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Innovation at the speed of LITE
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Published with the October 1, 2013 Baton Rouge Business Report. Copyright © 2013 Louisiana Business Inc. Special Advertising Section.
Companies looking to grow through technological innovation need look no further for help than the Louisiana Immersive Technologies Enterprise (LITE) in Lafayette. Armed with a staff of professional artists and software engineers, LITE’s product development department excels at real-time applications. The best way to describe it is as video games for businesses.
“I think about what we do in terms of industrial gaming, because we can do safety training, we can do data visualization,” says Technology Director Josh Sonnier. “It’s exactly like a video game, but instead of a gun or a wand, someone can have the tools they need to do their job.”
LITE’s Interactive Visual Learning Environment or IVLE can simulate everything from a fire on an oil rig to an underwater environment or a Louisiana state highway. Training in an IVLE immerses an employee in a situation they could experience on the job and gives them the tools to act quickly and efficiently.
In 2009, LITE worked with the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development to build an IVLE for a virtual highway flagger training class. Part of a research study through Louisiana State University, the program trained half of the flaggers using a basic PowerPoint presentation, with the other half using an IVLE. Results showed that workers learned more effectively in the immersive environment. The study was so successful, in fact, that LITE was awarded grant funding with Kentucky State University this year to repeat the program there.
Other visualization spaces and tools, such as a Flex Collaboration Room and Total Immersion Space, are also available depending on a business’ needs. “If you’re doing something as simple as mobile applications all the way to a full-scale, real-time training application, it’s all doable,” says Communication Director Erin Ryan. “We’re here to do things that are different, that haven’t been done before, ideally with the goal of taking individuals, small businesses and large businesses to the next level.”
Through a partnership with UL Lafayette and the Lafayette Economic Development Authority, LITE has the resources and expertise to make things happen. The center’s team of experts is also knowledgeable about federal grant opportunities, and all of this assistance is available at an affordable economic development rate.
“One of the roles of LITE is to help technology roots go down in Lafayette and Louisiana,” says Sonnier. “You have a great tech idea, let’s not send that somewhere else.”
Adds Ryan, “We’re here to help speed up innovation for companies. Where do you want to go? We’ll get you there.”
YEAR FOUNDED: 2006
INDUSTRY: Immersive and 3D technologies, economic development, immersive training
PRODUCTS: Assists businesses, large and small, in the development of new and innovative technologies, grant development and immersive training applications
KEY INNOVATION: Immersive Virtual Learning Environments (IVLE)—video game-based learning applications that assist in effectively training workers in dangerous situations
TOP EXECUTIVES: Kam Ng, Ph.D., CEO; Josh Sonnier, Ph.D., Product Development Director; Erin Ryan, Communications Director
BUZZ: On our Immersive Virtual Learning Environment: “The expertise at LITE goes beyond any words, what the team can bring to the field. And the true understanding of the educational theory as it applies in an environment is something unique that we felt LITE brought to the table. That everybody really got it in terms of why this is important for this population.” —Mary Leah Coco, Ph.D., Training and Development Program Staff Manager, Louisiana Transportation Research Center
Contact us to learn more!
337.735.LITE (5483)
Located in Lafayette
DR. SONNIER is responsible for managing LITE’s team of artists, IT staff and software developers. He assists in active research and collaborates with LITE’s partners in education and business to develop, refine and improve our technological assets according to client needs.
He also assists in grant development and outreach efforts. Dr. Sonnier joined LITE in October 2012 after eight years of industrial research and development work. He worked primarily as a consulting physicist with Baker Hughes.
JOSH SONNIER, PH.D., Technology and Product Development Director
ERIN SERVES as the spokes- woman for the organization and is instrumental in involving the community and spreading LITE’s mission and vision.
Erin works daily with clients for events and business development, and thoroughly enjoys working with members from the local community. Erin joined LITE upon her return from six years in the U.S. Navy as a mass communications specialist.
ERIN RYAN, Communications Director