Monday, February 10, 2003

Education

Eedo creates e-learning system for Comanche helicopter

By Patricia Resende

Eedo is flying high with its newest customer.

The Nashua, N.H.-based provider of Web-based collaboration and training applications has landed a multiyear deal with the U.S. Army.

Eedo will provide the Army's Boeing-Sikorsky Comanche First Team Integrated Training Program with training and simulation tools for operators and those who maintain Comanche helicopters.

The technology will be used on the RAH-66 Comanche, the U.S. Army's armed reconnaissance helicopter developed by U.S. Army Aviation and a team of companies including Boeing Co. and Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp.

The Comanche is a twin-turbine, two-seat helicopter that will be used for light attack, air combat and armed reconnaissance missions, according to Boeing.

The Comanche project has been plagued with delays in its 15-year history. Plans now call for prototypes to be developed by 2004, with 14 of the craft available by 2006. President Bush, in his budget proposal sent to Congress last week, proposed spending $1.1 billion in continued Comanche development for fiscal 2004.

"It's a very exciting project," said John Hudson, Eedo's chief executive, from an office in Berlin, Germany. "The Comanche is the most advanced innovative helicopter in the world and it presents a number of unique training challenges.

"The program needed a tool that could support the sophistication of this new helicopter and would adapt to every possible interactive instruction."

One of the program's goals is to provide training tools that enable the pilots and maintenance crew to use any browser through Eedo's ForceTen learning content management system. Customers also use the products for searches and to publish courses online.

"The Boeing-Sikorsky team will produce up to 2,500 hours of e-learning for this aircraft," Hudson said.

The system will be used for the life span of the aircraft, which is 25 years, according to Hudson, and can be scaled to handle up to 5,000 users.

"Once we saw how flexible and responsive Eedo (products were), we knew we were dealing with the best," said Paul Robinson of the Comanche Maintenance Training Group, in a statement.

Worth roughly $1 million, this isn't the largest deal for Eedo, Hudson said, but the lifespan of the contract is a big deal.

Along with the online training, the Comanche crew will have access to a 3-D learning environment in which users can control the aircraft and remove and replace parts.

Eedo has developed a partnership with Advanced Engineering Research Associates, based in Orlando, Fla. to provide the multimedia instruction.

Hudson said he hopes the deal will lead to other military contracts for the 70-person company, which has offices in Nashua, Berlin, Ottawa and Austin, Texas.

He said he is in discussions with different branches of the military.

Aside from military customers, Eedo also provides its e-learning systems to companies such as Dell Computers, Panasonic and the state of Ohio.

The self-funded business, which was founded in 1999 with $2 million in startup capital, is cash-flow positive and profitable.

Because of its success, Eedo plans to ramp up research and development and expects to hire an additional 10 employees to the development team this year.