlando’s reputation as the simulation and training capital of the world. Metro

ILLUSTRATION BY DAVID WILLIAMS

Since its startup in 1999, JetBlue Airways has steadily climbed to become one of the nation’s leading — not to mention profitable — low-fare airlines, all while many of its fellow airlines are navigating through turbulent times. Through a unique management approach piloted by maverick founder David Neelman, the airline’s customer-centric service, unique in-flight features and low fares have made it a favorite choice. So much so that demand and growth required the company, which has been conducting its flight simulation training out of Miami at Airbus North America’s facility, to look to new horizons for a training facility to call its own. Orlando is that choice.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF JETBLUE AIRWAYS

Orlando is home to the greatest concentration of modeling, simulation and training companies in the world, including more than 100 companies accounting for 16,800 direct/indirect jobs. Or, in short, quite a talent pool from which JetBlue can pull in the future.

That means something to JetBlue, considering that the new 80,000square-foot training center will ultimately be running 16 Level D, fullflight simulators. (To fully appreciate their value, both monetarily and intrinsically, each Level D sim is a $10-million machine that perfectly emulates the environment of an aircraft from feel to sound, allowing pilots to virtually learn everything they need to know before getting into the actual aircraft.)

Orlando’s quality of life was never far from view either. Adds Barger, “Our pilots train for seven weeks. If you have to go away from home for an extended period of time, it’s hard to argue whether you would rather be in Buffalo or Orlando. South Florida is okay, but crowded and, from a culture and entertainment perspective, there’s only the beach. Central Florida is a fully developed recreational area.”

MAKING THE CHOICE Orlando was one of at least four serious options on JetBlue’s radar when screening for a home for the facility. Request for proposals went out to the airline’s home base in New York City, to land-wealthy Upstate New York and to Ft. Lauderdale, which already had a JetBlue Airways pilot base and arrivals department in place.

Barger recounts part of the Orlando vetting process.

“As this was coming together, we happened to be

“The wealth of simulation and modeling training expertise and technology in the area played a role in JetBlue’s [choice]. ... We couldn’t be in a better place.” — Paul Proffett “Because of my background in sim strategies, I knew Orlando was a city where we would continue to grow, and be able to build and cultivate relationships with the local technology industry,” says Barger.

Paul Proffett, director of flight for JetBlue University, concurs. “The wealth of simulation and modeling training expertise and technology in the area played a role in JetBlue’s [choice]. We’ll bring most of our crew in to continue the operation, but the sim maintenance end will be hired from available resources.

And, as we grow, we’ll be looking for instructors from the area. We couldn’t be in a better place.”

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installing our LiveTV entertainment system in our planes at the Orlando Magic hangar we temporarily leased at Orlando International Airport. As we did further research, it became obvious that GOAA [Greater Orlando Aviation Authority] was a forward thinking, opened-minded group with its real estate development and that we could construct a new facility on GOAA land.

All the planets lined up and it seemed like a good fit in every way.

“As part of the process,” continues Barger, “a little over a year ago we swept through Orlando with our sunglasses and mustaches on as an

‘anonymous’ company to meet with the University of Central Florida and several simulator companies to see what they had to say.”

National Center for Simulation Executive Director Russ Hauck, who organized the half-day tour of companies, clearly recalls the circumstances leading up to JetBlue’s visit.

“I received a call from the folks at the EDC [Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission] saying they were bringing in a group of people they wanted briefed on the Central Florida Research Park, but ‘we can’t tell you who they are or where they’re from.’”

The directive: give them a feel for the depth, range and expanse of the technology and capability of the companies that could be a resource to them.

Hauck proceeded to set up tours with companies that included Science Applications International Corp., developer of training and sim solution software; Evans & Sutherland, maker of visual simulation technology; and the University of Central Florida Institute for Simulation & Training, a modeling and sim technology research institute.

“We have a great group of flexible people here that will go with the flow on something like this,” explains Hauck. “Our companies are used to working with the military, so there is a cooperative business spirit to follow through and get the job done.”

It didn’t go unnoticed, he says. Later, when JetBlue announced its decision, a comment was made to Hauck that one of the things that struck the company was that when considering other locations, it had tried to reach out to local academic institutions, but had difficulty getting them to respond — unlike its experience with Orlando.

“We expect to build relationships [internships and outsourcing] with local education systems like UCF,” says Proffett. “Our tech base is in learning and Orlando’s is in development.

PHOTO COURTESY OF LOCKHEED MARTIN CORP.

Orlando has a reputation for being on the leading edge in this area.”

“Everyone was awesome, from both the culture and tech components — refreshingly so,” says Barger. “When sitting at the table with EDC and GOAA, there was an honest willingness to see how we could make this work.”

In addition to UCF, EDC and GOAA, other people and organizations that helped take JetBlue’s commitment to Central Florida to a new level included Florida Governor Jeb Bush, City of Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, Orange County Chair man Rich Crotty, Enterprise Florida and Valencia Community College.

Even after the deal was cinched, the spirit of cooperation continues, says an impressed Proffett. “There aren’t too many days that go by when we don’t hear from Central Florida tech companies. They have heard we are opening the facility and want to know what they can do to be a part of it.”

Clearly, Orlando is a natural fit. x

JetBlue U, Orlando JetBlue University’s new training center will encompass an 80,000-square-foot building.

Initial capacity will include eight flight simulators and two cabin simulators, plus classrooms, cabin crew training equipment, a training pool, a fire-fighting training station and administration areas. JetBlue will use this new facility for the initial and continuous training of all JetBlue pilots and inflight crew, plus support training for its

The Model City for MS&T Metro Orlando has long been recognized as the nation’s epicenter for modeling, simulation and training (MS&T) technology.

From its roots in military training, this industry has evolved over the past 40 years to provide invaluable applications in such diverse fields as aerospace, medical, emergency services, transportation, education and entertainment. More than 100 MS&T companies are located in Metro Orlando, contributing to more than 16,500 jobs and an estimated $1.3 billion in annual revenue in the community.

The Naval Training Systems Center, now known as NAVAIR-TSD, and the Army’s PEOSTRI form the core of the MS&T sector in Metro Orlando. These organizations, along with programs managed by the Marine Corps, Air Force and Coast Guard, represent the headquarters for the U.S. government’s purchasing and operational support for its simulation and training needs, and attract a great number of associated vendors to the region.

Backing Metro Orlando’s MS&T industry are a number of renowned research, support and educational facilities, including the National Center for Simulation, the University of Central Florida Institute for Simulation and Training, and Embry Riddle Aeronautical University’s aviation simulation programs. Metro Orlando’s strong MS&T standing has earned the region the distinction of being designated a National Center of Excellence for Simulation and Training.

Metro Orlando has more than 20 fully accredited institutions of higher learning, which place approximately 85 percent of graduates into the local workforce. The University of Central Florida (UCF), a key contributor to the quality of the employee pool in this region, is one of the few universities in the country to offer both masters and doctoral level MS&T programs. Over the past year alone, UCF has conferred 3,000 undergraduate, masters and doctoral degrees in disciplines related to MS&T, including computer science, psychology (clinical and industrial/organizational), engineering, mathematics and physics. As a result, Metro Orlando’s MS&T businesses

technical operations and customer service

have access to a continual “brain trust” of individuals pursuing breakthrough progress

crew. Plans also call for on-property ameni-

in the field.

ties such as a full-service hotel to house stu-

The extensive resources and expertise available in Metro Orlando, through the

dents, a gas station/mini-mart facility, and

convergence of prominent MS&T organizations, reinforce the region’s position as an

both a sit-down and a fast-food restaurant.

unmatched locale for new and expanding companies within the industry.

Construction of the training center is sched-

Becoming Part of Our Tech Landscape

uled for completion in late 2005.

The new facilities, which will cover a total of 150,000 square feet, are expected to require a capital investment of up to $160 million and to create more than 150 jobs in Orlando.

Metro Orlando offers attractive incentives to qualified relocating and expanding companies. This assistance is based on each organization’s particular needs, including, but not limited to: >> Job creation

>> Wage levels

>> Capital investments

For more information, visit the “Data Center/Incentives” section of the Metro

JetBlue University was founded in 2002

Orlando Economic Development Commission’s Web site at www.OrlandoEDC.com,

to conduct all aspects of the organization’s

which provides a general overview of incentives offered to high tech companies located

training, from pilots and in-flight crew to

in the area.

technical operations and customer service.

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MILIT How they used to do it... shown here is an actual firefighting practice exercise on a Naval ship. Taken in 1968 by James L. Amos.

TARY ADVANCES N AV Y TA P S I N T O C E N T R A L F L O R I D A AT T R A C T I O N I N D U S T RY F O R TRAINING N E E D S

Central Florida is the acknowledged theme park capital of the world, and home to a large number of creative individuals and companies involved in the design and fabrication of these high-tech fantasy worlds. Park operators from around the world routinely tap into our region’s theming talent pool.

Increasingly, they are now being joined by a number of companies that one wouldn’t traditionally associate with rides or shows.

By Brian Walker

>>

Terms such as “immersive experiences” and “sensory-based storytelling” are used to describe a process that taps into the tricks of the theme park trade to create a multi-sensory, virtual environment that delivers a powerful sales, educational or inspirational message. One of the highest visibility clients to leverage this emerging technology is the U.S. Navy, which wanted to add a heightened degree of realism to the final phase of their basic training program.

Their search eventually lead to Central Florida and to entrepreneur Bob Allen’s uniquely meshed technology and entertainment company i.d.e.a.s. at Disney-MGM Studios. What emerged next was a unique naval training concept, named Battle Stations 21, that uses what i.d.e.a.s. calls “visceral reality” to mimic the difficulties and challenges of oceangoing emergencies and combat situations.

Battle Stations 21 will mark the culmination of a Navy sailor’s basic training program, with recruits being ushered onto what appears to be an operational naval vessel, complete with the sounds, sights and hardware they would encounter at sea. During the course of a harrowing night aboard, recruits will be put through a number of extremely realistic exercises and drills that might include contact with a hostile vessel and a simulated fire, complete with alarms, smoke and water. “[This is] beyond multimedia or virtual reality,” Allen says. “What we’re doing is using a new process to create a real environment that can be touched, manipulated and felt with real consequences, but with little to no ‘true’ risk.”

Originally awarded the Phase I, $1.4 million conceptual design contract in August 2002, Allen spearheaded a conceptual design team that included local players Oceaneering Entertainment, Bob Weis Design Island and Blankenship-McMillen Architects.

Oceaneering Entertainment is a locally based division of Oceaneering International, a leading player in the realm of deep-sea exploration and industry. The company’s Remote Operated Vehicles are used in offshore oil production and in underwater salvage. Having leveraged their robotics technology into the entertainment market, the company’s most recognized creation is the robotic shark from Jaws that thrills guests at Universal Studios.

LIVE LEARNING EBAT, or “Event Based Approach Training,” is not a new concept to our

military leaders responsible for turning raw recruits into the world’s best soldiers, sailors and airmen. However, the logistical difficulties faced by the Navy in simulating battle scenarios to train sailors are far more complex and difficult than those faced by the armed services training ground troops and pilots.

Scientific studies have shown that we are much more susceptible to learning and retention when we’re able to “willingly suspend our disbelief” and accept that we are truly experiencing an event firsthand.

“Imagine a movie-goer experiencing a film. A well-crafted movie immerses you in the story. It evokes emotions and memories, even physical responses,” says Kelly Pounds, i.d.e.a.s.’ vice president of learning.

“This is a type of willing suspension of disbelief. We all know the people and events on screen aren’t real, but we accept them as such for the brief period of time we’re engaged by them.”

Allen adds further, “Now imagine instead of watching the movie, you become an actor on the set. You are now in the story and there’s no means of escape … not emotionally, or from the

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE U.S. NAVY

consequences of your actions, or from the set itself.”

This is the primary challenge to be met in developing Battle Stations 21.

From the Navy’s perspective, there’s the added benefit of being much better able to continually measure the performance and decision-making capabilities of recruits in times of stress and anxiety.

The actual details of how the i.d.e.a.s. team will go about creating a full-on immersive training environment for Battle Stations 21 are not readily shared.

Still, one only needs to consider the types of special effects that must go into the creation of films, such as U-571, or the latest virtual reality effects brought to life in rides like Spider-Man at Universal Studios and Mission: SPACE at Disney’s Epcot.

Nonetheless, Allen remains mum on certain aspects of his proposed system, saying, “We’re not going to reveal how

incidents. While the Navy has used all available resources and ingenuity to make this training as realistic as possible, there’s still a good deal of “role playing” responsibility that each recruit must take on. Additionally, because there is no continuity of mental engagement by the recruits, the prospective sailors go through a process of having to stop and start each individual training exercise.

Each exercise is drawn from different real life U.S. Navy events that have occurred across the globe, and are generally unrelated to one another.

complete their training, Battle Stations 21 will immerse recruits in an ongoing storyline “mission” that will take place entirely within the confines of a single building. Bob Allen believes in this concept wholeheartedly and, working with the Navy, claims that “by delivering the Battle Stations 21 training content inside a rich story and a high fidelity, immersive environment, we will achieve better retention, comprehension and integration of key training objectives.”

Chief Warrant Officer Dave Becraft, BS-21 Navy Project Officer at the Great Lakes Training Facility, goes on to explain some of the other goals of the Navy

“This is beyond multimedia or virtual reality,” Allen says. “What we’re doing is creating a real environment that can be touched, manipulated and felt with real consequences, but with little to no ‘true’ risk.”

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE U.S. NAVY

acronym BS-21. “A common goal of all the planned scenarios is to foster a team environment in which recruits must work together to complete specific exercises or overcome obstacles to be able to perform in an emergency situation.” we’ll build the system. The Unlike the current Battle reality would be lost if we Stations program, where a did.” Considering that it’s a recruit’s participation is military training program, measured trough a series of working on a “need to separate individual events, know” basis somehow the BS-21 exercise will be seems appropriate. What’s geared towards overall apparent is that recruits will Clockwise from top: Two Navy recruits conducting an “investigate and success of working together most likely be facing real fire, rescue” event during a Battle Stations’ exercise; The Fire Party enters into a burning compartment and attacks a fire; The USS Austin during as a team to “save their smoke, water and other conits commissioning ceremony. Opposite page: The forecastle of a U.S. shipmates and the ship”. ditions that will seem all too Navy Arleigh Burke destroyer.

The program is designed real at the time, and they will to challenge the recruit’s determination, be tasked with acting out learned Battle Stations 21 will take Naval endurance and Navy core values of procedures that will culminate with their training to the next level and utilize honor, courage and commitment. transition from recruit into U.S. Navy sailor. storytelling techniques, tested immersion Rear Admiral Ann Rondeau, technology developed in the entertainCommander, Naval Training Center Comment industry, and advanced instructional THE NEXT LEVEL mand, Great Lakes, Ill., sums it up nicely. systems designed to create a fully inteThe current Battle Stations training “Our objective is to make the Battle grated immersion learning experience for exercise program began in 1997, and is Stations a more effective training evoNavy recruits. Where recruits now transit comprised of 13 separate one-hour lution. If we achieve that goal, we send to and from different locations at the training events. Each event is based on a better trained sailor to the fleet.” x Great Lakes Naval Training Facility to Naval history taken from actual tragic

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SUCCESS VISUAL BOOK PRODUCTIONS

CAPTURED TAKES CUTTING-EDGE DIGITAL

IN MOTION ANIMATION TO A “NEW LEVEL”

PHOTO COURTESY OF VISUAL BOOK PRODUCTIONS

>>

In 1977, George Lucas and his special effects studio, Industrial Light & Magic, took on the challenge of creating an entire alternate universe, a labor of love that yielded the Star Wars film saga. Quite impressive and loads of fun. But, no one (as far as we know) has ever actually seen or visited any alien cosmos, so no one has ever challenged Lucas’ vision of it. Now, imagine taking on “The Greatest Story Ever Told,” the most studied, debated, scrutinized, argued, translated and controversial work in the history of humanity: the Bible. Consider the task of documenting — using 3-D animation and advanced digital technology — the hundreds of thousands of pieces of information related to the historical accounting of Jesus and the 1st-century Middle East, the stories of the Bible, and all of its attendant facts. Now, imagine that your company is a start-up and that this is its first project. Visual Book Productions did it — not using Hollywood’s heavy-hitters, but their own state-of-the-art production facility in Orlando.

ADVANCING DIGITAL TECH IN CENTRAL FLORIDA

PHOTO BY CHARLES HODGES

Companies such as Industrial Light & Magic and Pixar have become almost as well known as the films that have employed their digital animation — Toy Story, Finding Nemo, Star Wars, E.T., Cocoon. The companies’ ubiquitous reputations might lead people outside the high tech industry to believe that northern California is the only place producing cutting-edge, 3-D computer animation. Not so. New York, Los Angeles, London, Sydney and Tokyo all have

By Brian Courtney

substantial animation industries. But they also have hefty price tags.

Central Florida, however, offers high tech companies substantially lower overhead without sacrificing the technical support infrastructure needed to maintain highly specialized processes. In addition, the region is easily accessible, provides a sound talent pool and is an attractive relocation environment for companies that need to recruit talent with expert skills in niche functions. With all these advantages, Orlando is the right choice for a broad array of technologybased entities. In particular, fledgling companies — such as Visual Book when it arrived in 1999 — benefit from Central Florida’s entrepreneurial business environment.

“We incorporated in the United States in 1999 and were working from the basement of my home in Park Ridge, New Jersey,” explains Nelson Saba, CEO of Visual Book. “We had some seed money from a group of investors, but we were searching for additional venture capital to build out our organization — people and assets — to the level needed to produce a quality product. To interest those second-tier investors, we knew that we needed to keep our operating costs low, which would increase our margins and make the company more attractive.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF VISUAL BOOK PRODUCTIONS

“We looked at the major metropolitan centers and several smaller markets, including Raleigh and Tampa, but felt that Orlando offered the best combination for us: low fixed costs, available technical support and a high quality of life for our employees.”

These same qualities have enticed companies such as AAA, Darden Restaurants and Tupperware International to locate their world headquarters here, establishing Central Florida among the nation’s top metropolitan areas in industry and commerce.

“Orange County provided tax in centives that were very attractive. We also found that some other locations levied substantial municipal and state taxes. Not so here. Some goods and services are not taxed at all. Others are assessed at comparably low rates.”

Saba also cites lower cost commercial space as a deciding factor. The equation has worked similarly for other industry leaders, such as Lockheed Martin, Siemens Westinghouse and Agere Systems. The result: Orlando’s technology sector employment has doubled since 1980. Today, approximately 79 percent of the region’s total manufacturing growth stems from high tech.

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GAINING MOMENTUM Saba’s choice proved prophetic. In September 2002, with new money and a marketing and distribution agreement with Tyndale House Publishers, the country’s third largest Christian Literature producers, Visual Book launched iLumina, the first digitally animated, interactive biblical reference software. The product sold 160,000 units in its first five months.

“Any mainstream consumer software that sells 20,000 copies in one year is considered successful,” says Max Croft, the company’s general manager.

“For Christian-market products, ‘good’ is 20,000 units in five years. Based on these benchmarks, we’ve really hit on something with this product.”

At the time of this writing, iLumina had sold more than 300,000 copies in 52 countries. Both Croft and Saba attribute this success to the product’s simple usability and unique accessibility to its content. The iLumina Gold program provides more than 100,000 pieces of information, which includes 9,000 articles, 800-plus photos, 200-plus maps and animated charts, an interactive animated biblical atlas, 37 digitally animated stories taken from the Bible word-for-word, two-plus hours of video tours and referenced translations from two versions of the Bible.

“This is cinematic-quality digital animation on par with anything that has come out of Hollywood,” says Croft. “In

fact, some of the artists involved in this project come from that industry. And, the user interface is as familiar as any video game or mainstream PC software, so consumers are comfortable navigating through the various components.”

According to Saba, this level of sophistication wouldn’t have been possible without having their own digital motion-capture studio, a benefit made financially possible by their reduced expenditures in other operational areas.

The facility, one of just two in the extended Central Florida region, employs a specialized camera array that interprets the movements of a human garbed in a reflective suit, converting it into the computer equivalent of a stick figure. Artists using high-powered software then add bones, muscles, skin and features to the stick figures to create the “living” characters that inhabit the animated stories. The company’s rendering farm, a bank of automated computer servers, then builds scenes from layer upon layer of drawings.

“Our servers run twentyfour/seven,” says Croft. “If they go down, our production grinds to a halt.

PHOTO COURTESY OF VISUAL BOOK PRODUCTIONS

“But, because Disney established its animation studios here more than a decade ago, there is a support system in place. We can get instant on-site service from companies like HewlettPackard and Silicon Graphics if we need it. Their centers here are never without technicians and parts to serve us. That’s not necessarily the case in the other cities we investigated. And, if we have a problem, we can’t afford to be down for days waiting on service.”

Orlando’s significant film production sector also allowed Visual Book to maximize their technology investments. The company added a new revenue stream by using their facility to produce television commercials and programs, computer animation and golf video games for local and out-ofstate businesses.

GETTING PERSONAL Even with all these technological and financial advantages, perhaps the biggest factor in Saba’s choosing Orlando was human.

“Technology is meaningless without people,” says Saba. “We needed a location that would make it easy for us to build our staff and to provide a high standard of living for them once they joined our organization. Orlando has met both of these criteria.”

The region’s strong ties to the entertainment industry meant that there was already a pool of skilled high tech labor.

And with animation and digital

technology curricula at the University of Central Florida and Full Sail Real World Education Center, the area’s schools are continually producing new talent.

With no state income tax and an average cost of living below the national average, Central Florida has made recruiting, for permanent and temporary employees, easy for Visual Book.

“The weather is, of course, a huge draw for people, but more important is the reasonable cost of housing and transportation,” says Saba. “This is also a very livable city, moderately sized, but one that provides culture and sophistication that you might only expect in the big urban areas.”

Saba believes that the area’s tourism base is largely responsible for creating Orlando’s appealing social, dining and cultural scenes.

Croft, a transplant from Los Angeles, agrees.

“The Disney brand has also helped brand Orlando in the American psyche.

The two are almost inseparable, and almost everyone has some positive association with Disney’s characters and its movies. That’s rubbed off on this city’s image.”

Croft credits that image with Visual Book’s nearly effortless recruitment of freelance help, the majority of its current staffing drive.

“We frequently enlist talent from the entertainment industry in Hollywood and the gaming industry in northern California and Vancouver. But even people who live in these great places are willing to come to Orlando for assignments.”

Visual Book is also satisfied with Orlando’s service-sector talent.

“We’ve located top-notch lawyers and accountants, real estate agents, all the support people that it takes to run a successful business. Those are important people — extensions of your staff, really — who are sometimes overlooked when you’re considering where to move your operations,” says Saba.

In the warehouse space that Visual Book has converted into a blue-screen studio, an actor goes through strictly choreographed motions in front of three cameras. The footage will be digitized and fed into a computer. An artist will create a composite, overlaying the actor’s image, now looking like a pharaoh, onto a background showing ancient Egypt. As Nelson Saba continues to tell “The Greatest Story Ever Told,” he is happy to have chosen Central Florida as his company’s corporate home. For Visual Book, Orlando has proven to be like x manna from Heaven.

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x

intelligent forms of lifestyle

ORLANDO

Living it up in

By Denise Bates Enos

FROM HIGH BROW TO HAUTE CUISINE, THE THINKING-PERSON’S ORLANDO

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Upon first glance, it’s easy to only see signs of a world-class tourism destination. But take a second look, and you’ll discover a refreshingly forward-thinking urban culture, one that taps into the aesthetic and intellectual fiber of our local cognoscenti. There are a host of thought-provoking and

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cultural pursuits from which to choose, including a place for the bibliophile to page through the Utne Reader or catch a poetry reading; fine dining establishments abuzz with sparkling conversation among vintage wines; and a local arts cinema that plays firstrun independent features year-round and is home to a top-rated annual film festival.

PHOTO COURTESY OF DARDEN RESTAURANTS

A MATTER OF TASTE Good taste of the epicurean variety can be found throughout Orlando, but there’s a new kid — kids, actually — on the block to sample. Seemingly overnight, an appetizing new “Restaurant Row” has sprung up on Sand Lake Road in southwest Orlando, luring residents and visitors alike from throughout the metro area with a tantalizing smorgasbord of offerings. Bound by Turkey Lake Road and Della Drive, this section of Sand Lake is peppered with such notable eateries as Ruth’s Chris and Morton’s of Chicago steakhouses, Timpano’s, Samba Room, Roy’s and more. The after-hours business crowd has made this area the number-one watering hole in town. At any one of these restaurants on any given evening the bar is packed with professionals networking, decompressing and connecting with like-minded career folk.

Generating the most buzz on the street is Seasons 52, the latest offering from Darden Restaurants of Red Lobster and Olive Garden fame. But, don’t let that chain-restaurant association fool you: Seasons 52 is anything but a cookie-cutter eatery. Instead, the emphasis is on a fresh, ever-changing menu that focuses on in-season ingredients (hence the name). It’s fast becoming the see-and-be-seen place to be for power lunches and business dinners, as well as weekend outings.

Recent offerings included a Herb Ricotta Ravioli appetizer served with julienne vegetables in a roasted garlic broth and a Grilled Jumbo Sea Scallops entree with x sautéed asparagus and pearl pasta. www.seasons52.com

CELLULOID DREAMS Yearning to see an edgy independent flick? How about a European art film? No need to book a flight to Sundance — one of the top 10 film festivals in the world takes place right here. Each March, the 10-day Florida Film Festival showcases the year’s best American, independent and international documentaries and narrative films, including homegrown Florida films and animated shorts.

After the festival, the cultural infusion doesn’t end: the Enzian shows a variety of art, avant-garde, foreign and experimental films at its

A REAL PAGE-TURNER

Maitland theater year-round.

In an age where even bookstores have fallen victim to the one-size-fits-all chain-store mentality, it’s refreshing to find an independent oasis such as Urban Think. This independent bookseller located in downtown Orlando’s trendy Thornton Park is a veritable paradise of publications ranging from the political to the poetical. It’s staffed by fellow enthusiasts of the written word who are eager to help you find even the most obscure and esoteric of texts.

Urban Think is also a gathering spot for local intellectuals, activists and other cerebral sorts seeking to rub shoulders with similarly lettered individuals. The bookstore often hosts community activities and provides a platform for those with something politically, socially, environmentally or locally significant to say. Additional activities include art displays, live music performances, and wine and beer tastings during downtown’s “Third Thursdays” arts and culture celebration each month. www.urbanthink.com

And it’s not your typical multiplex-in-the-mall experience, either. At the Enzian, theater-goers enjoy comfortable chairs seated around tables, and a tempting array of appetizers, entrees, soft drinks, beer and wine. All that, and you can get popcorn, too. www.enzian.org

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