Military Simulation Research Articles

Modelling unmanned surface vehicle patrol mission with Coalition Battle Management Language (C-BML)

Today, many military software intensive systems such as command and control systems, military simulations and decision support systems require the same military knowledge found in the operation plans and orders, which are mostly imported to the system in an application specific form. Due to the increased need for interoperability among those systems, many domain specific languages arise in order to formalize the inputs and outputs to obtain machine processable knowledge. A major domain specific language is the Coalition Battle Management Language (C-BML), which is currently under development. In this work, a scenario is developed and a coalition combat organization that has unmanned surface vehicle (USV) units under its command is created for fighting piracy. The orders and reports related to the patrol mission for the USVs are set up and modelled using C-BML. In order to model the orders, functional and temporal analyses of the actions in the orders are performed. The representativeness of the military orders, reports and requests in the scope of the scenario domain in C-BML is examined. Discussions about the expressiveness of C-BML are offered from a C-BML adopter perspective. Furthermore, we anticipate that this study will serve as a guideline for further C-BML studies.

An assurance process for the exchange of operations research software models used for military simulation

Modelling and Simulation (M&S) have become an integral part of the evidence-based approach to decision making used by Defence departments around the world. A key part of M&S is the use of computer-based software that allows study of conflict and warfare. In order to assure confidence in the output, the Defence decision maker expects that any model or simulation is ‘fit-for-purpose’ and that appropriate Verification and Validation (V&V) have been conducted. We examine how best to exchange with confidence software models constructed to support military-Operations Research (OR) studies within the context of a pragmatic OR approach that recognises the difficulties inherent in validating epistemological models of warfare that are incomplete or can only be approximately correct. The problem lies in justifying, in a rigorous and structured way, a model as being fit-for-purpose. The lessons from a specific case study lead us to propose that the OR and M&S communities adopt a standardised approach to the V&V of military-OR models. We suggest that a level of assurance in models exchanged or co-developed internationally could be readily achieved by adopting the current UK guidelines, although with some modifications, along with the acceptance of a definition for fitness-for-purpose cast in the context of OR studies.

A Distributed Parallel Simulation Environment for Interoperability and Reusability of Models in Military Applications

Interoperability and reusability of models are main concerns in military simulation. In order to improve the interoperability and reusability of models, the model shall be separated with a particular simulation engine, and the modelling framework of models as well as the architecture of the simulation engine should be standardized. This paper describes the architecture and operational concept of simulation environment which has been developed to enhance interoperability an d reusability of models. We named this environment adaptive distributed parallel Simulation environment for Interoperable and reusable models (AddSIM). We suggested a modelling framework to promote model development, portability and interoperability with other models. Also, we proposed a layered architecture to modularise critical capabilities including kernel layer, tool/application layer, support/service layer and external interface. This means that models can be developed independently of a simulation engine and interfaced with it using API. To validate the application feasibility of AddSIM, we set up an anti-air missile engagement situation and performed simulation. In military simulation, it is expected that reusability and interoperability of models will be enhanced by using proposed AddSIM. Defence Science Journal, 2012, 62(6), pp.412-419 , DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.14429/dsj.62.1477

Between War and Play

Between War and Play

Effectiveness and Analysis of On-line CBT Artillery Maintenance Military Simulation Training

In the Yeonpyungdo island battle, resients in the Yeonpyungdo island experienced dmages due to North Korean's firing without any notice. It seems that North Koreans did shelling for military training several times, but South Koreans cound not respond to the purpose because of poor maintenance and poor training. In this study, we will describe on-line training through cyber silumation for repairing artillery and guns, by means of CBT at school. For training reservists for artillery repair, we will compare student groups taking CBT training of subject type and simulator type and the groups not taking the training to analyze the effect of artillery maintenance in actual situation.

Research on the Algorithm in Accurate Matching between Military Simulation Entity and Terrain

Research on the new method of resolving terrain contour matching of terrain protracting algorithm based on RSG and TIN provides basic data structure. The concept of Area of Interesting (AOI) is introduced, the algorithm of estimation and detection is also proposed to calculate reference point; The method comprised centroid constrained and intervisibility estimation achieves terrain contour matching calculation avoiding those problems such as low-efficiency of point inquiry, embeddability of moving object and terrain and the change of target’s stance. Experimental results show that this algorithm could not only keep the existing display performance but also make the model matching more conformed to the principles of nature and improve the reality of virtual environment effectively.

From Planes to Brains: Parallels Between Military Development of Virtual Reality Environments and Virtual Neurological Surgery

Military explorations of the practical role of simulators have served as a driving force for much of the virtual reality technology that we have today. The evolution of 3-dimensional and virtual environments from the early flight simulators used during World War II to the sophisticated training simulators in the modern military followed a path that virtual surgical and neurosurgical devices have already begun to parallel. By understanding the evolution of military simulators as well as comparing and contrasting that evolution with current and future surgical simulators, it may be possible to expedite the development of appropriate devices and establish their validity as effective training tools. As such, this article presents a historical perspective examining the progression of neurosurgical simulators, the establishment of effective and appropriate curricula for using them, and the contributions that the military has made during the ongoing maturation of this exciting treatment and training modality.

A network-centric terrain database regeneration architecture

A great deal has changed since 1997 when Schiavone first described the generic pipeline generation process for building an environmental database for military models and simulations. Environment representations have gone from cartoonist graphics to near real-life renderings possessing properties of physics and intelligence where appropriate. Within this article we discuss several contemporary and past terrain database generation processes, as well as challenges faced in generating terrain databases for military models and simulations today. These challenges include decentralized, distributed modification, frequent and incremental updates, and the need for a shared level of validity by users with heterogeneous needs. We propose a novel approach that addresses network-centric terrain database generation and provides distributed bi-directional, incremental updates that addresses many of these needs. We also developed, tested, and analyzed a prototype architecture and two types of feature modification applied to terrain within the network, the results of which are presented, along with conclusions and future research recommendations.

Planning and preparation of Computer Assisted Exercises

The article states rationale for conducting computer assisted exercises and analyses their integral parts. Combat modeling, military simulation, CAX planning, and execution related issues are elaborated.

Adaptive virtual environments for neuropsychological assessment in serious games

While advances in military relevant simulations provide potential for increasing assessment of Soldier readiness to Return-to-Duty (e.g., following a blast injury), little has been done to develop these simulations into adaptive virtual environments (AVE) for improved neurocognitive and psychophysiological assessment. Adaptive assessments offer the potential for dynamically adapting the difficulty level specific to the patient's knowledge or ability. We present an iteration of the Virtual Reality for Cognitive Performance and Adaptive Treatment (VRCPAT) that proffers a framework for adapting scenarios in a game engine based upon the user's neurocognitive (task performance) and psychophysiological (e.g., heart rate, skin response, heart rate, and pupil diameter) states.

축차적 반응표면 분석을 통한 M&S 메타모형 구축에 관한 사례 연구

In computer simulation models the output from the computer code is often deterministic, i.e., running the code twice with the same values for the input variables would give the same output. It is discussed why the response surface method with polynomial approximation for the true response function is a good approximation to the computer experiments model. A sequential strategy to find the proper reduced quadratic polynomial model is illustrated with a case study in the military war game computer simulation model.

Above-Real-Time Training (ARTT) Improves Transfer to a Simulated Flight Control Task

The aim of this study was to measure the effects of above-real-time-training (ARTT) speed and screen resolution on a simulated flight control task. ARTT has been shown to improve transfer to the criterion task in some military simulation experiments. We tested training speed and screen resolution in a project, sponsored by Defence Research and Development Canada, to develop components for prototype air mission simulators. For this study, 54 participants used a single-screen PC-based flight simulation program to learn to chase and catch an F-18A fighter jet with another F-18A while controlling the chase aircraft with a throttle and side-stick controller. Screen resolution was varied between participants, and training speed was varied factorially across two sessions within participants. Pretest and posttest trials were at high resolution and criterion (900 knots) speed. Posttest performance was best with high screen resolution training and when one ARTT training session was followed by a session of criterion speed training. ARTT followed by criterion training improves performance on a visual-motor coordination task. We think that ARTT influences known facilitators of transfer, including similarity to the criterion task and contextual interference. Use high-screen resolution, start with ARTT, and finish with criterion speed training when preparing a mission simulation.

A rough ride: strenuous spectatorship and the early cinema of assaults

This essay revisits the question of masculinity and early cinema to explore the construction of strenuous spectatorship – a gendered mode of mediated engagement emerging in the late nineteenth century at the intersection of cinema and war. Combining voyeuristic distance with a somatic sense of risk, strenuous spectatorship offers the paradoxical provision of ‘authentic’ embodied experience through the mediated thrills of screen violence. Looking to the figures of the war correspondent and the thrill-seeking soldier alongside the charge films and battle reenactments of the Spanish-American and Philippine-American wars, the essay analyzes how such representations functioned to transform the very act of observation into a specifically manly activity. In contrast to accounts emphasizing the disembodied identification of the male spectator with the apparatus, here the visceral appeals of cinematic assault are seen to circulate within the context of the strenuous life, in which intense, immediate sensation was understood as primitive balm to the enervations of modern life. Rather than a masculine subject undone by technological modernity, in the charge films and battle reenactments the technology of the cinema is imbued with strenuous promise, suggesting that spectatorship – like war itself – might harbour possibilities of masculine reinvigoration. Looking beyond the early cinema, the essay suggests the ongoing relevance of strenuous spectatorship to war representation today, from the visceral attractions of film and television, to the embodied appeals of first-person shooter games and military simulation technologies, in which the watching and the waging of war are aligned in newly elaborate and more emphatic ways.

Real Time Hand Gesture Recognition System for Dynamic Applications

Virtual environments have always been considered as a means for more visceral and efficient human computer interaction by a diversified range of applications. The spectrum of applications includes analysis of complex scientific data, medical training, military simulation, phobia therapy and virtual prototyping. Evolution of ubiquitous computing, current user interaction approaches with keyboard, mouse and pen are not sufficient for the still widening spectrum of Human computer interaction. Gloves and sensor based trackers are unwieldy, constraining and uncomfortable to use. Due to the limitation of these devices the useable command set based diligences is also limited. Direct use of hands as an input device is an innovative method for providing natural Human Computer Interaction which has its inheritance from textbased interfaces through 2D graphical-based interfaces, multimedia-supported interfaces, to full-fledged multi-participant Virtual Environment (VE) systems. Conceiving a future era of human-computer interaction with the implementations of 3D application where the user may be able to move and rotate objects simply by moving and rotating his hand - all without help of any input device. The research effort centralizes on the efforts of implementing an application that employs computer vision algorithms and gesture recognition techniques which in turn results in developing a low cost interface device for interacting with objects in virtual environment using hand gestures. The prototype architecture of the application comprises of a central computational module that applies the camshift technique for tracking of hands and its gestures. Haar like technique has been utilized as a classifier that is creditworthy for locating hand position and classifying gesture. The patterning of gestures has been done for recognition by mapping the number of defects that is formed in the hand with the assigned gestures. The virtual objects are produced using Open GL library. This hand gesture recognition technique aims to substitute the use of mouse for interaction with the virtual objects. This will be useful to promote controlling applications like virtual games, browsing images etc in virtual environment using hand gestures.

Juegos de simulación como método de defensa en la guerra

Desde los inicios de la historia de la humanidad y asi mismo de los conflictos armados, los juegos de simulación se han utilizado en diversos escenarios y por diversos ejércitos como herramienta de enseñanza y conocimiento, y sobre todo si se proyecta la retroalimentación inmediata hacia la asimilación de las situaciones estudiadas para planear y desarrollar operaciones militares sin consecuencias funestas. De acuerdo con ello se proyecta la aplicación y el uso de la tecnología de la simulación, como medio para la consecución de un nuevo fin, a partir de la posibilidad de errar o de acertar en la toma de decisiones en el campo de guerra simulado, cuya consecuencia directa puede conllevar, entre otras posibilidades, a tratar de extraer lecciones aprendidas a partir de los juegos de simulación, cuyo impacto directo es la simulación de las consecuencias imprevistas que puedan surgir en relación con una sanción legal.

Formal Description of Simulation Runtime Support Platform Architecture with XYZ/ADL

Net-centric simulation runtime support platform (NCS-RSP) provides an environment supporting the construction of community of simulation task (CoST). This paper adopts dual software architecture description framework XYZ/ADL to describe the architecture of NCS-RSP by graphic language and formal language respectively. Then we decompose and refine the core service layer during the construction of CoST. Not only this description method expresses the architecture graphics and behavioral abstraction of NCS-RSP from visual viewpoint, but also validates the correctness and completeness of architecture design from formal view. The research is a new attempt of formal description in military simulation domain and it provides a guideline for the composition and reuse of NCS-RSP service.

Utilizing Depth Based Sensors and Customizable Software Frameworks for Experiential Application

Using depth sensor cameras such as the Kinect and highly customizable software development frameworks in conjunction with artificial intelligence methodologies offer significant opportunities in a variety of applications, such as undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education, professional or military training simulation, and individually-tailored cultural and media arts immersion. Designing a participatory educational experience where users are able to actively interface and experience given subject matter in a practical experiential manner can enhance the user's ability to learn and retain presented information. Such natural gesture user interfaces have potential for broad application in disciplines ranging from systems engineering education to process simulation. This paper will discuss progress on the development of testing environments for interactive educational methods in conjunction with artificial intelligent systems that have the ability to adjust the educational user experience based on individual user identification. This will be achieved through depth sensor skeletal tracking, allowing experience adaptation based on the nature and effectiveness of the interactive educational experience.

An Immersive VR System for Sports Education

The development of new technologies has undoubtedly promoted the advances of modern education, among which Virtual Reality (VR) technologies have made the education more visually accessible for students. However, classroom education has been the focus of VR applications whereas not much research has been done in promoting sports education using VR technologies. In this paper, an immersive VR system is designed and implemented to create a more intuitive and visual way of teaching tennis. A scalable system architecture is proposed in addition to the hardware setup layout, which can be used for various immersive interactive applications such as architecture walkthroughs, military training simulations, sports game simulations, interactive theaters, and telepresence exhibitions. Realistic interaction experience is achieved through accurate and robust hybrid tracking technology, while the virtual human opponent is animated in real time using shader-based skin deformation. Potential future extensions are also discussed to improve the teaching/learning experience.

Achieving Interoperability in Military Simulation Applications Defining Models for HLA Utilization

Achieving Interoperability in Military Simulation Applications Defining Models for HLA Utilization

Complementary Information Distribution to Improve Team Performance in Military Helicopter Operations: An Experimental Study

This study compared a complementary information distribution, that is, purposeful distribution to individual crewmembers of the information needed for their individual tasks, to the current distribution where all crewmembers can access all information in the flight deck. The complementary information distribution is intended to foster a complementary mental model that promotes each team member's access to information according to his or her immediate tasks. The hypothesis—that the complementary information distribution would improve performance and team interaction—was tested in a high-fidelity military helicopter flight simulator with 20 Army aviators. The complementary information distribution was found to have no effect or a positive effect (and no negative effects) on measures of individual's task performance and error rates, with greater positive effects on most measures in off-nominal compared to nominal flight conditions. In addition, measures of team communication and awareness of fellow crewmembers' information needs and workload also found only no effect or positive effects with a complementary information distribution.