3D Tool for Physics-Based Weather Simulation in a Training Environment

There are many high-end weather simulation tools available, but most focus on visual aspects of weather effects or predication modeling and not the capability (without extreme levels of programming) to demonstrate the physical effects of weather on objects in a realistic manner. The goal of this Phase II project is to create a set of real-time weather conditions and other shipboard physical phenomena (roll, pitch, vibration) that can interface with common 3D graphics programs for courseware designers to use in standard desktop PC-based training simulations. The project’s innovation is to base each condition on realistic physical data, allowing it to behave appropriately within a simulation, including reacting to objects or user actions in a scene. Using models of tilt rotor craft, shipboard operations training demonstrations with these effects will be created to show the capabilities and authoring process of the software. To complete these tools and demonstrations, the scope of the Phase II project will include additional CFD analysis, algorithm construction, multiplayer communication development, pre-defined scenario authoring, and statistical performance tracking. The end product is a set of commercially available templates for use in deployable, web-based training.