Document Type

Report

Publication Date

2003

Pages

1-35

Abstract

"Study Report prepared for the U. S. Air Force, Joint Synthetic Battlespace Analysis of Technical Approaches (ATA) Studies & Prototyping"

Overview: This paper summarizes research work conducted by organizations concerned with interoperable distributed information technology (IT) applications, in particular the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) and Old Dominion University (ODU). Although the application focus is distributed modeling & simulation (M&S) the results and findings are in general easily applicable to other distributed concepts as well, in particular the support of operations by M&S applications, such as distributed mission operations. The core idea of this work is to show the necessity of applying open standards for component description, implementation, and integration accompanied by aligned management processes and procedures to enable continuous interoperability for legacy and new M&S components of the live, virtual, and constructive domain within the USAF Joint Synthetic Battlespace (JSB).

JSB will be a common integration framework capable of supporting the future emerging simulation needs ranging from training and battlefield rehearsal to research, system development and acquisition in alignment with other operational requirements, such as integration of command and control, support of operations, integration of training ranges comprising real systems, etc. To this end, the study describes multiple complementary Integrated Architecture Framework approaches and shows, how the various parts must be orchestrated in order to support the vision of JSB effectively and efficiently. Topics of direct relevance include Web Services via Extensible Modeling & Simulation Framework (XMSF), the Object Management Group (OMG)’s Model Driven Architecture (MDA), XML-based resource repositories, and Web-based X3D visualization. To this end, the report shows how JSB can

− Utilize Web Services throughout all components via XMSF methodologies,
− Compose diverse system visualizations using Web-based X3D graphics,

− Benefit from distributed modeling methods using MDA, and

− Best employ resource repositories for broad and consistent composability.

Furthermore, the report recommends the establishment of necessary management organizations responsible for the necessary alignment of management processes and procedures within the JSB as well as with neighbored domains. Continuous interoperability cannot be accomplished by technical standards alone. The application of technical standards targets the implementation level of the system of systems, which results in an interoperable solution valid only for the actual 2 implementation. To insure continuity, the influence of updates, upgrades and introduction of components on the system of systems must be captured in the project management procedures of the participating systems.

Finally, the report proposes an exemplifying set of proof-of-capability demonstration prototypes and a five-year technical/institutional transformation plan. All key references are online available at http://www.movesinstitute.org/xmsf/xmsf.html (if not explicitly stated otherwise).

Comments

"This study paper is provided to the U.S. Government, public and industry with unlimited rights."

https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

Original Publication Citation

Brutzman, D., & Tolk, A. (2003). JSB composability and Web services interoperability via extensible modeling & simulation framework (XMSF), model driven architecture (MDA), component repositories, and Web-based visualization. Study Report Prepared for the U.S. Air Force, Joint Synthetic Battlespace Analysis of Technical Approaches (ATA) Studies & Prototyping. 39 pp.

ORCID

0000-0002-4201-8757 (Tolk)

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