Aptima Earns Tibbetts Award for Achievement in 'Small Business Innovation Research' Program

Tool for measuring performance in field and simulation-based training has major impact

Woburn, Mass. - September 25, 2007 --[ASDWire]-- Aptima, Inc., a leader in human-centered engineering, has been selected as a winner of the 2007 Tibbetts Award, which recognizes the best achievements in the Small Business Innovation Research program (SBIR). Aptima's development of SPOTLITE, an electronic assessment tool for accurately measuring the performance of F-16 pilots in training, sparked the company's creation of a new division and a related $11M in revenue.


Named for Roland Tibbetts, who began the SBIR program as an experimental project at the National Science Foundation, the award recognized SPOTLITE for its enhancement of Air Force training. Aptima is one of 55 companies awarded from over 4,000 companies that annually receive a combined $2 billion through SBIR research contracts.

SPOTLITE in Action - Turning Simulations into Effective Training
Originally developed for training Air Force F-16 pilots, SPOTLITE is an electronic assessment tool that allows observers and trainers to assess team performance in simulated and live training exercises in real time. SPOTLITE is now operational at the Air Force's Distributed Mission Operations training facility in Mesa, Arizona, as well as the Air Force Air and Space Operations Center (AOC) Dynamic Targeting Cell, and the Marine Corps School of Infantry (East) (SOI-E).

The Economic Impact of SPOTLITE
SPOTLITE's development formed the foundation of an entirely new domain at Aptima, the measurement of team performance in simulation-based training. This work led to the creation of a new company division devoted to human performance, allowing Aptima to secure over $11M in new contracts related to the development of performance measurement systems and warfighter training competencies.

Since the initial SPOTLITE SBIR Phase I contract award in 1999, Aptima has grown from 20 employees to 100+ employees - and is today an acknowledged leader in the field of human-centered engineering.

"The SPOTLITE project epitomizes the power of the SBIR program," said Daniel Serfaty, president and principal founder of Aptima. "The project was born out of an innovative insight into measuring human performance in simulation-based training, and demonstrates how the fruitful partnerships between a small business like Aptima and our Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps customers can produce a truly useful tool for the warfighter."

Aptima will receive the Tibbetts Award on October 10 at the Westin Washington, located at 1400 M Street NW in Washington, DC.

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About the Small Business Technology Council and Tibbetts Awards:
Since its inception in 1995, SBTC (sbtc.org) has played a crucial role in promoting congressional legislation and federal regulations that aid small, technology-based companies, including re-authorization of the SBIR program. Named for Roland Tibbetts, the person acknowledged as the father of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, these prestigious, national awards are made annually to those small firms, projects, organizations and individuals judged to exemplify the very best in SBIR achievement. The complete list of Tibbetts winners can be found at tibbettsawards.org. For more information contact Jere Glover with the Small Business Technology Council at 202-662-9700.

About the SBIR Program:
Today, the SBIR program has developed more than $21 billion worth of research by more than 15,000 firms and resulting in more than 45,000 patents. SBIR companies employ more than 400,000 scientists and engineers, making the program the largest concentration of scientific and engineering talent in the United States, exceeding the combined total of all American academic and non-profit institutions. Each year, 11 federal agencies award $2 billion in research contracts as part of the SBIR program.

About Aptima:
Aptima is a leader in the field of human-centered engineering, solving the problems of human performance in today's complex sociotechnical systems. Recognized by The Boston Business Journal as one of the Fastest-Growing Private Companies in Massachusetts (2003-2006), Aptima's unique approach couples social science principles with quantitative, computational methods. The company provides products and services focused on the design of organizations, user-centered technology, and training systems. Aptima is headquartered in Woburn, MA, with offices in Washington, DC. www.aptima.com.
Debra McNeely
Aptima, Inc.
781.496.2423
dmcneely@aptima.com

Joel Greenberg
DCPR LLC
202.363.1065 | 202.669.3639 cell
joel@dcpr.com

Source : Aptima, Inc.