Christie Wins Project Innovation Award for Upgrade of Operational Flight Trainer

New York, NY, September 20, 2014 (Newswire.com) - Christie®, a global leader in visual displays and audio technology solutions, is proud to announce that it is the recipient of the prestigious Project Innovation Award for retrofitting the visual system of the Wedgetail E-7A Operational Flight Trainer with stunning results. The award was presented during the Simulation Australia Annual Awards Dinner held August 26 in Adelaide, South Australia.

The Project Innovation Award is part of the Simulation Australia 2014 Awards organized by Simulation Australia, the national body that promotes the use of simulation, training and modeling for the advancement of Australia's economy and society. This national award recognizes and celebrates innovation and excellence in simulation by project teams in Australia and New Zealand that have achieved outstanding results in delivering a new simulation capability or utilizing a simulation capability in a new and improved way.

The Christie Matrix StIM™ LED illuminated simulation projection system was deployed to power the new upgraded visual system of the Wedgetail E-7A Operational Flight Trainer, which is used for training Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) flight crew. The retrofitted visual system resulted in an astounding improvement to the visuals of the flight simulator, and proved itself as a reliable operating platform by providing 100 percent uptime for over 16 months. This translated into continued availability round the clock and a lower lifecycle cost. This new visual system also enabled the Wedgetail E-7A Operational Flight Trainer to retain the FSD-1 Level 5 standard - the highest level of accreditation in Australia using LED technology, making it the first of its kind in the Australian simulation community.

Michael Bosworth, general manager, Christie Australia, and Jim Gray, business development manager, Christie Australia, were presented with the Project Innovation Award during the awards presentation ceremony held at the Adelaide Oval. This is the second national level award that Christie Australia has won this year, following its win of the DTC Annual Defence Industry 2014 Innovator Award for the Christie Matrix StIM™ WQ 1-chip DLP® projection system.

"This is an extremely proud moment for all of us at Christie Australia and we are very happy to be the recipients of this extraordinary award," said Bosworth. "I would like to thank our partners from Thales Australia and Boeing whom we worked very closely with on this project, which brought significant improvements to the visuals and operational uptime of the Wedgetail E-7A Operational Flight Trainer through the use of our Christie Matrix StIM simulation system."

The Christie Matrix StIM is the first projection system to provide independent control over both the visible and infrared spectrum and enable real-time balancing of both color and brightness levels. It is also the first simulation system equipped with solid state illumination -there are no consumables for a virtually maintenance-free system, providing years of continuous operation.

Designed and engineered with Christie expertise, the Christie Matrix StIM features a scalable environment display system that provides the unique capabilities of achieving eye-limiting resolution while simulating Night Vision Goggles. It is built on an inherently stable long-life platform that doesn't fade over time, and offers a unique lampless illumination system for unprecedented stability and reliability.    

About Christie®

Christie Digital Systems USA, Inc. is a global visual technologies company and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ushio, Inc., Japan, (JP:6925). Consistently setting the standards by being the first to market some of the world's most advanced projectors and complete system displays, Christie is recognized as one of the most innovative visual technology companies in the world. From retail displays to Hollywood, mission critical command centers to classrooms and training simulators, Christie display solutions and projectors capture the attention of audiences around the world with dynamic and stunning images. Visit www.christiedigital.com.