Conference Workshops and
Medical Symposium
| Monday: 28 February 2000 | |||
| REGISTRATION | |||
| Stream1: Room 1 |
Stream 2: Room 2 |
Stream 3: Room 3 |
Stream 4: Room 4 |
| Medical Applications Dr R Johnston, Vice-President for Research, Ciné-Med |
HLA Applications Col Alexander Vankov, Dr John Best, Dr Martin Stytz |
Training Approaches & Fidelity Panel Discussion |
Manufacturing Applications Dr Jerry Duncan, Senior Staff Engineer, Deere & Company |
| MORNING TEA | |||
| Medical Applications ...continued |
HLA Applications ...continued |
Training approaches & fidelity ...continued |
Manufacturing Applications ...continued |
| LUNCH | |||
| Medical Symposium | Strategies for Migrating to HLA Compliance Dr Susan Numrich, US Naval Research Laboratory |
Computer Generated Forces Dr Martin Stytz & Dr Shiela Banks |
SEDRIS DMSO |
| AFTERNOON TEA | |||
| Medical Symposium ...continued |
Strategies for Migrating to HLA Compliance ...continued |
Computer Generated Forces ...continued |
SEDRIS ...continued |
| BREAK | |||
| WELCOME RECEPTION / SPEAKERS MEETING | |||
Medical Applications (Stream 1 - Morning)
Presenter - Dr Robert Johnston (Ciné-Med)
This workshop will cover techniques for assessment and evaluation in simulation. Evaluating the efficacy of simulation for training is an important area of research and one that tends to get overlooked when simulators are built. Methods of linking technical and psychomotor skills between simulators and the real operating environment will be discussed. There will be some emphasis on medical applications, but the considerations apply equally to other types of simulation.
Dr Robert Johnston is a keynote speaker at the conference.
Medical Simulation Symposium (Stream 1 - Afternoon)
The Medical Applications Workshop has been extended to a special afternoon of presentations and discussion for Medical Simulation.Refer to the Medical Simulation Symposium page for complete details of day, including registration information.
HLA Applications (Stream 2 - Morning)
Presenters - Dr John Best (DSTO), Dr Martin Stytz (USAF Research Laboratory), Col (ret) Alexander Vankov (D3 Group)
This workshop will cover how HLA is used in various distributed simulation applications.
Dr. Stytz will present an overview of HLA and the current state of play from a U.S. perspective. Dr. Best will then discuss the current state in the development of the Virtual Ship Architecture (VSA) - an example of an HLA application being used in Australia. The Virtual Ship is an application of the HLA and the VSA refers to those components over and above those of the HLA required to achieve the vision of interoperability of system simulations in the maritime domain. Col. Vankov will consider the use of HLA in the space domain drawing examples from the EDISON (European Distributed Interactive Simulation Over Network) project. Participants will derive a knowledge of how HLA can be used for various applications and the processes to consider when constructing their own applications.
Dr John Best leads DSTO's Virtual Ship Project. Based in Maritime Operations Division (Salisbury), the project is drawing together the expertise of DSTO and industry to establish a comprehensive capability to simulate warship operations. The High Level Architecture provides the underlying means for linking simulation models. In his capacity as leader of the Virtual Ship Project, Dr Best chairs the Virtual Ship Architecture Working Group (VSAWG). With membership across nine DSTO Divisions and ten defence companies, the VSAWG is working to establish the Virtual Ship Federation Object Model (VS-FOM) as a common reference for the maritime simulation community. Through the VSAWG, the Virtual Ship Project is playing a leading role in facilitating the adoption of HLA within Australia. It has recently sponsored the conduct by DMSO of a Comprehensive Introduction to HLA course and Hand-on Practicum in HLA at DSTO Salisbury.
Dr Martin Stytz is a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the US Air Force. He served as an Associated Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at the Air Force Institute of Technology. Dr Stytz received a Bachelor of Science Degree from the US Air Force Academy in 1975, a Master of Arts Degree from Central Missouri State University in 1979, a Master of Science Degree from the University of Michigan in 1983, and his PhD in Computer Science and Engineering from the University of Michigan in 1989.
Col Alexander Vankov is a keynote speaker at the conference.
Computer Generated Forces (Stream 3 - Afternoon)
Presenters - Dr Shiela Banks (Calculated Insight) and Dr Martin Stytz (USAF Research Laboratory)
This tutorial will focus on addressing the technical challenges of providing computer generated actors and computer generated forces for use in distributed simulation.
Distributed virtual environment technologies permit humans to interact in real-time with complex environments that employ 3D graphical descriptions to depict the virtual environment. The contents of these environments move and interact with varying degrees of fidelity by employing models of real world physical constraints. A crucial component of improved, more realistic, and affordable distributed virtual environments for future uses, is computed generated actors and computer generator forces.
The development of computed generated actors (CGAs) and computer generated forces (CGFs) for use in distributed simulation poses a number of technical challenges, including: software architecture and design, human behaviour modelling, decision making mechanisms, knowledge base representation and construction, terrain representation and interoperability, command entity representation, verification and validation, composability and re-use.
In the workshop each of these technical issues will be defined and discussed, the fundamental concepts and technologies for each issue will be introduced, and a short overview of the state of the art for each issue will be provided. The workshop will conclude with a discussion of a methodology that can be used to design and develop CGAs and CGFs.
Dr Shiela Banks is the President of Calculated Insight. She received a Bachelor of Science, Magna Cum Laude from University of Miami in 1984 and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering, Summa Cum Laude, from North Carolina State University in 1986. Also from North Carolina State University she received a Master of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering in 1987 and her Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Engineering (Artificial Intelligence) from Clemson University in 1995.
Dr Martin Stytz is a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the US Air Force. He served as an Associated Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at the Air Force Institute of Technology. Dr Stytz received a Bachelor of Science Degree from the US Air Force Academy in 1975, a Master of Arts Degree from Central Missouri State University in 1979, a Master of Science Degree from the University of Michigan in 1983, and his PhD in Computer Science and Engineering from the University of Michigan in 1989.
Training Approaches and Fidelity (Stream 3 - Morning)
Panel discussion - Convenor Mr Phil Wallace (Learning Systems Analysis)
This workshop will comprise two sessions with a break for morning tea. The first session will feature presentations on key training analysis and design issues from a panel comprising:
| Phil Wallace (Convenor) | Learning Systems Analysis Pty Ltd |
| Dr Gavan Lintern | Head Human Factors DSTO |
| Geoff Northam | Computer Sciences Corporation |
| Dr Michael Regan | Senior Research Fellow Monash University Accident Research Centre |
| Prof Tom Triggs | Deputy Director Monash University Accident Research Centre |
The second session will follow morning tea and be based around a hypothetical defence acquisition project with opportunities for the employment of simulation. A description of the hypothetical project will be provided to attendees and then the evolution of the project, from capability development through to implementation of the training system, will be discussed. Discussion will be based on issues identified in advance by the panel. These issues will be transformed into questions posed to members of the audience and panel.
This approach will enable us to explore many important training system analysis and design issues. It will also be very relevant to the consideration of training systems policies and procedures.
Mr Phil Wallace is Managing Director of Learning Systems Analysis Pty Ltd. His Training Needs Analysis methodology has been applied to a number of Defence and commercial simulation projects. Phil has presented papers at SimTecT and ITSEC, and was Conference Chair of SimTecT 99.
Manufacturing Applications (Stream 4 - Morning)
Presenter - Dr Jerry Duncan (Deere & Company)
This workshop will describe the virtual prototyping tools currently being used and their applications in industry. These will encompass contributions from major manufacturers (e.g. Deere & Company, Boeing, Paccar, Ford, General Motors, Lockheed-Martin, and software/hardware vendors) and discuss how modelling and simulation is applied in manufacturing applications. Participants will gain an awareness and knowledge of current and future uses of simulation in manufacturing businesses.
Dr Jerry Duncan is a keynote speaker at the conference.
Strategies for Migrating to HLA Compliance (Stream 2 - Afternoon)
Convenor - Dr Susan Numrich (US Naval Research Laboratory)
Dr. Numrich will host a set of presentations as to how various projects are moving towards HLA compliance, followed by a panel discussion/question session. Different projects are moving to HLA, but not always eliminating all the former DIS functionality. Many programs are moving to external linkages via HLA initially and then working from the outside in as money becomes available. Most programs want to be compliant internally but don't have the funds available to do a complete design. This workshop will describe some of the initiatives used, difficulties encountered and/or overcome, and management strategies. Presentations will be given on:
- One new program designing for HLA from the start (Marine Corps: Simulator Federation)
- One acquisition program working with simulation based design concepts (Joint Strike Fighter)
- One training program (BFTT)
Co-presenters will be:
- Mr. Michael O'Neal, BFTT
- COL Phil Faye, JSF
- Dr. Michael Bailey, USMC
- Mr. Richard Esslinger, BMDO
- Mr. Tim Bishop, US Army
Dr Susan Numrich manages a significant Research and Development program as Head of the Advanced Information Technology Branch of the Information Technology Division at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington D.C. Research areas under her control include: virtual reality, virtual environments for military applications, and theoretical analysis of virtual environments. She has an extensive background in Advanced Distributed Simulation and is a main player in the Office of Naval Research.
SEDRIS (Stream 4 - Afternoon)
Presenter - DMSO Representatives
The Synthetic Environment Data Representation and Interchange Specification (SEDRIS) Interchange Mechanism was conceived and implemented to capture and provide a complete data model (terrain, ocean, atmosphere, and space) of the physical environment, access methods to that data model, and an associated interchange format, to facilitate interoperability among heterogeneous simulations. This tutorial will address issues concerning the use and implementation of SEDRIS. It will cover such topics as: setting requirements, the SEDRIS format, conversion from legacy databases, achieving interoperability, etc. An overview of its use in some modelling and simulation applications will be given.DMSO Presenters are:
- LtCol Mark McKeon, USMC
- Ms. Phil Zimmerman
- Mr. Chris Turrell
- Mr. Juan Perez
- Mr. Matt Wolf
- Mr. Larry Grosberg
The Defense Modeling and Simulation Office (DMSO) is the US DoD's centre of excellence for simulation. Part of their charter is to provide detailed tutorials around the world on standards such as SEDRIS and HLA.