McDonnell Douglas Aerospace Corp, the world’s third largest defense contractor, has signed an agreement with UK-based virtual reality systems supplier Division Group Plc. The deal gives Division the exclusive rights to sell the McDonnell Douglas Human Modeling System. Developed by an internal research team, the software creates virtual worlds in real-life dimensions. So far the software has been used only in-house for aircraft design, but the company realized the software’s commercial potential in areas such as car design. McDonnell Douglas put the marketing rights out to tender, but Charles Grimsdale, managing director at Division, said his company was the obvious choice considering its established sales channels. McDonnell’s technology will initially be sold as a stand-alone system alongside Division’s virtual prototyping and design validation products. Division will be responsible for all maintainance and training. McDonnell will have a new revenue stream that has so far been untapped, said Grimsdale, and Division will receive an undisclosed transfer fee. McDonnell is to continue to develop its core products independently of Division, but Grimsdale is looking to integrate the Human Modeling System into future releases of its software.
