Dynamic Formats in Distributed Simulation Systems

There is a strong recent trend of core Army technologies heading towards greater convergence and reuse, as illustrated by programs such as OneSAF and SE Core. However, in parallel with this trend, selected areas are actually diverging through heavy investment in technologies that do not conform well to the mantra of commonality. A key area of divergence for virtual simulation is image generation technology, with heavy recent investment in run-time publishing and procedural geometry concepts. Both of these concepts fit poorly into the classic pre-distributed terrain database approach used in major Army applications all the way back to SIMNET. However, these technologies may provide value in the areas of dynamic environment and leveraging fielded hardware. As a result, it is important to study how run-time publishing and procedural geometry concepts can be applied to SE Core, OneSAF, and other core simulation technologies. Dignitas Technologies, along with subcontractor CAE, will do a survey of run-time publishing and procedural geometry technologies and investigate ways to integrate these technologies into leading Army technologies such as OneSAF.