Dynamic Terrain
Encyclopedia
A Dynamic Terrain is the representation of terrain (e.g. mountains, hills, valleys) together with the capability for modification during a simulation (e.g. a constructive soldier
(i.e. battlespace entity) digging a trench).
(CATT) family of military training systems. At the time, the Institute for Simulation and Training
(IST) at the University of Central Florida
(UCF) had been researching the dynamic terrain requirements of networked military simulations, including excavation, clouds and other atmospheric events, and water flow. The complexity proposed by IST was computationally expensive and not practical for the technology available at that time. Therefore, CCTT implemented dynamic terrain events as dynamically placed features (DPFs) that described the terrain deformation, such as a tank ditch. Tank ditches are either 30, 60, 90, or 120 meters long and may be oriented in three dimensions. Since CCTT represents the terrain as an equally spaced elevation grid, terrain reasoning queries are adjusted based on the presence of a DPF. Nevertheless, the dynamic terrain implementation in CCTT caused a mismatch between the CCTT Semi-Automated Forces (SAF) and the visual display. The SAF reasons on the terrain and feature geometry, whereas the visual display focuses on presenting the terrain as a realistic scene. The difference between these two representations of the terrain is similar to the difference between feeling and seeing, therefore these representations store information in very different ways.
In the late 1990s, the Synthetic Theater of War (STOW) effort sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
(DARPA) provided the capability to communicate and apply terrain deformations but the implementation still required high-end platforms without satisfying real-time requirements . The Dynamic Terrain Simulator (DTSim) was developed for the STOW Synthetic Environments (SE) program at the United States Army Corps of Engineers
Army Geospatial Center
(ASG) (formerly Topographic Engineering Center (TEC)). Other applications reused the DTSim framework for more specific implementations of the dynamic terrain capabilities, for example RunwaySim, the Hydrogeologic Simulator (HydroSim), Dynamic Terrain Scribe (DTScribe), Dynamic Terrain Agent (DTAgent), and the Ultra-High Resolution Building Simulator (UHRB-Sim)
In 2003, the U.S.Army Research Laboratory
(ARL) released documentation related to their Dynamic Terrain Server (DTServer). DTServer computes structural effects of detonations and collisions and transmits the result to client simulations, making sure that all simulators share a unified terrain database. DTServer also uses a table look-up to compute the effects of blasts and collisions. The DTServer provides terrain updates by issuing distributed interactive simulation
(DIS) protocol data units (PDUs). DTServer sends DIS Set Data PDUs of the following types: Breach Subtract, Breach vertices, and Ding messages. DTServer also provides a graphical user interface
(GUI) to inspect the state of the database. DTServer runs on three different databases: the terrain database, the object database, and the munitions database. The DIS interface has been successfully tested in the Soldier Visualization System (SVS), the After Action Review
(AAR) system from IST, and the ARL DIS.
There are current efforts to include dynamic terrain capabilities in One Semi-Automated Forces (OneSAF). The OneSAF Environment Runtime Component (ERC) updates presented in the 2009 OneSAF Users Conference mention that OneSAF 4.0 will include support for terrain deformation such as craters, tank defilades, infantry trenches, and breach holes in walls. OneSAF's dynamic terrain implementation will use a server to resolve dynamic terrain requests . The U.S. Army Research, Development, and Engineering Command (RDECOM) Simulation and Training Technology Center (STTC) is sponsoring the development of the Shared Architecture for Dynamic Environment (SHADE). SHADE will provide a framework to receive events, calculate effects, and transmit dynamic environment changes to participating applications . These efforts will seek to address the dynamic terrain capability gap in modeling and simulation identified by the U.S. Army Training And Doctrine Command (TRADOC) Intelligence Support Activity
(TRISA).
Soldier
A soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...
(i.e. battlespace entity) digging a trench).
Dynamic Terrain in Military Simulation
Dynamic terrain has been supported in military training simulations since the mid-1990s in the Close Combat Tactical Trainer (CCTT), the first trainer in the Combined Arms Tactical TrainerCombined Arms Tactical Trainer
The Combined Arms Tactical Trainer or CATT is the British Army's primary tactical battlegroup trainer. It comprises two separate facilities, at Warminster in Wiltshire and Sennelager in Germany, which can be operated separately, or inter-linked for training....
(CATT) family of military training systems. At the time, the Institute for Simulation and Training
Institute for Simulation and Training
The Institute for Simulation and Training is a research institute of the University of Central Florida located in Orlando, Florida, USA. The director of the school is Randall Shumaker....
(IST) at the University of Central Florida
University of Central Florida
The University of Central Florida, commonly referred to as UCF, is a metropolitan public research university located in Orlando, Florida, United States...
(UCF) had been researching the dynamic terrain requirements of networked military simulations, including excavation, clouds and other atmospheric events, and water flow. The complexity proposed by IST was computationally expensive and not practical for the technology available at that time. Therefore, CCTT implemented dynamic terrain events as dynamically placed features (DPFs) that described the terrain deformation, such as a tank ditch. Tank ditches are either 30, 60, 90, or 120 meters long and may be oriented in three dimensions. Since CCTT represents the terrain as an equally spaced elevation grid, terrain reasoning queries are adjusted based on the presence of a DPF. Nevertheless, the dynamic terrain implementation in CCTT caused a mismatch between the CCTT Semi-Automated Forces (SAF) and the visual display. The SAF reasons on the terrain and feature geometry, whereas the visual display focuses on presenting the terrain as a realistic scene. The difference between these two representations of the terrain is similar to the difference between feeling and seeing, therefore these representations store information in very different ways.
In the late 1990s, the Synthetic Theater of War (STOW) effort sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is an agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the development of new technology for use by the military...
(DARPA) provided the capability to communicate and apply terrain deformations but the implementation still required high-end platforms without satisfying real-time requirements . The Dynamic Terrain Simulator (DTSim) was developed for the STOW Synthetic Environments (SE) program at the United States Army Corps of Engineers
United States Army Corps of Engineers
The United States Army Corps of Engineers is a federal agency and a major Army command made up of some 38,000 civilian and military personnel, making it the world's largest public engineering, design and construction management agency...
Army Geospatial Center
Army Geospatial Center
The Army Geospatial Center is a Major Subordinate Command of the United States Army Corps of Engineers. It is located in Alexandria, Virginia, within the adjacent to the Fort Belvoir military reservation...
(ASG) (formerly Topographic Engineering Center (TEC)). Other applications reused the DTSim framework for more specific implementations of the dynamic terrain capabilities, for example RunwaySim, the Hydrogeologic Simulator (HydroSim), Dynamic Terrain Scribe (DTScribe), Dynamic Terrain Agent (DTAgent), and the Ultra-High Resolution Building Simulator (UHRB-Sim)
In 2003, the U.S.Army Research Laboratory
Army Research Laboratory
The Army Research Laboratory is the U.S. Army's corporate research laboratory. ARL is headquartered at the Adelphi Laboratory Center in Adelphi, Maryland. Its largest single site is at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland...
(ARL) released documentation related to their Dynamic Terrain Server (DTServer). DTServer computes structural effects of detonations and collisions and transmits the result to client simulations, making sure that all simulators share a unified terrain database. DTServer also uses a table look-up to compute the effects of blasts and collisions. The DTServer provides terrain updates by issuing distributed interactive simulation
Distributed Interactive Simulation
Distributed Interactive Simulation is an IEEE standard for conducting real-time platform-level wargaming across multiple host computers and is used worldwide, especially by military organizations but also by other agencies such as those involved in space exploration and medicine.-History:The...
(DIS) protocol data units (PDUs). DTServer sends DIS Set Data PDUs of the following types: Breach Subtract, Breach vertices, and Ding messages. DTServer also provides a graphical user interface
Graphical user interface
In computing, a graphical user interface is a type of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices with images rather than text commands. GUIs can be used in computers, hand-held devices such as MP3 players, portable media players or gaming devices, household appliances and...
(GUI) to inspect the state of the database. DTServer runs on three different databases: the terrain database, the object database, and the munitions database. The DIS interface has been successfully tested in the Soldier Visualization System (SVS), the After Action Review
After Action Review
An after action review is a structured review or de-brief process for analyzing what happened, why it happened, and how it can be done better, by the participants and those responsible for the project or event. After-action reviews in the formal sense were originally developed by the U.S...
(AAR) system from IST, and the ARL DIS.
There are current efforts to include dynamic terrain capabilities in One Semi-Automated Forces (OneSAF). The OneSAF Environment Runtime Component (ERC) updates presented in the 2009 OneSAF Users Conference mention that OneSAF 4.0 will include support for terrain deformation such as craters, tank defilades, infantry trenches, and breach holes in walls. OneSAF's dynamic terrain implementation will use a server to resolve dynamic terrain requests . The U.S. Army Research, Development, and Engineering Command (RDECOM) Simulation and Training Technology Center (STTC) is sponsoring the development of the Shared Architecture for Dynamic Environment (SHADE). SHADE will provide a framework to receive events, calculate effects, and transmit dynamic environment changes to participating applications . These efforts will seek to address the dynamic terrain capability gap in modeling and simulation identified by the U.S. Army Training And Doctrine Command (TRADOC) Intelligence Support Activity
Intelligence Support Activity
The United States Army Intelligence Support Activity , frequently shortened to Intelligence Support Activity or ISA, and nicknamed The Activity is a United States Army Special Operations unit originally subordinated to the US Army Intelligence and Security Command...
(TRISA).
See also
- Static TerrainStatic TerrainA Static Terrain is the representation of terrain without the capability for modification during a simulation A Static Terrain is the representation of terrain (e.g. mountains, hills, valleys) without the capability for modification during a simulation A Static Terrain is the representation of...
- Synthetic environmentSynthetic environmentSynthetic environment refers to simulations on the internet that represent activities at a high level of realism, from simulations of theaters of war to factories and manufacturing processes...
- Synthetic natural environmentSynthetic natural environmentA Synthetic Natural Environment is the representation in a synthetic environment of the physical world within which all models of military systems exist and interact...
- Synthetic human-made environmentSynthetic human-made environmentIn a synthetic environment, Synthetic human-made environment refers to the representation of buildings, bridges, roads, and other man-made structures.-Further reading:...
- Glossary of military modeling and simulationGlossary of military modeling and simulationThe DoD Modeling and Simulation Glossary , was originally created in 1998. Currently the glossary is in the process of being updated to include up to date information. The update to the glossary does not change the main objective to provide a uniform language for use by the M&S community...
- DTEDDTEDDTED is a standard of digital datasets which consists of a matrix of terrain elevation values. This standard was originally developed in the 1970s to support aircraft radar simulation and prediction....
- Topographic Engineering Center
- National Geospatial-Intelligence AgencyNational Geospatial-Intelligence AgencyThe National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States with the primary mission of collecting, analyzing and distributing geospatial intelligence in support of national security. NGA was formerly known as the National Imagery and Mapping Agency ...
Further reading
- Perez, Juan A., "Joint Virtual Battlespace (JVB) Simulation Based Acquisition (SBA) Status Report", PEO IEWS, September 2001 http://www.dtic.mil/ndia/2002sba/perez.pdf