IDI-Systems has been awarded a Phase I Small Business Innovation & Research (SBIR) grant by the US Army to bring Advanced Combat Radio Environment: Next Generation (ACRE: NG) to Unreal Engine. The six-month contract from the US Army's SBIR office and Ground Vehicle Systems Center in Detroit, MI will support ACRE's initial integration with Unreal and provide a baseline for broader support on the platform.

ACRE is IDI-Systems open-source radio propagation and communications systems modeling software designed for real-time use in gaming, training, and simulation environments. Initially developed for the game Arma 2, it has grown to be a standard for real-time combat radio systems modeling over the last ten years of development. Countless gaming, government, and military organizations have used ACRE to organize, train, and evaluate operations, military personnel, and combat systems.

IDI-Systems is an engineering research and development company focused on RF communications, software engineering, IT solutions, space/aerospace, and defense. Headquartered in Seattle, WA, its goal is to bring the best engineering talent worldwide to solve complex problems and develop innovative solutions for its customers.

With the funding under the Phase I grant, IDI-Systems will integrate the ACRE: NG into Epic Game's Unreal Engine to support modeling and simulation experiments at the US Army's Ground Vehicle Systems Center (GVSC). GVSC, part of US Army DEVCOM, uses modeling and simulation software to evaluate future US Army combat systems during procurement. They have previously used earlier versions of ACRE during their experiments.

The work will focus on maturing the new open ACRE: NG core and integrating it into an Unreal Engine plugin to allow users to simulate digital radios and how they perform in virtual environments. The plugin will be available as an open-source project and for free on the Unreal Marketplace sometime after completing the Phase I funding effort.