A FLEXIBLE DISTRIBUTED INTERACTIVE SIMULATION ADAPTER UNIT (DAU) FOR INTERCONNECTING EXISTING SIMULATORS

THE DARPA SIMNET PROGRAM DEMONSTRATED THE VIABILITY OF NETWORKED SIMULATORS. THE GOVERNMENT ALREADY POSSESSES SIMULATORS, WHICH CAN NEITHER NETWORK NOR SHARE DATABASES. THIS PROJECT PROPOSES TO SOLVE THE NETWORKING PROBLEM BY DEVELOPING A PORTABLE, FLEXIBLE DISTRIBUTED INTERACTIVE SIMULATION (DIS) ADAPTER UNIT (DAU, FOR SHORT). THE PROJECT PROPOSES TO SOLVE THE DATABASE PROBLEM BY CAPITALIZING ON EXISTING AND ONGOING EFFORTS TO DEVELOP A SIMULATOR STANDARD DATABASE (SSDB). THE PROPSED DAU SEPARATES NETWORKING PROCESSING WHICH GROWS LINEARLY WITH THE NUMBER OF VEHICLES. THIS MODULAR APPROACH INSULATES THE EXISTING SIMULATOR FROM THE HIGH DEMANDS OF NETWORK PROCESSING, INCREASING THE CAPABILITY OF THE EXISTING SIMULATOR. THE FLEXIBLE PROPOSED ARCHITECTURE SUPPORTS SYSTEM-LEVEL, BOARD-LEVEL, AND SOFTWARE-ONLY PRODUCTS FOR INTEGRATION INTO EXISTING SIMULATORS. THIS ALLOWS THE DAU TO BE USED WITH SYSTEMS WITH WIDELY DIFFERENT TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS. THE FLEXIBLE DESIGN OF THE SOFTWARE ALSO ALLOWS MODIFICATION TO MET THE INCREASINGLY COMPLEX REQUIREMENTS OF DISTRIBUTED INTERACTIVE SIMULATION, ALLOWING THE EXISTING SIMULATORS TO BE COMPATIBLE WITH EVOLVING DIS STANDARDS. MAK'S SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT METHODOLOGY EMPHASIZES PORTABILTY OF SOFTWARE, WHICH IS THE KEY TO USING INCREASINGLY POWERFUL NEW GENERATIONS OF HARDWARE.