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ties of constituents (Box 3.1). To date, they have operated relatively independently of one another. Though some sharing of technology and research has occurred, much of the technology transfer has been mediated through the university research community; few direct connections have been made between companies actively engaged in developing entertainment products and services and DOD.

Movement of people between DOD and the entertainment industry is limited. Many people from the entertainment industry were reluctant to participate in the workshop—or serve on the steering committee that convened the workshop—because of the project's connection with defense and their impressions that few opportunities exist for collaboration. Nevertheless, workshop participants provided personal examples of the key movements of people between the two communities that have cross-pollinated each other's efforts: Eric Haseltine, vice-president of research and development and chief scientist at Walt Disney Imagineering, began his career in flight simulation at Hughes Aircraft Company; and Carl Norman, a senior producer with the games company Strategic Simulations Inc., is a former Marine officer who later worked on simulation and training systems for the Corps. Yet most workshop participants agreed that a movement of people between defense and entertainment is not the trend. Jordan Weisman, of Virtual World Entertainment, remarked that employee migration between the entertainment industry and DOD is minimal and that this is a contributing factor to the minimal amount of technology transfer between the two communities. Such differences both influence and are influenced by differences in the business models that the two communities follow. Overcoming them will require efforts to improve communication between members of the two communities.

Different Business Models

DOD and the entertainment industry differ significantly in their goals, motivations, and methods of doing business. These differences make it difficult for the communities to work together to advance the technology base for modeling and simulation, but with sufficient interest on both sides, ways can be found to overcome these obstacles. While few formal attempts at coordinating research or conducting joint research have been tried, a handful of companies have successfully transitioned from defense work to commercial work, demonstrating the possibility of success. Further attempts to facilitate greater coordination of research activities between DOD and the entertainment industry will have to build upon these examples to find ways to bridge the gap between the two communities.