Reuse and Interoperation of Environmental Data & Processes for Aircrew Training & Mission Rehearsal Study Group (RIEDP-SG) Thursday Morning Session Forum West 1 Room

24/09/ Special Workshop Fall 2009 Who is talking to you ? Jean-Louis GOUGEATSOGITEC  Currently Project Manager  Flight Simulators / Simulation Centers  Networking and other R&T areas  Previously  Support of the French MoD in R&T areas  FR Army, Navy, Air Force Simulation Projects  Studies for Staffs in Distributed Simulation  SISO Member since 1996  Database Generation area  Not an expert  Trying to make the experts talk together ! « All the hammers see their problem in the form of a nail … »

24/09/ Special Workshop Fall 2009 Agenda 08: :45 Welcome & Introduction 08: :30 Study Group Objectives and Goals 09:30 -10:00 Candidate Tasks and Work Areas 10:00 -10:30 BREAK 10:30 -11:30 Discussion of Tasks, Objectives, and Study Group Products 11:30 -11:45 Election of Study Group Officers 11:45 -12:00 Wrap-up and Next Steps

24/09/ Special Workshop Fall 2009 Welcome & Introduction  Who is talking ?  The Agenda  Where does this SG come from ?  From French National Initiative …  … to Fall 09 SIW Special Workshop  And toward a SISO Study Group

24/09/ Special Workshop Fall 2009 Where does this SG come from ? Initiative from a French M&S WG (MoD + Industry) led by FR National Industry  What standards are we using? Are we using the right process? The right Products? The right Standards?  Focus on the Training and Rehearsal community  Looking over the Atlantic Ocean :  why have they apparently different approaches in various projects?  what is the US doing for reducing costs in this area ?  what are their real standards ?  what is the impact of initiatives of the services on the overall community? … Finally: Why not talking to each other?  Share our Successes, our new Ideas  Capitalize on our Lessons Learned Proposed at Spring 09 SIW to set up an International Event for Fall SIW  Well received by our key US Partners  Well received by SISO Committees that were very supportive  Well received by the Community of Interest (16 abstracts received)

24/09/ Special Workshop Fall 2009 Where does this SG come from ? SIW F09 - Special Workshop Organization  Committee Members :  Gilbert CASTANER, SOGITEC  Jason ESTEVE, ITT AES  Paul FOLEY, US DoD, Terrain MSEA  Jean-Louis GOUGEAT, SOGITEC  Jean-Louis IGARZA, French MoD  Farid MAMAGHANI, SEDRIS Organization

24/09/ Special Workshop Fall 2009 Where does this SG come from ? SIW F09 - Special Workshop Goals  Objectives  Within the Training and Rehearsal Community  Inform and discuss with the International Simulation Stakeholders the current State of the Art,  Discuss existing or emerging Approaches, Processes, Standards, and Lessons Learned,  Establish Conditions for Synergy in the Evolution and Development of Standards through SISO,  Address and identify Areas for which Standardization is necessary, but lacking,  Discuss the way forward : Establishing a new SISO Study Group?  Guidance  14 Guidelines developed by the Organizing Committee to help focusing the Workshop  Organization – Presentations – Lessons Learnt

24/09/ Special Workshop Fall 2009 Where does this SG come from ? SIW F09 - Special Workshop Presentations  Presenters from:  Canada, France, Germany, United Kingdom, United States of America  Three sessions - Half a day each, organized as:  3 Presentation + Break + 2 Presentations  Followed by a 5 presenters Q&A Panel  Final panel on Friday follows the Q&A panel  Summary and Way Forward

24/09/ Special Workshop Fall 2009 Where does this SG come from ? SIW F09 - Special Workshop Results  Attendance  60 persons on average (peak 70) - Shown interest in the M&S Community regarding this issue  Content  Opportunity for the International Community involved with the creation, dissemination, and development of environmental representations and effects databases to discuss existing or emerging approaches, processes, standards, and lessons learned  Main Lessons Learnt  Practitioners use Same General Approach in Generation of Environmental Data Products  Source Data is used in Internal Data Generation Processes to produce Final Products  However, Data Generation Processes differ from one Producer/Integrator to another  Impeding both Data Reuse and Final Interoperability of Target Applications  Harmonization of Environmental Data Representations and Processes at the "Integrated" Level is required  Follow-on  Some of the Attendees volunteered to participate in Future Workshops

24/09/ Special Workshop Fall 2009 Agenda 08: :45 Welcome & Introduction 08: :30 Study Group Objectives and Goals 09:30 -10:00 Candidate Tasks and Work Areas 10:00 -10:30 BREAK 10:30 -11:30 Discussion of Tasks, Objectives, and Study Group Products 11:30 -11:45 Election of Study Group Officers 11:45 -12:00 Wrap-up and Next Steps

24/09/ Special Workshop Fall 2009 Study Group Objectives and Goals RIEDP-SG : The Reuse and Interoperation of Environmental Data & Processes for Aircrew Training & Mission Rehearsal - Study Group  Organizing committee  (Next page)  Drafted a SG’s TOR  Rationale  Benefits  Tasks  Products  Performance Period  Approved by EXCOM  Some comments

24/09/ Special Workshop Fall 2009 SG Organizing committee Members :  Those of the Special Workshop  Gilbert CASTANER, SOGITEC  Jason ESTEVE, ITT AES  Paul FOLEY, US DoD, Terrain MSEA  Jean-Louis GOUGEAT, SOGITEC  Jean-Louis IGARZA, French MoD  Farid MAMAGHANI, SEDRIS Organization  Plus additional proponents  Michele WORLEY, SAIC  Michael McCARTHY, US Army  Steve STEPHENS, AFRL/RHAE  Kerey HOWARD, US Navy  Thierry TRACOL, TTS

24/09/ Special Workshop Fall 2009 RIEDP-SG TOR Summary  The proposed Reuse and Interoperation of Environmental Data and Processes Study Group (RIEDP-SG) will meet for the first time in Orlando, FL during the Spring 2010 Simulation Interoperability Workshop (SIW).  The Study Group will operate for twelve to eighteen months and will investigate the level of interest and the best approaches for the development and utilization of standardize-able representations of environmental data and processes for use in simulation applications.  Within that broader context, the Study Group will focus on environmental data that can be immediately used in Aircrew Training and Mission Rehearsal applications. Specifically, the focus of this effort will take into account the NPSI, AFCD, CDB, SE Core, and French approach processes and Data models with the expectation to improve their interoperability and reuse in a standardized approach.  As part of its outcome, the SG will recommend how to expand this focus to cover additional requirements.  Interim reports will be developed and presented at the Fall 2010, and, if needed, at the Spring 2011 SIWs.  It is anticipated that the final report, targeted for either the Spring or Fall 2011 SIW, will recommend the formation of a Product Development Group to produce specific SISO products and/or to establish a Standing Study Group to continue and evolve the initiatives started by this Study Group.

24/09/ Special Workshop Fall 2009 RIEDP-SG TOR Rationale  The utilization of Distributed Mission Operations (DMO) and Live-Virtual-Constructive (LVC) simulation applications, in a joint and coalition context, is growing. This requires consistency of the simulation environment for the various systems, applications, and participants.  Production and reuse of integrated environmental databases is a significant part of the overall M&S development and deployment cost. An integrated environmental representation database typically includes terrain, ocean, weather/atmosphere, space, sub-surface, and all related data required for simulation and modeling of entities and sensors. Capitalizing on cost-saving approaches that reduce this overall cost is an important topic of interest to the broader M&S community.  Various levels of standardization that address different aspects of the end-to-end problem exist, and range from international standards to ad hoc approaches. On- going projects in a number of international government programs, as well as initiatives and innovative approaches from industry, continue to contribute to solutions in this area.  However, the activities in the community are often fragmented or disjoint, and sometimes do not or cannot leverage existing capabilities, standards, or lessons-learned. In some cases, these are driven by the special requirements of specific projects or activities. This results in multiple solutions in the community, differing in their scope, breadth, or depth.  A Special Workshop was held during the Fall 2009 SIW […]

24/09/ Special Workshop Fall 2009 RIEDP-SG TOR Rationale (cont)  The presentations at the Special Workshop indicated that all practitioners use the same general approach in the generation of their environmental data products. Source Data, regardless of detail or complexity, is used in internal data generation processes to produce one or more final products (usually) specific to a particular set of applications, clients, or systems. However, the data generation processes differ from one producer or integrator to another. These include differences in processing, organizing, and assembling the various source data into an “integrated database” to produce a consistent, corrected, and correlated data set that becomes the subsequent source and reference from which various target application databases would be derived.  These differences in the data generation processes can often impede both data reuse and the final interoperability of the target applications. At the same time, these differences usually occur at the highly (user) interactive “integration” phase (one of the most costly phases) of the data generation process, making it a candidate for optimization and possible standardization, by fostering reuse of existing data.  This implies a desire for harmonization of environmental data representations and processes at the "integrated" level, while trying to retain the data form (or format) close to the source data, and at the same time keeping the internal data consistency (intrinsic correlation factor). Added to this, is the desire for shielding the generalization at this level from specific target application constraints, leaving those to be addressed separately by each target application during run time. These goals may be a contradiction for interoperability. For example, will interoperability be possible if the constraints are left to target applications during run time. These issues will be some of the topics the Study Group will address.

24/09/ Special Workshop Fall 2009 RIEDP-SG TOR Benefits  With the focus of this Study Group on the needs of the Aircrew Training And Mission Rehearsal Communities, the Study Group will help merge (or at least bring to the table) the various U.S. initiatives already dealing with this approach. These include :  the Naval Aviation’s Portable Source Initiative (NPSI),  the Air Force’s Common Database (AFCD),  the Army’s Synthetic Environment (SE)-CORE / Master Data Base (MDB),  the Special Operations Command’s Common Data base (CDB).  It should also be noted that in the French Air Force community a similar on-going process of harmonization has been undertaken, with principles close to those adopted by the U.S. Air Force (REST Initiative) and the U.S. Navy. To improve the readiness of the multinational forces for coalition operations, international standardization in this area has strong interest.  One of the key benefits of this Study Group is anticipated to be the establishment and propagation of a common set of terminology for discussing and describing the environmental data and processes. Inputs and considerations from subject matter experts from the U.S. and international M&S communities will provide the opportunity for harmonizing domain terminology.  Furthermore, the Study Group will foster communication between M&S and the GIS communities in areas where they use the same data formats or de-facto standards.  In addition, this Study Group provides the opportunity to reactivate and re-energize environment- related activities in SISO.

24/09/ Special Workshop Fall 2009 RIEDP-SG TOR  The RIEDP-SG shall execute the following Tasks:  Conduct an informal survey of the U.S. and international M&S Communities for on-going Initiatives that might serve as part of the overall common solution.  Define and document a Reference Database Generation Process that can include:  Establishing a common terminology  Identifying common areas in data generation processes between communities  Identifying requirements for one or more standard solutions to foster interoperation and reuse of environmental databases and processes.  Recommending how to expand the initial focus to cover additional requirements.  Assess the time and effort required to develop and deploy one or more standard solutions for the interoperation and reuse of environmental databases and processes.  Produce (one or possibly two) interim, and a final, report summarizing the state-of-the-practice, alternatives, and recommending a SISO group activity appropriate for establishing common standards or products for interoperation and reuse of environmental databases and processes. NB : Initial Focus on Training and Rehearsal Applications

24/09/ Special Workshop Fall 2009 RIEDP-SG TOR  Products:  The Final Report shall be the formal product produced by the Study Group.  If the SG decides to move to a PDG, a Product Nomination will be drafted and sent to SAC for approval.  Notes shall be taken during meetings in accordance with SISO common practices and posted on the RIEDP-SG SISO reflector (to be created).  Performance Period:  The RIEDP-SG shall begin at the Spring 2010 SIW.  The Final Report of the Study Group shall be submitted to the SAC either at the Spring or Fall 2011 SIW.

24/09/ Special Workshop Fall 2009 Agenda 08: :45 Welcome & Introduction 08: :30 Study Group Objectives and Goals 09:30 -10:00 Candidate Tasks and Work Areas 10:00 -10:30 BREAK 10:30 -11:30 Discussion of Tasks, Objectives, and Study Group Products 11:30 -11:45 Election of Study Group Officers 11:45 -12:00 Wrap-up and Next Steps

24/09/ Special Workshop Fall 2009 AS per TOR : 1.Conduct an informal survey on-going Initiatives 2.Define and document a Reference Database Generation Process:  Establish a common terminology  Identify common areas in data generation processes between communities  Identify requirements for one or more standard solutions 3.Synthesis  Assess the time and effort required for PDG activities  Produce Interim and Final Reports Candidate Tasks and Work Areas

24/09/ Special Workshop Fall 2009  Back to SIW-F09 SW, where Standards Initiatives were discussed: Candidate Tasks and Work Areas 1 - Conduct an informal survey on-going Initiatives

24/09/ Special Workshop Fall 2009  Back to SIW-F09 SW, where Standards Initiatives were discussed (cont’): Candidate Tasks and Work Areas 1 - Conduct an informal survey on-going Initiatives

24/09/ Special Workshop Fall 2009  Task Content / Principle  Characterization of the solutions in terms of:  Primary « de facto » Standards used,  Data Model / Data Set,  Existing Tools and API,  References of Applications and Users  … Candidate Tasks and Work Areas 1 - Conduct an informal survey on-going Initiatives

24/09/ Special Workshop Fall 2009 Candidate Tasks and Work Areas 2. Define and document a Reference Database Generation Process  Establish common terminology  Scope  To avoid the « Tower of Babel » syndrome –Data & Generation Process  Are there existing well-adapted dictionaries?  Do we need to improve existing dictionaries?  The objective of this task will be:  To perform an inventory of the situation  To propose an action plan : To be achieved within the PDG  However a preliminary terminology alignment effort will probably be required to achieve subsequent SG tasks –We need to understand each other in the SG !!

24/09/ Special Workshop Fall 2009  2.2- Identify common areas in data generation processes between communities  As SIW-F09 SW showed : we are all using similar Database Generation Processes Candidate Tasks and Work Areas 2. Define and document a Reference Database Generation Process

24/09/ Special Workshop Fall 2009  2.2- Identify common areas in data generation processes between communities  As summarized by Rob Cox (SIW-F09 SW) : Candidate Tasks and Work Areas 2. Define and document a Reference Database Generation Process

24/09/ Special Workshop Fall 2009  2.2- Identify Common Areas in Data Generation Processes Between Communities  Task Content / Principle : Identification and characterization of the different steps of the processes, as for instance :  Source Data Input –Layers, Formats, … + Import  Operations on the layered Source Data : –Correct, Align, Add, Merge, Classify, …  Modeling & Editing Operations according to Layers : –Terrain, –3D Models –Images –…–… +Links  Database Content Enhancement Operations –Derive secondary data from source data, Features expansion (vegetation, buildings,..)  “Integrated” Database Repository Function –Structure/common formats, access, colocated/distributed ?  Publishing to target applications Candidate Tasks and Work Areas 2. Define and document a Reference Database Generation Process Out of Scope, but ?? Divergence increases

24/09/ Special Workshop Fall 2009 Candidate Tasks and Work Areas 2. Define and document a Reference Database Generation Process 2.3- Identify Requirements for one or more Standard Solutions  Task Content / Principle  According to Areas identified in the Previous Step  Considering that :  Standardization of whole Process is unrealistic  Standardization of Source Data is Reliable & Efficient  Specific constraints of Target applications must be minimized  Choose an appropriate Data Representation :  at the Integrated Level  Based on a Set of de facto Formats - Close to GIS Standards  Addressing the Enhancement Issues : Conditions for correlation of final products

24/09/ Special Workshop Fall 2009 The Previous Tasks are probably to be led concurrently.  This Last Task aims to:  Assess the time and effort required to develop and deploy one or more identified standard solutions  PDG or SSG effort  Produce a Final Report  Summarizing the Findings of the SG,  Recommending a SISO Group Activity (PDG or SSG) for the continuation of the effort. Candidate Tasks and Work Areas 3 - Assess Standard Solutions for RIEDP

24/09/ Special Workshop Fall 2009 Agenda 08: :45 Welcome & Introduction 08: :30 Study Group Objectives and Goals 09:30 -10:00 Candidate Tasks and Work Areas 10:00 -10:30 BREAK 10:30 -11:30 Discussion of Tasks, Objectives, and Study Group Products 11:30 -11:45 Election of Study Group Officers 11:45 -12:00 Wrap-up and Next Steps

24/09/ Special Workshop Fall 2009 Who is in the attendance ?  COI :  Analysis, Acquisition, Experimentation, Training, Test and Eval  Planning, Intelligence, C2/C4I, Operations, Serious Gaming, Other ?  Military service  Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Special Forces, Joint, Other ?  Environmental data  Ocean, Atmosphere, Terrain / GIS, Urban/Interior, Effects,  3D icons, Sensor, Other ?  M&S categories or end-applications  Live, Virtual, Constructive/CGF, Meterology, Oceanography,  Flight sim, Afloat sim, Underwater sim, Ground sim, Sensor sim  Visual System, Analysis, Maps, Other ? Open discussion Discussion of Tasks, Objectives, and Study Group Products

24/09/ Special Workshop Fall 2009 Election to the following positions :  Chair : Jean-Louis Gougeat  Vice Chair : Steve Stephens  Secretary : David Graham Election of Study Group Officers

24/09/ Special Workshop Fall 2009  RIEDP TOR  Background and objectives of the RIEDP Study Group presented by acting chairman  Discussion between the SG members to improve the understanding of the SG’s scope  Revised version of the TOR to show that :  the focus is made on Aircrew Training and Mission Rehearsal applications,  and specifically taking into account the NPSI, AFCD, CDB, SE Core, and French approach processes and data models with the expectation to improve their interoperability and reuse in a standardized approach  as part of its outcome, the SG will recommend how to expand this focus to cover additional requirements.  Successful elections at the positions of :  Chair : Jean-Louis GOUGEAT  Vice Chair : Steve STEPHENS  Secretary : David GRAHAM  Principles of collective work  SISO Reflector based on list of attendees + additional proponents  and audio conference  Physical meeting during M&S Main Events in addition to SIW : ITEC, IITSEC  Actions  Submission of the Revised version of TOR to SISO (SAC et EXCOM)  Initialization of the RIEDP-SG Reflector  Distribution of the Slides of the First Meeting  Kick Off of the SG work by issuing a technical note on the characteristics of the Selected Initiatives Wrap-up and Next Steps

24/09/ Special Workshop Fall 2009 SPARE