SAIC Purchases OLIVE Virtual World Technology

SAIC, government contractor to groups like the Department of Defense and Homeland Security, has just purchased Forterra System’s On-Live Interactive Virtual Environment product known as OLIVE.  In the acquisition they got all names, trademarks, and licenses, indicating that they plan to get into the virtual world space in the near future.

“We look forward to working with current and future OLIVE license holders to support and extend the platform,” said Bev Seay, SAIC senior vice president and business unit general manager. “We see virtual worlds as the direction of the future in modeling and simulation – emphasis on interpersonal interaction and collaboration enables us to take our products in new directions, and to new markets.”

The government, the military specifically, has shown interest in virtual worlds for several years, primarily in training.  Maybe this will extend it to a wider group of people.

via SAIC News Release: SAIC Purchases Simulation & Collaboration Product Line From Forterra Systems Inc..

This story written by Randall Hand

Randall Hand is a visualization scientist working for a federal research lab, aiding researchers to discover the insights buried within their terabyte datasets generated on some of the most powerful supercomputers in the world. He also runs VizWorld.com .