Track: Defense and Intelligence
The Synthetic Environment Data Representation and Interchange Specification (SEDRIS) Development Project
Paul Gl. FoleyFarid Mamaghani , Dr. Paul A. Birkel
A common representation of the physical environment is a critical element in Modeling and Simulation (M&S) and is a necessary precondition for the interoperability of heterogeneous simulations. The level of interoperability achieved depends heavily upon the degree of consistency, completeness, and unambiguous definition of environmental data. Today, no uniform and effective standard mechanism exists for describing, reusing, and interchanging environmental data among M&S applications. Additionally, data sharing rarely occurs between the operational and simulation communities even though each community uses representations of the same physical aspects of the real world. The SEDRIS project was conceived and implemented to capture and provide a complete (terrain, ocean, atmosphere, and space) data model of the physical environment, access methods to that data model, and an associated interchange format. These SEDRIS developed mechanisms facilitate interoperability among heterogeneous simulations by providing complete and unambiguous interchange of environmental data. The range of M&S applications addressed in the SEDRIS development includes training, analysis, and system acquisition and supports visual, computer generated forces, and sensor perspectives. When completed in 1998, the data interchange specification will support the pre-runtime distribution of source data, three-dimensional models, and integrated databases that describe the physical environment for both simulation and operational use. Paul G. Foley is an Information Systems Engineer with the MITRE Corporation and is currently the Environmental Division Chief at the U.S. Defense Modeling and Simulation Office. A retired U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Officer, Mr. Foley has over 25 years experience in topographic operations and digital geospatial systems. He holds advanced degrees in Photogrammetry from Purdue University and Research and Development Systems Management from the University of Southern California and is a graduate of the U.S. Army War College. Farid Mamaghani has worked in the field of interactive networked simulation since 1984. He is one of the original designers of the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Simulation Networking (SIMNET) computer image generation system, and has worked as a systems engineer and project manager on a variety of networked simulation projects. He is currently an independent consultant, with clients in both the DoD and commercial sectors.
Paul Gl. Foley
MITRE Corporation
101 North Beauregard Street
Alexandria, VA 22311
USA
Telephone: 703-998-0660
Fax: 703-998-0667
E-mail: pfoley@msis.dmso.mil