In his 1992 article in Harvard Business Review, Fumio Kodama defined technology fusion as the "nonlinear, complementary and cooperative blending of incremental technical improvements from several previously separate fields of technology to create products that revolutionize markets."1 This paper describes the design and application of a multimedia information storage and retrieval system that is the blending of digital multimedia, database management, and communications technologies. The resulting system has demonstrated the potential for dramatically changing the ways in which computer systems are applied to accomplishing work. As the multimedia capabilities of PCs become as common as math coprocessors are now, this new method of information management will blur the lines of distinction between training and work, and will add new dimensions of meaning to the concepts of "computer-based training" and "embedded training."
The Visual Information System (VIS) is a multimedia data management system with an intuitive, visually oriented user interface. Each node in the data structure may have multiple information elements that may be photographic, computer graphic, video, animation, audio, text and numeric. In addition, user-generated notes and tutorial programs may be attached to any node in the database, and initiated at the user's request. Database navigation may be accomplished either by linear traversal of the data structure, by directed search according to specified criteria, or by hyperlinks to other data records.
This paper will demonstrate applications of the VIS concept to aircraft systems (MH-53J Pavelow Helicopter) and electrical cable and connector repair, and will describe the system (hardware and software components) and how it works. The paper will conclude with a discussion of other potential applications that focus on why this startling new capability is important.