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Orlando, Fla. --- When University of Central
Florida's Research division tapped three engineers to provide simulation
training for military employees some 10 years ago, the seeds were
planted for a company that would eventually stand on its own to
meet vital needs of the Department of Defense and its vendors.
Distributed Simulation Technology, Inc. (DiSTI) is the brainchild
of engineers Joe Swinski, William Andrews and Darren Humphrey,
each of whom were employed by General Electric, Lockheed or the
like in the early 1990s. They joined UCF's Institute for Simulation
and Training in 1993 and manned a training company on the side,
offering training and other service in the field of simulator networking.
Eventually Humphrey saw a need to develop a virtual prototyping
and rapid simulation development tool for companies that manufacture
virtual flight simulators.
The result is GL StudioT, which went to market in 2000.
The software leverages gaming technology to provide high speed
realistic computer graphics on low cost computers, replacing legacy
systems that required expensive graphics supercomputers. The software
is sold to companies that manufacture virtual training devices
for the Department of Defense, including locals Lockheed Martin,
L-3 Communications, American Systems Corp., Unitech, General Dynamics,
SAIC and several others. GL Studio has now been sold to more than
150 companies and government agencies around the world.
GL Studio allows these manufacturers to build virtual cockpits
for flight simulators, 3D maintenance trainers and computer generated
display systems for simulators. The software is currently being
developed for use in commercial and military aircraft displays.
GL Studio is also being adopted in the automotive market to prototype
and develop next generation automotive displays, including a recent
sale to Nissan Motor Corporation.
In its first year of operation, DiSTI revenues were around $100,000.
Just ten years later, their revenues have grown more than twenty-fold
to $2.5 million and they expect to exceed $4 million this year.
The company's workforce has doubled to over 20 employees and the
company is looking to hire 10 more employees in 2005. Over 30 new
customers came on board in 2004, according to Swinski.
He credits the UCF Technology Incubator for giving his company
the foundation for success. "As engineers, we had the technological
capabilities to make DiSTI and GL Studio a reality. Fortunately,
as part of the UCF Technology Incubator, we also had the assistance
and the guidance with our business plan, business model, pricing,
marketing and other areas where we weren't as experienced," said
Swinski, DiSTI president.
DiSTI recently graduated from the UCF Technology Incubator program
and their prospects for continued growth are promising, said Carol
Ann Dykes, chief operating officer of the UCF Technology Incubator.
Swinski added "we recently got an SBIR contract to develop GL
Studio into a product capable of generating safety critical avionics
displays for Army helicopters, which will get our foot in the door
of market that exceeds $3 Billion. We are also developing the first
in a new class of 3D virtual F-18 maintenance trainers for the
Navy, which is changing the way that complex technical maintenance
is taught. We're also returning to our roots in a way by offering
more training and software services to complement the software
side of our business."
About DiSTI
DiSTI is the leading developer of Distributed Simulation Training
courses and interactive visual applications for simulation and
training. DiSTI's flagship software product, GL Studio, leads the
industry in the development of real-time, three-dimensional PC
simulations for maintenance and operational trainers and embedded
avionics displays.
About the UCF Technology Incubator
Since its founding in 1999, the UCF Technology Incubator has helped
more than 80 emerging technology companies create over $150 million
in revenue and more than 450 new jobs with an average salary of
$59,000. As a result of this success, the UCF Technology
Incubator was recently named the 2004 Technology Incubator of the
Year by the National Business Incubation Association. Headquartered
in Research Park near the University, the Incubator is a true collaboration
in economic development between UCF, Orange County, the City of
Orlando the Florida High Tech Corridor Council and the Metro Orlando
Economic Development Commission.. For more information, please
visit http://www.incubator.ucf.edu
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For more information, please contact:
Joe Swinski, DiSTI, 407. 206.3390 ext. 16
Tom O'Neal or Carol Ann Dykes, UCF Technology Incubator, 407.882.0202
Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, LV Communications Inc. 407.644.4142
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