Integrated Simulation-Based Design Environment

"As the complexity of technological systems grow, the amount of information that needs to be retained and used also increases. The need for an environment in which the data from different systems can be stored and used by other related systems isincreasing. Such an environment must be extensible, so that new systems can be incorporated as technology advances. The environment must also provide a process for incorporating data from divergent technology domains and interrelating that data, so thatchanges in one domain might correctly affect the results of another domain. Finally, the environment must provide an open, extensible, and published schema so that technology developers can store, retrieve, and interrelate their data from theenvironment's repository.This project is attempting to realize a prototype of such an environment for the design and optimization of undersea weapons and vehicles. This aggressive approach is only possible by leveraging Trident's InterchangeSE technology as the basis.InterchangeSE is a distributed, multi-user infrastructure that integrates tools such as systems engineering, design optimization, network simulation, requirements, CAD, cost, human engineering, and project management tools. These tools are integrated intoa central, object oriented database for configuration management and sharing of data. These tools are integrated into InterchangeSE via distributable software modules called plug-ins tha