A Control Architecture for Integration of Different Simulation Systems

Simulation applications for military training purposes provide features for building scenarios, simulation of computer generated forces (CGF) or simulation of algorithmic behaviors. There are various commercial application frameworks to support services necessary for tactical simulations such as building scenarios and simulation of forces. However, those frameworks are not always able to meet the needs of algorithmic behaviors simulation. The integration of simulation tools developed for the requirements of algorithmic behavior simulation with control interfaces and CGF applications based on commercial frameworks appears as a crucial problem. Coordination among different infrastructures throughout the same application must be maintained for critical control behaviors like scenario management and run control. To realize these aims, using customized commercial control architecture or developing an original architecture are two significant methods. In this study, the two methods proposed above have been compared. The second method is claimed to be more advantageous since it provides modularity, reusability and isolation from the commercial application. This method has been used in the simulation application to develop an HLA (High-Level Architecture) and RPR-FOM (Real-Time Platform-Level Reference Federation Object Model) compliant simulation control architecture. This architecture has been tested by using VR-Forces based control interface and CGF applications along with federates where algorithmic behaviors are simulated. The proposed control architecture can easily be utilized for the management of heterogeneous simulation applications under the same standards such as HLA or DIS.