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C4I Publication Abstracts
Modeling and Simulation

C3I-6006

Speaking One Language

Authors:A. Tolk, K. Galvin, M. Hieb, L. Khimeche, and J. M. Pullen

Previous training systems have focused maninly on individual training, including the ability to handle weapon systems and other forms of equipment, and teaching technical skills. The focus of research underlying these training systems has predominantly concentrated on the physical domain. However, the mission of the Armed Forces has shifted dramatically over the last decade. This new emphasis requires organization of military missions, and the means for carrying out these missions, using Command and Control. One answer is an emerging international effort to develop a coalition "Battle Management Language" (BML), exchanging results an information as the training sessions progress.

Military Simulation and Training, the International Defence Training Journal, Issue 4/2005 pp 18-21, National Training Systems Association, Farnborough UK

C3I-6005

Using Web Services to Integrate Heterogeneous Simulations
in a Grid Environment

Authors: J. M. Pullen, R. Brunton, D. Brutzman, D. Drake, M. Hieb, K Morse, and A. Tolk

The distributed information technologies collectively known as Web Services recently have demonstrated powerful capabilities for scalable interoperation of heterogeneous software across a wide variety of networked platforms. This approach supports a rapid integration of cycle and show promise for ultimately supporting automatic composability of services using discovery via registries. This paper presenta a rationale for extending Web services to distributed simulation environments, including High Level Architecture (HLA), together with a description and examples of the integration methodology used to develop significant prototype implementations. A logical next step is integration in a demanding computation and database access emvironment. This combination , which has been called Grid services, is an emerging researech area with challenging problems to be faced in bringing Web services and Grid computing together effectively.

Future Generation Computer Systems, Vol 21 No 1 pp 97-106, 2005 Elsevier

C3I-6004

Extensible Battle Management Language as a
Transformation Enabler

Authors: W. Sudnikivich,M. Kleiner, S Carey, and M. Pullen

A new approach is needed to the longstanding problem of interoperating military command and control with combat simulations. There is great potential benefit in such a capability, both for more effective training and as a "what if" capability during military operations. The authors describe the Battle Management Language (BML), an unambiguous means of describing military operations to people, simulations, and robotic forces. The process that developed the BML and its extension into the realm of Web services is described. The new capability is projected to be an enabler for the ongoing transformation activities in the U.S. Department of Defense. Integrated with the Command and Control Information Exchange Data Model (C2IEDM), BML, as extended through Web services, provides a path to improved interoperability within and among U.S. military services and their allied/coalition partners.

SIMULATION: Transactions of the Society for Modeling and Simulation International, Vol 80 No 12 pp 669-680 , special issue on Military Simulation Systems and Command and Control Systems Interoperability, December 2004.

C3I-6001

Networking Technology and
Distributed Interactive Simulation (DIS)

Authors: J. Mark Pullen and David C. Wood

For wide-area networking of Distributed Interactive Simulation (DIS), a real-time, resource- reserving, multicast network with appropriate encryption is required. Latency and data volume requirements are described. Standards for DIS communications and their impact on network traffic are explained. Evolutionary history is traced for the current network serving these needs, the Defense Simulation Internet. The most likely path for future expansion of DIS networking uses emerging commercial technologies such as Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) and Internet Protocol multicast (IPmc) with resource reservation. The architecture and issues for an ATM network meeting future DIS requirements is described; areas of active research such as compression and multicast grouping are explained.

Proceedings of the IEEE, August 1995.

C3I-6002

Networking for Distributed Virtual Simulation

Author: J. Mark Pullen

Distributed Virtual Simulation (DVS) is a new technology that extends Virtual Reality to the networked environment. It was developed for military training and is being used for civilian education and entertainment. Participants can interact over great distances in the virtual world if supported by a network that provides real-time, multicast packet communications with resource reservation for adequate performance and satisfactory security. Requirements and techniques for real-time networking, internetted multicast, and resource reservations in support of DVS are described, and are used to define the set of missing Internet technologies that will be needed for DVS.

Computer Networks and ISDN Systems, Vol. 27, No 3.

C3I-6003

A Methodology and Tool
for Constructing Adaptive Agents for Computer Generated Forces

Author: Michael R. Hieb, Gheorghe Tecuci, J. Mark Pullen, Andrew Ceranowicz, and David Hille

The ability to build intelligent command agents for computer generated forces (CGF) is significantly constrained by the knowledge acquisition effort required. Many iterations by subject matter experts (SME), programmers, and knowledge engineers are required to develop an acceptable behavior even for a narrow range of situations. Moreover, once built, the agents cannot adapt themselves to changes. This paper presents an automated knowledge acquisition system called Captain, which allows the SME to "teach" a CGF command agent in much the same way the SME would teach a human student. Captain is built upon Disciple, a multistrategy apprenticeship learning system that combines machine learning and knowledge acquisition methods. With Captain, an SME either gives the CGF command agent specific examples of problems and solutions, and explanations of these solutions, or supervises the agent as it solves new problems. During such interactions, the agent learns how to behave in similar situations. This approach produces verified behavior and addresses the problem of validating existing behaviors when new behaviors are added. In this paper we describe the teaching modes of Captain and illustrate them with an extended example from a specific CGF system, Modular Semi-Automated Forces (ModSAF), where an SME teaches a CGF entity a desired behavior using the ModSAF and Captain interfaces.

Proceedings of the Conference on Computer Generated Forces and Behavioral Representation, Orlando, FL, May 1995.