SimTecT 2000: Keynote Presentations
| Defence Simulation: present and future [Opening Keynote Speech] Dr Richard Brabin-Smith | Distributed Simulation Technology for International Space Programs COL (ret) Alexander Vankov |
| Simulation in the Australian Defence Force Air Commodore John Blackburn |
Simulation for Medical Applications Dr Robert Johnston |
| Virtual Prototyping in Product and Manufacturing Process Development: From Research to Reality Dr Jerry Duncan | Ministry of Defence and Synthetic Environments: the Theory and Practice Dr Simon Mepham |
Opening Keynote Speech: Dr Richard Brabin-Smith
Chief Defence Scientist, Department of Defence, Australia
This address will outline the position which Defence has reached today in Modelling and Simulation, and offer a forward looking perspective on where next. It will cover a selection of the wide range of application areas that are increasingly being found for simulation in the Defence arena.Dr Brabin-Smith was educated as a physicist and has a long and varied background in defence research - including development of lasers, operational research and force structure analysis and in defence policy and management. His career includes a year in Washington as an analyst in the Pentagon; serving as senior adviser on the "Dibb" Review of Australia's Defence Capabilities in the mid-1980s; heading the International Policy Division of the Department of Defence; and membership of the Senior Review Committee of the 1997 Defence Efficiency Review - the biggest organisational overhaul of Australian Defence in about 20 years. Dr Brabin-Smith took up his appointment as Chief Defence Scientist in February 1993. In this role he heads the Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO), the scientific arm of the Australian Department of Defence and the second largest integrated scientific research organisation in Australia.
A more detailed biography is on the official DSTO web site at http://www.dsto.defence.gov.au/corporate/publicity/profiles/cds.html
Distributed Simulation Technology for International Space Programs: Col. (ret) Alexander Vankov
Director, D3 Group GmbH, Germany
Special requirements (such as communications and simulation accuracy) are described for the first High Level Architecture (HLA) compliant Space Federation, which has been implemented and tested for spacecraft rendezvous and docking. EDISON (European Distributed Interactive Simulation Over Network) preliminary results addressing hardware-in-the-loop and human-in-the-loop scenarios are covered. Applicability of results to pilot work for International Space Station program is also discussed. The presentation will include a number of computer generated images of the spacecraft.
Mr Vankov has had a long involvement in the field of simulation and training. Widely recognised as one of the leading spacecraft training systems specialists, Mr Vankov's distinguished career has included key roles in a number of Russian and international space programs, and since leaving the military, he has been involved in some of the leading European research programmes for distributed simulation. During the period 1980 to 1998, Mr Vankov worked at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre where he retired as the Chief Scientist, Training Group. He was a key participant in the Russian Space Shuttle simulator development programme, and was the Technical Lead for the European Space Agency International Space Station cooperative programme for the simulation of spacecraft rendezvous and docking.Simulation in the Australian Defence Force: Air Commodore John Blackburn
Director General Policy and Planning - Air Force, Australia
This presentation will describe current simulation activities and issues in the RAAF and ADF in general, and outline future applications and challenges, including the merging of C4I and simulation technologies. The strategy of integrating complete tactical, operational and strategic environments, as appropriate, to maximise the training and analytical benefits from joint HQ down to the operators, will be discussed.DGPP-AF is responsible for providing the Chief of Air Force (CAF) with advice on Air Force Strategic policy and planning, capability development and force structure, disposition, organisation and preparedness. AIRCDRE Blackburn's other senior appointments have included Commanding Officer of No 77 Squadron, operating the F/A-18 aircraft, Deputy Director Airspace Control in Headquarters Australian Defence Force (1991-93) and Officer Commanding No. 41 Wing (1996-98), responsible for RAAF air defence radar and air traffic control units and for military airspace management. His previous roles include operational test pilot at the Aircraft Research and Development Unit (ARDU) and the Australian representative managing the F/A-18 simulator project.
Simulation for Medical Applications: Dr Robert Johnston
Vice President for Research, Ciné-Med, USA
This presentation discusses Dr Johnston's work in medical simulation over the last seven years including several virtual reality projects at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Dr Johnston also describes a remote operated surgical robotic device for telemedicine and telesurgery work which has been commercialized and is now in FDA trials in the US.
Dr Johnston's previous positions include: Senior Research Assistant at the Virtual Environment Technology Laboratory, NASA and the University of Houston; Research Analyst at the Institute for Defense Analyses; and Behavioral Science Specialist at the University of California San Francisco Medical School. Contracts and Grants include: Virtual Reality Assessment of the Technical Capabilities of Surgeons; Analysis of Research and Development in Virtual Reality; Virtual Environment Training for Battlefield Medical Personnel; and Developing a Combat Surgical Team Performance Model. Some of Dr Johnston's developments are: a Laparoscopic Surgical Skills Simulator; a Temporal Bone Simulator; and Virtual Environment Training for Battlefield Medical Personnel.
Simulation for Manufacturing Applications: "Virtual Prototyping in Product and Manufacturing Process Development: From Research to Reality": Dr Jerry Duncan
Senior Staff Engineer, Deere & Company, USA
This presentation will review progress at Deere & Company, and other selected manufacturers, in developing and applying virtual prototyping tools for product and manufacturing process design, analysis and evaluation. Contributions from selected university research institutions and technology suppliers will be highlighted.Dr. Duncan received his PhD in Industrial Engineering, specializing in Human Factors and Ergonomics, from Kansas State University in 1975. From 1975 to 1978 he served on the faculties at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and Texas A&M University. He joined Deere & Company in 1978 and helped establish its off-road vehicle simulator and human factors laboratory. He provides human factors and ergonomics technical support to engineers and designers developing off-road vehicles and outdoor-power equipment. He also conducts research to identify and develop user-centred product improvements. His activities have included investigating the impact of vehicle automation on operator and system performance; investigating perception of vehicle operator comfort; developing new concepts for controlling off-road vehicles; and guiding user-interface design of multi-function information display systems. He is also guiding the development of virtual prototyping capabilities for John Deere product and process design through a research relationship with Iowa State University's Virtual Reality Application Center.
Ministry of Defence and Synthetic Environments: the Theory and Practice:
LTCDR Jonathan Read presenting for Dr Simon Mepham, Assistant Director, Synthetic Environments Coordination Office, Ministry of Defence, UK
This presentation will outline the UK experience with SE technology to date, give details of the endorsed MOD policy for Synthetic Environments and describe some the key initiatives underway in the UK.Definition: In the UK a Synthetic Environment is defined as:
'Linking a consistent set of models, simulations, people and real equipment into a common representation of the world providing consistency and concurrency across previously discrete activities'.
This definition encompasses all combinations of models and simulations and is not limited to real time man-in-the-loop activity; an SE can simply be two constructive models exchanging data or a number of full mission simulators interacting in real time in a collective training scenario.
UK Experience
There have been a number of demonstrations of SE technology that have informed the UK SE programme. These include:
- STOW
- The Air Defence Synthetic Environment (ADSE)
- FlasHLAmp
These, and the lessons learned from them, will be outlined.
SECO. The history, composition and work of the UK Synthetic Environments Co-ordination Office will be described.
SEMB. The composition and responsibilities of the Synthetic Environments Management Board will be outlined.
SE Policy and strategy. The UK MOD Policy for SEs and the strategy for implementation will be described.
Current UK SE Programmes. A summary of current UK SE programmes including Synthetic Environment Based Acquisition (SeBA) and the Joint Training and Warfighting Initiative (JTWI) will be given.
Simon Mepham is Assistant Director (Synthetic Environments) and Head of the Ministry of Defence Synthetic Environments Co-ordination Office (SECO) within the Ministry of Defence. He began his career at the Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough, conducting and later leading research into aircraft navigation and targeting systems. A move to MOD Headquarters led to involvement with early efforts to guide and apply Synthetic Environments within the Defence Process. He was responsible for establishing the Wargaming and Simulation Centre within the Defence Research and Evaluation Agency, Centre for Defence Analysis. On return to MOD he assumed his present post where he has led the development of the Defence Synthetic Environments programme of research and demonstrations and forged close links to Industry and internationally, including US SE programmes.
LTCDR Jonathan Read joined SECO in mid 1998 having completed an MSc in Defence Modelling and Simulation at the Royal Military College of Science. He is responsible for promoting the application of SE Technology to acquisition under the SE Based Acquisition programme (SeBA) and for a study into the cost-benefits of the use of SEs in the MOD.
His background is that of a submarine weapon engineer, serving in a variety of submarines from HMS OSIRIS, one of the last of the UK SSKs, to HMS VANGUARD, the first Trident boats.