August 22, 2019 – LOS ANGELES – USC’s Institute for Creative Technologies (ICT) is celebrating its 20thanniversary this year. What began as a Department of Defense and Army initiative to advance simulations and computer-supported training by collaborating with the entertainment industry has since transformed into a leading research center developing artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies for creating interactive educational media that improves the lives of service members, veterans and society at large.
It is estimated that hundreds of thousands of service members and veterans have used ICT training systems and health therapies. Systems include prototypes that help treat post-traumatic stress symptoms using virtual reality, systems that teach leaders how to counsel subordinates, job training for returning service members using virtual human technology, rapid 3D terrain capture and reconstructions using drones, mixed reality smart glasses, and more.
The impacts of ICT’s DoD and Army-funded research extend far beyond the military including basic research knowledge transforming industry adoption, fundamental characteristics of human-machine teams, hologram-like projections of genocide and sexual assault survivors, award-winning graphics in blockbuster films, game-based systems for physical therapy, and the creation of low-cost virtual reality headsets like Oculus Rift and Google Cardboard.
Working in collaboration with the Government and DoD Research Laboratories, to include the Army Research Lab and Army Futures Command Soldier Center, ICT is also a recognized leader in several areas of academic research ranging from computer science, human performance, serious games for training, terrain reconstruction modeling and more. The combination of scientists and storytellers is what has instilled a sense of uniqueness at the Institute and what will continue making an impact today and paving the way for what is possible in the future.
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