From SIMNET to the Metaverse - Why is it taking so long?
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The document discusses the evolution and challenges of military simulation technologies, particularly the transition from traditional simulation methods to the concept of a 'military metaverse.' It highlights historical milestones and the need for persistent multi-domain distributed simulations to enhance training and operational capabilities. Despite technological advances since the 1980s, there are persistent barriers to achieving comprehensive integration within military simulation frameworks.
From SIMNET to the Metaverse - Why is it taking so long?
- 1. From SIMNET to the Metaverse - Why is it taking so long? Andy Fawkes | IT2EC | Rotterdam | 25 April 2023
- 2. Outline •The Requirement •SIMNET & beyond •The Military Metaverse •Why is it taking so long and what might we do better? 2
- 3. The Requirement UK Multi-Domain Integration Guidance - Jan 22 The U.S. Army in Multi-Domain Operations 2028 - Feb 21 There is a need to bring teams and teams of teams together to experiment, train and collaborate in complex multi-domain battlespace operations the first time should not be in the face of an enemy
- 5. USAF Capt JackThorpe’s White Paper (1978) 4 Mission execution with real time observation 3 Air crews rehearse the plan and planners assess suitability 2 Planning a response using the holographic electronic sand table 1 Enemy aggression detected by overhead sensor Ref. I/ITSEC 2010 “Trends in Modelling, Simulation and Gaming: Personal observations about the past 30 years and speculating about the next 10” Jack Thorpe PhD
- 6. DARPA (Cybernetics Technology Office) - J. Dextor Fletcher (1977-1980) • Fletcher proposed a TankTeam Gunnery Trainer (TTGT) for tank gunnery training, where both live training and traditional simulators ($18m) were high cost. • DARPA tank gunnery trainer objectives: a) Procured in quantity for $10,000 or less each; b) accessible, for example as a stand-alone "game" in military barracks or dayrooms; c) motivating, for example in supporting competitive score keeping; d) of sufficient fidelity to satisfy the training objectives, within the cost constraints; and e) suitable for documenting training effectiveness in terms of transfer-of-training data”. • The TTGT concept was based on networked trainers viewing a single videodisc-generated scene, with the trainees competing to the first to sight and fire at an "enemy" tank. 6
- 7. SIMNET (SIMulator NETworking) - 1983-1990 • Cost was a driving factor of the SIMNET programme and hence the degree of fidelity that could be provided. • Only the controls and displays necessary to train for the task and to allow tactical team training involving many soldiers were provided. • Part of the design process was the so-called “60% Solution” whereby prototypes were rapidly fabricated so that soldiers could see and touch and provide feedback and this led to rapid iterations of design, manifested as cheap foam core and plywood mock-ups. • SIMNET marked a shift in simulator design from an engineering or physical reproduction approach to manipulating "brain state" and relying more on human factors analysis. • Incrementally developed over the 1983-1990 period, SIMNET became a network of 260 simulators at 11 sites in the USA and Europe including tank and aircraft simulators and was made operational by the US Army in January 1990. 7
- 9. SIMNET & Battle Force In-PortTrainer (BFIT) (1990/91) www.jimmillar.net/BBN.html “We had Army, Navy and Marines all playing in the same network on their own systems, that's the first time that has ever been done. Right now we can put on a very complex battalion level battle and have your new weapons system or your new tactical organisation try to operate in that environment. See how it works out, with real soldiers driving, real sergeants gunning, real soldiers trying to command and control your new force out there on the battlefield. One of the neat things we're able to do, for example, would be to have naval call for fire being called for by the Marine crewman in the tanks here at Fort Knox and by the aviation crewmen who were flying the helicopters. As we flew over the USS Wasp icon that we saw in our screens our signal showed up on their radar screens, which is an amazing feat when you think of that. It's actually going to be a revolution.“
- 10. US Senate Armed Services Committee Hearing on Advanced M&S (21 May 1992) DrVictor H. Reis, Director Defense Research & Engineering “Network simulation is a technology that elevates and strengthens the collective problem-solving abilities of human beings. People acting as teams, learning and getting better, and this is true whether they are design teams, manufacturing teams, education teams, training teams, acquisition teams or war fighting teams. Network simulation with modern information technology can connect people together in an aligned, coherent, integrated enterprise. It is at the very heart of the department's technology strategy.” Video www.youtube.com/@mikezyda/videos
- 11. Also in 1992 … Real World Digital World Neal Stephenson creates the word “Metaverse” a portmanteau of "meta“ (beyond) and “universe” “… a computer-generated universe …”
- 12. Thorpe’s SIMNET Distributed SimulationVision (early 1990s) Ref. I/ITSEC 2010 “Trends in Modelling, Simulation and Gaming: Personal observations about the past 30 years and speculating about the next 10” Jack Thorpe PhD
- 13. Beyond SIMNET US SyntheticTheater ofWar (STOW) • Running from 1992 to the late 90s, the STOW exercises help to develop further the SIMNET concept and technologies and also introduced allies such as the UK, but no permanent capability was left behind. Distributed Mission Operations (DMO) • Initially developed by the USAF in the early 2000s, it is a distributed network of geographically separated systems to simulate a distributed air combat training environment.Although it has joint capabilities it is not clear to what extent they are used by other services. US Joint NationalTraining Capability (JNTC) • JNTC was designed to provide an integrated, cross-agency training and education platform and in operation from 2009 to 2016, but appears now to be an approval body rather than a training capability. US Army SyntheticTraining Environment (STE) • The US Army SyntheticTraining Environment (STE) is a virtual training environment designed to simulate a variety of battlefield environments and a platform for commanders to design and conduct joint exercises. ExerciseViking • This Swedish-led exercise is designed to prepare civilians, military and police together for deployment to a peace or crisis response mission area. NATO Education andTraining Network (NETN) • Instigated in 2006, NETN aims to deliver a persistent, distributed and joint training capability but it is not clear if persistent capabilities have been deployed.
- 15. Military Metaverse Computing Hardware Software Networking & Security Human- Computing Interfaces Data & Digital Twins AI, Data & Analytics Automation & Robotics It’s Bringing Everything Together that Matters Most
- 16. A Defence Perspective on the Metaverse For defence, the metaverse signifies a convergence of technologies and cultures, representing the next evolution of computing, a trend from 2D to 3D interaction and immersion between humans, machines and the digital world. The real world is three- dimensional, and increasingly the digital world will be too.
- 17. Wake Up!
- 18. Everyone is Doing Networked LVC Now
- 20. GTC 2023
- 21. Why is it taking so long and what might we do better?
- 22. Why is it taking so long? • There is a need for persistent multi-domain distributed networked simulation. • It has been successfully demonstrated technically since the 1980s. • There has been very rapid digital technology advances over this period. • Sustained effort has been applied to simulation standards. • Militaries across the world have struggled to put in place persistent multi-domain distributed simulation infrastructure. • With the demand there, and the supply also there, why is it taking so long?
- 23. A “Wicked Problem”? “Wicked Problem” Strategies (Sanders) Authoritative These seek to tame wicked problems by vesting the responsibility for solving the problems in the hands of a few people. Competitive These attempt to solve wicked problems by pitting opposing points of view against each other, requiring parties that hold these views to come up with their preferred solutions. Collaborative These aim to engage all stakeholders in order to find the best possible solution for all stakeholders.
- 24. Pace Layering? Stewart Brand’s Pace Layering (as applied to Civilization) (1999) Applied to Persistent Distributed Networked Simulation (?) “fast gets all our attention, slow has all the power”
- 25. Way Forward? a) The military S&T community could be a learning community and build on the past, not repeat it, and continually experiment! b) The requirements for an affordable enterprise-based persistent multi-domain distributed networked LVC simulation system could be revisited and captured, based on the necessary fidelity, and flow down/across to all individual simulation projects. c) Metaverse technologies and approaches are developing at pace and could be considered as an opportunity to consider M&S on an enterprise-wide basis, including in support of training. d) Multi-domain networked distributed training is a “wicked problem” and could be addressed as such through both an authoritative requirement supported by a collaborative competitive effort. e) The tensions across an organisation and its relationship to technology and requirements could be recognised and accommodated.
- 26. Questions? Andy Fawkes | IT2EC | Rotterdam | 25 April 2023 andy.fawkes@thinke.co.uk