Naval Cross Platform Hypercube Enabled Acquisitions and Targeting (NxP HEAT)

Simulation is fundamental to ensuring that we train as we fight, and effective, realistic simulation is key to honing and maintaining our combat edge. Within the Navy training enterprise, a critical but unmet need is a shared, sensed and distributed undersea and atmospheric simulation environment supporting maritime Live, Virtual and Constructive (LVC) training. Our Phase I research focused on meeting this challenge by leveraging a Government-owned technology, the Environmental Data Cube Support System, and the hypercube construct. Hypercubes represent fast transformation of meteorological and oceanographic (METOC)scenario data into mission impacts through an n-dimensional lookup table holding pre-computed physics-based solutions for parameters of interest. EDCSS is an open simulation-neutral system designed to help address challenges in engineering content, simulation consistency, and network capacity. Content required by simulated weapon systems should be supplied by fast, effective transformation from METOC content (e.g. temperature, humidity) to engineering parameters (e.g. transmissivity by wavelength). Consistency in simulation requires that different training participants see and respond to this content similarly; for example, simulated precipitation that impacts horizontal visibility in surface warfare should also impact simulated acoustic profiles for anti-submarine warfare. Finally, these data must be shared without overwhelming training networks or simulation infrastructure. Our Phase I work demonstrates that EDCSS and hypercube products could help meet Navy requirements for engineering content, simulation consistency and network capacity. These Navy stakeholders, however, also sought greater flexibility in distribution of METOC data, specifically dynamic representation and network diversity.  In Phase II, we will focus on dynamic representation and will investigate network diversity. We will improve the shared, sensed and distributed undersea and atmospheric simulation environment by developing, demonstrating and delivering new METOC distribution capabilities that ensure dynamic representation with simulation consistency operating within training network capacity. Our approach is to build on current EDCSS capabilities for runtime scenario management by improving and extending WxSim. WxSim is a forward-deployed natural extension of the EDCSS foundation that is designed to serve up weather and ocean data, effects, and behaviors as a single authoritative source among peer federates in a distributed training environment.