Simulation Systems and Applications, Inc.
10460 Roosevelt Blvd., PMB #301, St. Petersburg, Florida 33716-3821 USA
+1 727-544-4673  +1 727-544-6154 (fax)  Toll free: +1 877-4SIMSYS (474-6797)

Simulation Systems

Aircraft Systems

Network Technologies

Search Site

Contact Us

Customer Feedback

Privacy Statement

Y2K Statement

Employment

Home

LOCK-STEP VS. FREE-PLAY MAINTENANCE TRAINING DEVICES: DEFINITIONS AND ISSUES

Dee H. Andrews

Human Factors Division

Naval Training Systems Center

Hans W. Windmueller

Maintenance Trainers Branch

Naval Training Systems Center

Increasing computer capability together with greater understanding of the learning process has resulted in improvements in the instructional capability of training devices.  This complexity has spawned a great diversity in training device design approaches.  Nowhere is this diversity more apparent (and often less understood), than in the design if maintenance trainers.  The military is currently procuring both lock-step and free-play maintenance trainers at significant cost.  Lock-step trainers lead the trainee through prescribed maintenance training in a pre-determined, pre-programmed fashion.  Free-play trainers have no prescribed maintenance path.  Trainees, therefore, are free to perform any set of procedures in any sequence.  The device simulates real equipment in every way possible and will not automatically freeze when a mistake is made.  Unfortunately, the purposes of the two device types are often confused.  Decreased training effectiveness and increased cost are commonly the result.

This paper examines differences between lock-step and free-play maintenance trainers and explores appropriate uses of each.  Major issues which should be considered when determining how much free-play and/or lock-step to design into a training device are discussed in the paper.  These issues include the expertise of the trainee; complexity of the tasks to be learned; the number and skill levels of the instructors; the nature of the actual operational equipment; and the cost of procurement.

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.

FIELD RADAR & COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS BENEFIT FROM SINGLE DESIGN/MULTIPLE USE O & M TRAINERS

David  J. Harbour

Ground Systems Group

Hughes Aircraft Company

Training devices have traditionally been dedicated to a single purpose: maintenance or operator training of a specified system.  The success of the multipurpose field radar training devices delivered to a major training site has proven that the users are no longer tied to these limited concepts.  Each training device consists of six training positions which can be used simultaneously to train any combination of: Radar Type 1 operators, Radar Type 1 maintenance, Radar Type 2 operators, and Radar Type 2 maintenance.  Unique design of a single software program combined with the training exercises makes possible this multiple use, with a resulting reduction of the trainer development costs of over 40%.  The trainer availability has been in excess of 99% and provides over 30,000 hours of student training time/year.  This design flexibility also made it possible for the trainer to be used as an engineering tool when operational changes were desired on the tactical hardware.  Operational procedures were developed on the trainer prior to specification development and implementation of changes on the tactical hardware.  This greatly reduced the changes, which normally occur during prime system design.

Additional multipurpose trainers are being built for systems such as a field position locating communication system, using the proven design concepts of the radar trainers.  While full operational training is being conducted including simulation of complex test equipment at one or more of these training can be conducted, at any or all of the remaining training positions.

A summary of the operation and maintenance training features provided by these multiple use trainers highlights the impressive potential of the single design for other training applications.

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.

the impact of artificial intelligence on maintenance training

Charles E. Thomas III

Honeywell Systems and Research Center

and

David J. Sykes

Albert Scsigulinsky

Honeywell Training and Control Systems Operations

The increasing complexity of military systems, reduced quality and availability of personnel, and reduced resources have made Weapons System Support and Readiness (WSSR) more and more difficult to maintain.  This paper discusses surrounding issues and proposes a system concept for developing, combining, and integrating advanced training, job performance aiding, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies in order to reduce the time and cost of maintenance actions and their instruction.  In particular, expert systems coupled with video disk and other presentation and I/O technology will allow expert problem solving skills and knowledge to be made available to relatively inexperienced technicians, embodied in an integrated maintenance Job Performance Aiding/On-the-Job Training (JPA/OJT) system.  A key component of the system will be an “explanation facility” through which the underlying reasoning of the system can be imparted to the technician.  The basic objective of the OJT component is to build the conceptual knowledge of the technician rather than have him/her simply execute instructions.  Since the expert system will handle the dual role of job performance aid and intelligent tutor, it is anticipated that the separation between maintenance actions and maintenance training will eventually become less distinct.  Consequently, maintenance-training equipment as we know it today can be expected to be gradually superseded by some form of  “intelligent maintenance assistant.”

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.

NEW TECHNOLOGY ENHANCEMENTS TO INSTRUCTOR OPERATOR STATIONS

E. Scott Baudhuin, Ph.D.

 Senior Staff-Human Factors and Training Development

The Singer Company, Link Simulation Systems Division

The complexity of Instructor Operator Stations (IOS) and the lack of full utilization of IOS instructional features were examined in two interrelated IR&D programs.  A major objective in these studies was to simplify instructor/operator tasks by using new technology enhancements and display screen formats.  Studies were conducted to determine IOS functional requirements and to assess the applicability of new technologies to these requirements.  Interviews were conducted with simulator users at two military installations and at nuclear power Company training facility.  IOS operations manuals and supporting technical documentation were reviewed.  A voice technology system was selected and laboratory demonstrations developed using typical IOS functions and formats.  Studies of touch screen technologies were conducted and resistive membrane technology was selected as an additional technology enhancement.  Alternative cursor control devices were reviewed and a mouse was selected as the principal cursor controller.  Methods for accessing current tableaux were reviewed to determine whether new screen designs might facilitate using new technology enhancements.  The feasibility of using voice recognition, touch-sensitive screens and the mouse as substitutes for typical keyboard operations was demonstrated.  Findings also indicated a significant need for the redesign of IOS display screens in order to exploit new technologies.  New screen designs that would eliminate information overload, use more graphics, and allow essay access to touch selective features were recommended.  Traditional backup devices were maintained where a new technology served as the primary MMI.  Functional descriptions for new technology enhanced military and commercial IOS were developed as a result of the research.

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.

DEVELOPMENT OF AN INSTRUCTOR STATION DESIGN GUIDE

John P. Charles

ICON, Incorporated

Dee H. Andrews

Naval Training Systems Center

Training device effectiveness is largely dependent upon the characteristics of the instructional subsystem.  In most trainers, this includes the instructor, the instructional software, and above all the interfaces (both hardware and software) to the other training device subsystems.  The primary interface, the trainer IOS, must be designed and supported so that the training objectives, but also the user requirements.  Effective design can only be achieved through identification and understanding of the characteristics of the user and the required training and then by ensuring that these data are reflected in the design of the station.  The design task also requires detailed monitoring of the design effort to ensure that the necessary data are available and input to the design effort.  The objective of the guide was, therefore, to identify the tasks involved and the data required during the major training device life cycle events which impact the characteristics of trainer instructor/operator stations.  The guide focuses on “what” to do in design, not “how” to do it.  A guide who focused on “how” it should be done would soon be outdated since hardware and software technologies are evolving so rapidly.

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.

PERFORMANCE MONITORING AND INTELLIGENT TRAINING

Matt Narotam, Ph.D. and Donna Behnke

Burtek

This paper presents a sophisticated approach to performance monitoring and Instructor/Operator Station (IOS) software utilizing an intelligent system for controlling the training scenario.  This approach, based on existing software, provides the capability for a high level of student performance monitoring utilized successfully in complex maintenance trainers.  This paper also discusses issues relating to performance monitoring and organization of lesson plans to satisfy training requirements per student as identified by the system software.  The system will control normal instructor functions including malfunctions, insertions and parameter modification, and will provide both visual and aural cues where necessary to aid in the clarification or augmentation of information presented to the trainee.

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE APPLICATIONS FOR TRAINING

SEEKING THE PRAGMATIC MIDDLE GROUND

David E. Daniel

Naval Training Systems Center

The projected capabilities of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Expert Systems are particularly applicable in the area of human decision-making including rule based reaction and decision support systems.  These capabilities are intuitively attractive for warfare operations support as well as for training in warfare operations and tactics.  The classic definition of AI is all encompassing, covering a broad spectrum of capabilities from simple alternative selections, based on pre-established criteria, through real-time models of human expert behavior.  The simplest capabilities have been around for some time.  Yet, the upper limit, which could include brilliant adversary models, is considered currently unachievable due to cost, except perhaps, and in well bounded situations.  This paper explores the current capabilities of AI, identifies potential areas of application to military training systems and focuses on those most promising pragmatic capabilities that are considered achievable, affordable, and worthy of development for near term implementation.  Each area identified for development includes a fall back position and possess inherent utility thereby making the task worthwhile even if the AI feature, per se, is slow in coming or is perhaps less fruitful than anticipated.  This paper identifies a limited risk approach to development of AI capabilities for insertion into military training systems.

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.

USING AN EXPERT SYSTEM FOR INTERACTIVE AND REMEDIAL TRAINING

David J. Harbour

Hughes Aircraft Company

Ground Systems Group

In mid-1984, the first advanced SHORAD (Short-Range Air Defense) Institutional Trainer became operational.  This trainer included for the first time, some of the most advanced concepts ever offered in a training device.  One of these concepts is an instructor expert system, devised to reduce the instructor’s workload, which is normally high in a trainer of this complexity.  The SHORAD Trainer consists of six two-man crew training positions controlled from a dual-position instructor station.  Target aircraft are flown against the crews being trained who are in turn evaluated on their performance.  The targets are realistic; they take evasive measures based on actions taken by the crew being trained such as radar lock-on, missile firing, and employment of various electronic counter-measures.  The instructor expert system automatically controls each training situation, adapting in real time the target behavior in response to every student action at each student station. 

This instructor expert system also includes evaluation and automatic remedial training, accomplished by a real-time evaluation process that determines when the crew needs help.  Help is provided through voice synthesized prompts, textual messages, or through assignment of remedial training, such as slowing targets down when tracking accuracy appears to be a problem.  All of these are accomplished automatically, based on the crews’ performance, requiring no instructor activity.  Records of all activities are retained to analyze what tasks were difficult for a given student as well as what tasks require additional training for all personnel.  Immediate benefits of this instructor expert system are a consistently challenging training program tailored to each student’s achievement, and a comprehensive monitoring of the overall training program that frees the instructor for one-on-one contact when a student needs personalized help.

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.

AN EXPERT SURROGATE INSTRUCTOR FOR ACQUISITION OF COGNITIVE AND MOTOR SKILLS IN RIFLE MARKMANSHIP

Dr. Azad Madni and Dr. Amos Freedy

Perceptronics, Inc.

Dr. Robert Ahlers

Naval Training Equipment Center

This paper describes an expert system based interactive “surrogate instructor” for use in acquisition of perceptual training motor and cognitive skills related specifically to rifle marksmanship tasks.  The objective of the surrogate instructor is to provide computer-based trainee task intervention just as human instructor provides when “looking over the shoulder” of the trainee.  The instructional function will be provided by an expert program that will perform consistent diagnosis and individualized instruction while emulating either a specific instructor or an ideal human instructor.  The system architecture is based on a real time blackboard model based on “cooperating expert paradigm”: These are (a) The Task Expert Model which makes up the standards of performance; (b) The Trainee model which tracks performance behavior and represents evolving trainee knowledge and skill; (c) Instructional model, which performs rule-based diagnosis of the trainee with respect to the expert model and generates instructional feedback; (d) A Curriculum Library which contains the instructional knowledge elements.  The knowledge representation formalism central to the development of the expert model is the modified Petri Net (MPN).  This model provides the procedural skills representation for training of psycho-motor skills.  The (MPN) representation performs a two-fold function: (1) it provides the mechanism for robust representation of trainee behavior/performance for training diagnosis and (2) provides the basis for comparing a descriptive trainee behavior/performance model against an expert prescriptive performance model. 

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.

METHODOLOGIES FOR EXTRACTING KNOWLEDGE:

BUILDING AN EXPERT SYSTEM FOR TRAINING SIMULATIORS

Arthur F. Griffin

Hughes Aircraft Company

We are developing an expert system to assess and diagnose student decision-making performance in trainers.  Whereas assessment of many operator performance tasks is straightforward, e.g., tracking with a CRT cursor, assessing decision-making does not yield to traditional automated approaches.  This paper discusses the real world problems that were encountered in building a knowledge base, the acquisition methodologies that were developed to overcome these problems, as well as the unsuccessful approaches that were abandoned.  Antisubmarine warfare (ASW) was selected as the initial domain.  In the approach that evolved, one team member acted as a mediator between the ASW experts and the knowledge engineer designing the system.  The mediator used several approaches to bridge the conceptual gap separating other team members, including automated approaches, are critiqued.  The most promising near-term approach is the articulate apprenticeship. 

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.

HIGH FIDELITY EMITTER SCRIPTING – A SIMPLIFIED APPROACH

Edward E. Buffington

AAI Corporation

High Fidelity Electronic Warfare (EW) trainers must model the relationships between emitter modes and signals, and the uniqueness of emitting platforms, to accurately support the sophistication of many modern EW receivers.  Typically, this effort utilizes FORTRAN or other High Order Languages, which results in hundreds, even thousands of subroutines to represent an EW library.  The personnel generating this library need to have an in-depth understanding of the internal workings of the trainer and are schooled in analytical operational data, computer science, and engineering.  To reduce the cost and schedule impact of previous approaches, a new technique is desired which reduces the prerequisites to only analytical skills.  Additionally, the system should be easily maintained by military personnel as analytical data changes.

One obvious solution to the emitter-scripting problem is to design a trainer that allows creation and editing of emitter parameters via an on-line interactive system.  This system requires a set of commands and relationship expressions that allows mode and signal parameters to be realistically correlated, and the randomness of emitter characteristics to be defined.  This list of commands and expressions needs to be concise to minimize implementation cost and usage complexity, yet versatile and sufficiently complete to handle the variety of correlation that may occur.  The final system requirement is interpretation of these commands and development of unique sets of emitter parameters from the generic emitter data to represent each distinct emitter in a training scenario.

A simplified EW emitter scripting system is easily transportable to new trainers, provides lower cost for initial emitter scripting, and allows easy updates.  This paper expounds on the usefulness and implementation techniques utilized to create EW trainers with this type of simplified emitter scripting.

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.

CORRELATION OF SENSOR DATA BASES IN THE FULL-MISSION TRAINING SIMULATOR

Barbara Townsend

Evans & Sutherland Computer Corporation

Beth Stovall

Rediffusion Simulation, Inc.

Cheryl Colbert

Goodyear Aerospace Corporation

Air crew training today often requires an integrated simulation of the total environment applicable to the pilot and crew.  In addition to out-the-window visual scenes, advances in technology are providing simulated cockpit displays for all aircraft systems, including elector-optical sensors, infrared sensors, real-beam radar, synthetic aperture radar, and terrain-following/ terrain-avoidance systems.  A challenge comes in simultaneously simulating multiple systems so that the operators receive consistent information across all displays.  The simulated data bases must be correlated with emphasis on terrain representation, feature density, feature placement, and feature characteristics.  Such correlation can be achieved by using a common set of source data to develop each on-line data base.  Because each sensor simulation system has its own inherent limitations on data base, displays, and hardware, the correlated source data base must be generated considering all end use restrictions.

This paper discusses:

1)       The tradeoffs dealing with sensor correlation versus real-world accuracy, and

2)       A set of computer programs being developed that generates sensor simulation data bases which are correlated.  The Defense Mapping Agency (DMA) Digital Terrain Elevation Data (DTED) and Digital Feature Analysis Data (DFAD) are used as the input source to this software system.  The programs automatically combine and manipulate this data with user interaction possible through a set of three-dimensional graphics tools.

Compendium CD-ROM.  Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.         

                Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.

VISUAL DATA BASE DESIGN AND IG EMULATION:
A GRAPHICAL APPROACH

Craig Goettsche

Steven Hallmark

Dan Harlin

Evans and Sutherland Computer Corporation

Dana Phillips

Rediffusion Simulation Incorporated

Current methods of image generator (IG) data base have evolved around terminal input and text processing.  Data entry of terrain elevations and editing component models by hand are no longer acceptable design and production methods.  These methods are characterized by long development and debug cycles, no graphical feedback, and little or no information on IG model performance.  Man-computer interfaces are now being designed to enhance the user’s ability to produce data bases more efficiently.  Using graphical workstations, the user can edit and assemble features to produce a complete IG data base.  The completed base can be fully debugged using a functional simulation of the IG, which provides immediate graphical and statistical feedback. 

This paper will discuss:

1)          Advantages of the graphical approach

2)          Development and geometric verification of component features

3)          Creation of DMA derived terrain and graphical features

4)          Graphical and statistical IG emulation

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.

PROVIDING HIGH PERFORMANCE VISUAL SIMULATION AT LOW COST

Richard N. Moon

Evans & Sutherland Computer Corporation

For years, the users of visual systems, in both the military and commercial worlds, have made a plea to the developers to significantly lower the costs of those visual systems.  Then, in a second breath, they have continued to demand high visual fidelity.  Not surprisingly, the trend among visual system developers has been to provide more capabilities for higher cost.  This paper describes a system design where a serious and concerted effort has been made to lower costs, while still maintaining the features most essential and effective for training tasks.  During the highly selective process of determining system features, some capabilities, such as smooth shading, color blending and transparencies, were seriously questioned.  Other capabilities, such as texture, scene detail management, resolution, dynamic coordinate systems, and reasonable image quality, remain high on the list. 

The paper describes how the essential features were incorporated in highly cost-effective design with surprising flexibility and modularity.  Painstaking efforts were made to optimize the hardware efficiency, making use of custom, semi-custom, and commercial VLSI.  These latest technologies have made possible parallel processor architecture in the geometric processor—a departure from the traditional pipeline approach.  The architecture provides system capabilities ranging from low-cost, night-only operation to high-resolution, daylight scenes rivaling the current high-end systems.  All of this can be contained in a single card cage per channel.  The challenge of the visual users has been met.

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.

A VLSI-BASED DIGITAL IMAGE GENERATOR

Roy Latham

Link Flight Simulation Division of The Singer Company

A new high-performance digital image generator has been designed for the most demanding applications of flight simulation.  This paper discusses the problems of developing an architecture suited to the special capabilities of very large scale integrated (VSLI) circuitry, which demand a high degree of parallelism and modularity to minimize the required amount of custom integrated circuit design work.  Resolving the architecture and design problems led to a system that has features impracticable with previous technology.  Among the image generator’s features are high scene content and immunity to overloads, 1000:1 dynamic range, anti-aliasing over a 2 x 2 pixel convolution base, continuously variable surface translucency, and a texture subsystem that provides color modulation of both random patterns and specific images free form the artifacts of aliasing and apparent tiling.  In addition, the technology permits incorporating a comprehensive system of automated self-diagnosis, and the modularity needed for effective utilization of VLSI makes the system more readily reconfigurable and minimizes its spare parts requirements.

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.

EXPLOITING TEXTURE IN AN INTEGRATED TRAINING ENVIRONMENT

John Robinson and Stephen Zimmerman

Evans & Sutherland Computer Corporation

Many issues must be addressed when the visual content of the real world is mapped into the constrained environment of an image generator.  An image generator’s task, when used in flight simulation, is to provide a nominal amount of visual cues for effective pilot training.  These visual cures are most useful when they correlate directly to the real world.  This paper discusses texture as a means of providing increased visual realism and training cues for the pilot.

The first half of this paper discusses texture as an efficient method of increasing scene complexity.  This includes a presentation of the various problems of incorporating texture into a real-time system.  The methods by which CT6, the latest generation CIG system from Evans and Sutherland, addresses these problems will also be discussed.  The second half of the paper shows how using texture affects the direction of data base and software development.  Some examples are the use of DMA data for terrain generation and the technology of reusable data base pieces to provide compact data without sacrificing scene fidelity.

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.

AN IDEAL OPERATING SYSTEM FOR SIMULATORS

Lt. David S. McKenna

Simulator Systems Program Office

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base

Perhaps the most complex off-the-shelf software element in a simulator is the operating system (OS).  Present simulator specifications require an operating system, which can effectively execute real-time application software and also support software development.

Simulation is a real-time environment with intense timing constraints and strict requirements on the monitoring, manipulation, and processing of data.  Program development requires a time-sharing environment with the tools and utilizes necessary to design, track, and maintain software.

Problems encountered with the operating systems used in today’s simulators has prompted research into whether current requirements accurately specify the type of OS needed for simulators, or if new OS specifications and consequently operating systems, need to be developed.  The characteristics which make an OS a  real-time system and desirable for use in simulators are identified.  An evaluation of nucleus functions and utilities for real-time applications is presented.  Included are in-depth examinations of different schemes for process control, input/output support, and storage/file management.  Emphasis is placed on quick and effective task execution with a minimum of overhead and the ability to maximize and interact with state of the art hardware.

The question of whether to develop real-time software on the OS it is intended to run on, or on a large OS with features like those found in UNIX* is investigated.  It is determined which utilities are necessary for supportable development and efficient support.  Software engineering development techniques and tools, which promote a reliable and maintainable product, are stressed. The final result is a model of an operating system that is “ideal” for simulators.

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.

DEVELOPMENT OF COMMON SOFTWARE FOR MILITARY TRAINER SYSTEMS

Richard W. McHard

Hughes Aircraft Company

Many processing functions are common requirements for military trainer systems across a wide variety of applications.  Examples include instructor assignment and monitoring of student exercises; student input processing and evaluation; and display generation and management for both operational and maintenance modes of training.  Common processing requirements and implementation have be been identified across current and projected military trainer systems.  The net result is an established baseline for future trainer systems, thus reducing development time and cost, and enhancing the reliability and maintainability of systems using this baseline.

Reusability of trainer software is the key to the development of a common trainer software baseline.  A modular software architecture of generic, reusable subsystems was defined, using the principles of top-down structured design.  Information hiding (a methodology, which is fundamental to the Ada programming language,) was employed to reinforce functionally of trainer of trainer subsystems and localize the scope of requirements, which may vary across trainers.  The resulting software is table driven and is easily lifted or modified as required by new military trainer systems.  Finally, configuration control of the developed software supports the common trainer by incorporating one large set of common processing modules in a common trainer software library, to be merged with project specific software modules, which exist in separate libraries. 

The common trainer software development project has been developed and implemented in support of two specific trainer projects–one of a weapon system and one of a communication system.  The resulting common trainer software baseline is planned for incorporation into future trainer systems.

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.

USE OF THE ADA LANGUAGE SYSTEM IN CONFIGURATION CONTROL OF FORTRAN BASED SOFTWARE

Dan Dyke

Naval Training System Center

The Configuration Control and Management of Trainer Systems has been recognized as a significant problem for many years.  Many software tools are being developed for use as aids in this task.  The efforts of the Department of Defense in the development of Ada and Ada Programming Support Environment (APSE) have strongly addressed the problems of Configuration Control and management.  However, these efforts have been targeted for Ada based software as it is anticipated that this will be the primary language of the DOD.  The author feels that FORTRAN based software will require maintenance for many years even after the acceptance of Ada, and that the features of the APSE could be applicable to this task. 

The Ada Language System (ALS) which will soon be available, is the Army’s implementation of the Ada Programming Support Environment.  ALS has also been accepted by the Navy.  This paper discusses the applicability of the ALS to the problem of FORTRAN based software configuration Control and Management.  A basic demonstration tool will be developed and analyzed.

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.

DIGITAL CONTROL LOADING AND MOTION

THE FINAL WORD?

J.C. Cooper, Group Leader, Control Loading

M.L. Rutherford, Manager, Systems Engineering

G.M. McKinnon, Director, R & D

CAE Electronics Ltd.

This paper reviews the essential elements in effective load unit design and introduces a novel approach to digital control loading and motion with extensive performance and logistics benefits.  Performance of the digital system is superior to modern analog systems.  A 3-KHz iteration rate provides the ability model non-linear characteristics which are difficult to reproduce cost-effectively in an analog model.  Maintenance and sparing of the digital controller is simplified by the use of a minimum number of different card types with built-in automated diagnostics, which locate failures at the board level.  Updates and maintenance adjustments are performed through user-friendly software utilities, with rigid configuration control of the system’s state via software backups.

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.

SIMULATING GROWING THUNDERSTORM ECHOES FOR WEATHER RADAR TRAINING

John T. Klehr

Link Flight Simulation Division of The Singer Company

When rapidly growing thunderstorms appear enroute, a pilot makes many flight path decisions on the basis of training and experience in the interpretation of radar echoes displayed in the cockpit.  Echoes from more severe thunderstorms first appear at high-to-middle altitudes, and they possess other growth and decay characteristics that make their echoes distinguishable form the echoes of less severe thunderstorm types at various stages in their development.  A color weather radar simulator can now be used to provide such training by modeling in four dimensions the dynamic growth characteristics of various thunderstorm types.

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.

ADVANCED DYNAMIC SEATS: AN ALTERNATIVE TO PLATFORM MOTION?

Grant R. McMillan

Armstrong Aerospace Medical Research Laboratory

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base

Edward A. Martin

Aeronautical Systems Division

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base

John M. Flach

Aviation Research Laboratory

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Gary E. Riccio

Systems Research Laboratories, Inc.

The experimental program described in this paper is investigating advanced dynamic seats (g-seats) as an alternative to platform motion systems.  The studies have quantified the effects of dynamic seat cuing on the performance of a roll-axis turbulence regulation task, and on transfer of training to a whole-body motion simulator.  The studies have clearly demonstrated that the dynamic seat can elicit tracking performance and manual control behavior equivalent to that observed with whole-body motion.  To date, significant transfer of training form the dynamic seat to whole-body motion has only been observed with pilot subjects.  Techniques to achieve the same training benefit with naïve trainees are being pursued. 

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.

REAL-TIME SIMULATORS:

DEALING WITH THEIR GROWING COMPLEXITY

Steve Seidensticker and Mary-Ellen Hecker, Ph.D

Logicon, Inc., Tactical and Training Systems Divisions

A number of technical and philosophical issues are emerging in the development of large real-time simulators that are going to have profound effects on the way such devices are designed and built.

Simulators are becoming more complex, both in the number of functions that each must perform, and the number of disciplines involved.  In the near future it will not be uncommon to use speech generation, speech understanding, artificial intelligence, image generation, complex optics, embedded processors, graphic displays, and sophisticated motion cue generators in a single simulator.  Existing approaches to design, implementation, and testing cannot support the integration of these disciplines into a single harmonious system.

Fortunately, technical developments have kept pace with this problem.  High speed local area networks (LAN); ever faster, smaller, and cheaper processors; cheap and plentiful memory; object oriented design techniques; and procedures oriented programming languages all have major potential application to the integration of components in large real-time systems.

This paper will explore and suggest the application of these developments to future simulators.  Examples of a relatively simple operational flight trainer (OFT) and a multi-cockpit weapon system trainer (WST) designed around a set of well defined modules will be used to illustrate the concepts.

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.

DISTRIBUTED PROCESSING FOR COMPLEX SIMULATORS

David Parkinson

Singer Link-Miles Ltd.

The requirements for training systems for increasingly sophisticated aircraft continue to extend the technology of computing systems applied to real-time simulators.  This paper describes a distributed computing system, partitioned on a functional basis with the autonomous major functions connected as a network.  This system, called Functionally Distributed Simulation, is the basis for a new simulator generation, the Micro Simulation Technology (MST) simulator.  It permits designing and manufacturing a simulator on a modular basis, which achieves considerable advantages in life-cycle, costs, especially those associated with maintenance and upgrades.  Microprocessors are used throughout, to achieve even greater flexibility and reliability.  Extensive use is made of parallel processing to meet the high iteration rates needed for simulators; the various ways of interconnecting the microprocessors to meet the performance requirements are described.  Microprocessors are also used for dedicated tasks such as real-time status monitoring and built-in test features, especially within the integral distributed input/output system.  The performance of this system is described, together with results from simulators that use this modular approach. 

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.

MODULAR, FUNCTIONALLY-DISTRIBUTED,

MICROPROCESSOR-BASED SIMULATION:

ONCE A CONCEPT - - NOW A FACT

Michael B. Ash

Link Flight Simulation Division of The Singer Co.

VLSI and ULSI technologies can support parallel, information-processing methods that only a few years back were models that generated interest among a handful of theoretical mathematicians, physicists, neurophysiologists, cyberneticists, and science-fiction writers.

Increasingly performance simply by adding function-producing parts is so fundamental in nature and in human endeavors that it inevitably had to be addressed in computing applications.  When specialized as well as replicative functions are performed in parallel, the result is a distributed process.  Applying this principle to computing, where system parts are called modules, facilities solving very complex problems using a divide-and-conquer method.  An apparently monolithic entity like a flight simulator, for instance, can be partitioned into small, discrete, manageable modules.  All distributed systems are limited by the size of the entire system and also by that of their individual components.  Functional complexity is limited by the system’s ability to communicate timely information between the various parts.  Because of the disparity in the number of specialized modules, the primary difference between functionally distributed General Aviation Trainers and large-scale WST’s is in their information-flow requirements.  The factors that constrain the system are computer buses, bus networks, and I/O paths.

This paper, which examines the conceptual and philosophical approach that led to the first generation of modular, functionally-distributed, microprocessor-based simulators, deals primarily with technical, computational, and motivational perspectives and with general systems solutions that have been formulated over the last eight years.  It gives dimension to, and lends insight into, the reasons for taking the critical, evolutionary leap that is necessary for economic and technological progress.

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.

AN EMBEDDED IMAGE GENERATION SYSTEM FOR FIELD TRAINING

Charles Wakeland, Senior Systems Engineer

Rediffusion Simulation Incorporated

Recent advances in VLSI (Very Large Scale Integration) logic have reduced the size and improved the performance of units for the Engineering Workstation and CAD/CAM market to the point where their performance is comparable to first generation Real Time Image Generation Systems.  Within narrow confines, these units may be adapted to low-end training applications, which require real-time imagery with moderate update and polygon requirements.  This paper describes a turnkey dual processor image generation system with payload simulation capability, which is packaged in a 10 slot Multibus chassis.  The modular, systems oriented, design approach which yields a 10 board unit for field use is equally applicable to other low-end simulation/training system requirements.

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.

VISUAL DISPLAY RESEARCH TOOL

PERFORMANCE VS. DESIGN GOALS

Denis R. Breglia, Acquisition Director (VDRT)

Code 731, Naval Training System Center

Dick Windyka, Program Manager (VDRT)

American Airlines Training Corporation

Bruce Barber, Program Manager (VDRT)

Rediffusion Simulation Ltd.

The Visual Display Research Tool (VDRT) is a visual simulation system comprising a two channel computer image generation (CIG) system, a head/eye attitude sensing system, and a helmet mounted laser projected dome display system.  The VDRT was designed to provide an observer apparent wide field-of-view full color, high resolution, and high detail density simulation of the out-of-the-cockpit visual environment.

The VDRT design approach takes advantage of the visual perception limitations of the man-in-the-loop through the use of an eye-coupled area-of-interest.  The design of the VDRT was presented to the visual simulation community in 1981 at the IMAGE II Conference and the Third IITEC Conference.  This paper will discuss the progress in developing the VDRT resulting from a contract between the Naval Training System Center (NAVTRASYSCEN) and American Airlines Training Corporation (AATC).  AATC and their major sub-contractors Rediffusion Simulation Limited, General Electric and Polhemus Navigation Sciences (PNS) division of McDonnell Douglas Electronics Company have delivered the VDRT system components on-site at NAVTRASYSCEN in April 1985.  In-plant tests of system components have been completed and results will be reported.  System integration and Government final inspection will have been completed by December 1985 and system performance relative to design goals will be reported.

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.

EDGE-BLENDING MULTIPLE PROJECTION DISPLAYS ON A DOME SURFACE TO FORM CONTINUOUS WIDE ANGLE FIELDS-OF-VIEW

Paul Lyon

Evans & Sutherland Computer Corporation

Juxtaposing several projector channels is a viable method of meeting the “wide angle field-of-views” requirement of many training simulators.  Blending overlapped images on a dome surface can be done either optically by using lenses and optical filters or electrically by “rolling-off” the video signals at edge boundaries.  The quality of edge-blending between projector channels can be evaluated by quantifying parameters like: registration accuracy in the overlap region, color match between adjacent channels, intensity variation across the edge boundary, brightness uniformity across the entire viewing area, and exit-pupil size.  In some simulators wide exit-pupils (more than one eyepoint) are required.  In these cases the quality of edge-blending is largely determined by the gain characteristics of the screen material used.

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.

GUARDFIST

THE GUARD UNIT ARMORY DEVICE, FULL CREW INTERACTIVE SIMULATION TRAINER

LTC Ronald W. Krisak and MAJ George W. Smith

Army National Guard

and

Dr. William A. Stembler

Computer Sciences Corporation

The Guard Unit Armory Device, Full-Crew Interactive Simulation Trainer, or GUARDFIST, is a tank appended, gunnery simulation system.  GUARDFIST uses available technology in microcomputers and videodiscs to provide a full-crew, interactive tank gunnery simulation.  The combination of videodiscs and computer-generated imagery will provide the crew with a variety of tasks in a real world environment. 

This paper describes the initial research and development effort to apply this technology to a tank gunnery simulator, as well as the intended training applications.  Although GUARDFIST was initially intended for use on Army National Guard and Army Reserve tanks, continuing research indicates a number of potential applications for this technology.

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.

ON-BOARD TRAINING IN ELECTRONIC COMBAT

Rollin L. Oson

AAI Corporation

This paper examines the advantages of adding On-Board Training functions to programmable Electronic Combat devices.

The flexibility now built into many EC devices makes it possible to modify and add to the basic functions of the devices and to communicate with other devices.  On-board Training functions can be added to such devices.  For Electronic Combat equipment, On-board Training (OBT) involves injecting simulated radar signals into EC devices to provide realistic threat displays and responses for training purposes.  A hypothetical application is described.  Alternative implementations on several levels of complexity are discussed.  An OBT retrofit application is described, the On-Board Electronic Warfare Simulator (OBEWS), which is being designed for the U.S. Air Force.  Aspects of OBT training effectiveness and system configuration are discussed.  Problems with OBT systems are examined–task definition, capacity limitations in host equipment, interaction with basic operational functions, and long-term maintenance.  Special aspects of land-based of land-based and sea-based OBT are presented.

This paper examines the advantages in incorporating On-Board Training (OBT) functions as an integral part of Electronic Combat devices.  OBT functions can greatly enhance the training value of operational EC equipment carried on aircraft or other vehicles by injecting a simulated radar emitter environment into the equipment during training missions.  A wide variety of implementations can be developed to fill particular training requirements and to integrate with specific EC equipment.  A hypothetical example and an actual retrofit implementation discussed in this paper encompass a range of alternatives.  Each approach has its advantages and problems.  However, any properly designed OBT system will greatly enhance the training utility of the EC equipment in which it is embedded. 

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.

THE SHUTTLE MISSION SIMULATION–FROM DESIGN CONCEPTS TO AN OPERATIONAL TRAINING DEVICE

Peter W. Sivillo and Dr. Riley D. McCafferty

Link Flight Simulation Division of The Singer Company

The Shuttle Mission Simulator (SMS) is a unique, high-fidelity simulation of the U.S. Space Transportation System Mission, from prelaunch through orbit to landing, including placement and retrieval of various experimental payloads and subsequent descent and landing.  This device is used for extensive training of pilot-astronauts and mission and payload specialists prior to, and during, the Space Shuttle flights.  An extremely demanding aspect of the simulation and training is the very high flight rate to be encountered in the near future, which will require rapid reconfiguration of the simulator to follow the many different requirements of the actual flights.  A solution to this problem is given here.  First, however, we present a description of the extent of the simulation itself, in terms of fidelity, training capability, malfunction simulation, motion, vision, and aural cues, the largely digital simulation, the mathematical models developed, the dynamic response design, the computer complex, and the tilting-base motion system.  An extensive description is then given of the multi-mission system, by which rapid reconfiguration of the system will be accomplished, enabling the Shuttle Mission Simulator to support twice the flight rate without increasing manpower. 

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.

AUTOMATION IN THE TRAINING ANALYSIS PROCESS

William F. Jorgensen

Eagle Technology Inc.

Automated processes are providing training analysts with the capability to generate training system requirements rapidly.  The training analysts interact with appropriate computer systems and data bases through video terminals to enter and review vast amounts of data, make decisions about the data and arrange tasks to be trained into common groups.  Through displayed menu selections and specific search criteria, the data base can be manipulated and analyzed as required by the analyst.  The analysts can then generate training requirements while reviewing and analyzing data on the video screen.  Training system requirements are generated in a similar manner to meet training requirements and both are entered directly into the data base by the analyst.  Training system requirements that are developed in this manner are more complete and more efficiently produced than by commonly used manual procedures. Training analysis products can then be compiled by the computer for any logical grouping of tasks and printed as necessary to meet the requirements of the project. 

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.

WATER SURVIVAL TRAINING DEVICE TRAINING FOR ATTITUDE

AS WELL AS SKILL

D. Shiras Jarvis

Naval Training Systems Center

The role of water survival training devices is not limited to the areas of learning necessary motor skills and specific survival knowledge, but has the larger purpose of instilling an attitude of preparedness and readiness for the unexpected.  The psychological stress on an individual of a pressure situation, such as an open ocean survival evolution, causes some basic physiological changes.  Scientists describe psychological stress in terms of activation level; the greater the stress–the higher the activation level.  Activation levels range widely range widely from very low (such as while asleep) to very high (such as during intense physical exercise).  As the activation level approaches maximum, the subject experiences increased strength and endurance as well as an almost infinite pain tolerance.  Unfortunately, these attributes are coupled with a narrowing of the subject’s attentional focus.  In the extreme case, the individual focuses attention on one item to the exclusion of all others.  This condition, however, is catastrophic in most aquatic survival situations.  While the enlargement of strength, endurance, and pain tolerance parameters is to the benefit of the victim, the inability to reason well and focus attention on multiple stimuli is often fatal.  The victim, however, who is prepared for the unexpected to happen, who has a plan for situational evaluation and action, and who has the resolve to keep trying regardless of setbacks, can deal with most aquatic emergencies.  Since now two survival situations are alike, the role of water survival training devices is to simulate a variety of situations while instructors stress not how to survive the training evolution, but how to analyze the situation, choose a course of action, execute the plan, and then reevaluate the situation.  With an attitude of readiness before an aquatic emergency, a survivor has an excellent chance of overriding the attention problem manifested in the typical open ocean survival scenario.

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.

SICOMORE–A NEW CONCEPT FOR NAVAL SIMULATORS

Patrick Martin

Phillippe Paris

Bertrand Bouvier

THOMSON-CSF Division Simulateurs

Conventional training simulators for crews of Combat Information Centers (C.I.C) are often faithful replicas of the real C.I.C.  When a Navy possesses a great variety of equipment, C.I.C.’s and vessels, it would require an equally large number of such simulators which is not always compatible with the budgets allocated for training with simulators.  Having in mind the variety of types of training and the impact of budgetary constraints, THOMSON-CSF developed the SICOMORE system (Simulator de Centre Operations Modulaire et Reconfigurable) to provide a modular and re-configurable C.I.C training simulator.  Due to the modularity of its software and hardware, SICOMORE can be re-configured to simulate any kind of C.I.C (frigate, mine hunter, submarine, maritime patrol aircraft . . .).  Furthermore, SICOMORE can be used for other types of training such as operator basic training or action speed tactical training (ASTT).  This paper presents the main characteristics of this system, essentially its modularity and re-configurability, from the operational and technical viewpoints.

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.

TRANSFER OF TRAINING OF SIMULATOR VISUAL AND TRAINING FEATURES FOR THE CARRIER LANDING TASK WITH UNDERGRADUATE PILOTS

Dennis C. Wightman,

Naval Training Systems Center

Daniel P. Westra

Essex Corporation

Gavan Lintern

University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

A transfer-of-training experiment was conducted this past year as the culmination of the carrier landing behavioral research program at the Visual Technology Research Simulator (VTRS) at the Naval Training Systems Center (NAVTRASYCEN) in Orlando, Florida.  The results of this experiment provide guidance on the design and use of simulators for the Navy’s new undergraduate pilot training airplane, which together with the simulators and other training aids, will comprise the T-45 Training System (TS).  Two visual display variables and two simulator training variables were selected for inclusion in this experiment: scene detail (day contrasted with night); field of view (wide versus narrow); task type (circling, straight-in or segmented); and number of simulator trials (20, 40, or 60).  A total of 72 student pilots were trained on the VTRS prior to going through the Field Carrier Landing Practice (FCLP) phase of their pilot training program.  The performance of these students at FCLP was contrasted with that of a group of 54 students who did not receive simulator training.  Results show that students trained in the simulator performed better at FCLP than students in the control group.  There was no transfer advantage for those trained with a daytime high-detail scene compared to those trained with a lower cost nighttime low-detail scene.  There was also no transfer advantage for those trained with a wide field of view compared to those trained with the lower cost narrow field-of-view scene.  Transfer performance was better for the students who had 40 or 60 simulator trials than for the students who had 20 simulator trials.  The pilots who trained with a segmented approach schedule did as well or better on transfer to FCLP than those training with the modified straight-in approach schedule or all circling approaches.  The fields of view and scene detail results apply only to the carrier-landing task.

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.

AVAILABILITY GUARANTEES

Harry E. Roscoe

Sperry

Frank M. Connell

C L S Systems

A new approach to logistics support has been introduced to the development of training devices, in general, and to flight simulators specifically.  The availability guarantee is now appearing in Requests for Proposals for flight simulators.  Although the Government may have a primary objective to obtain a high degree of service from training devices, it has also imposed the full spectrum of logistics considerations upon the contractor.  Logistics considerations must become an integral part of the design, if a contractor is going to meet the availability requirements.  This must be a consideration of design to insure a supportable trainer.  This paper reviews the status of current attempts to impose availability guarantees upon flight simulator contracts, and discusses the pros and cons of this approach from the Government and contractor positions.  The paper also discusses penalties applied to non-performance, and types of contracts under which these are most applicable.  It addresses the current requirements for the basic “ilities” of the classical support approach, and the advisability of continued use of them.  These requirements include, but are not limited to Reliability Programs and Demonstrations, Maintainability Programs and Demonstrations, Supply Support, Support Equipment, Technical Documentation Standards, and Training.  The paper evaluates each of the classical elements of support under various support concepts where an availability guarantee is imposed by contract, and offers recommendations on the level of surveillance required for each.

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.

RISK ANALYSIS IN MAJOR TRAINER ACQUISITION

Erik S. Hougland, PhD

Harv Adkins, MSE, MBA

Advanced Systems Engineering Branch

Naval Training Equipment Center

RISK: The possibility of suffering harm or loss.

VENTURE: An undertaking that is of doubtful outcome.

RISK is a “Buzz word.”   What is risk and how and why does the Naval Training Equipment Center engage in Risk Analysis?

Risk is used to refer to making decisions when probabilities have been assigned to the outcomes affecting the results of the decision.  “Uncertainty” is used to refer to making decisions when these probabilities are neither assigned nor known.  An example of a decision under risk is betting on the outcome of a roll of the dice.  One does not know the specific outcome in advance, but the probabilities of each possible outcome are well known and may affect one’s decision, i.e. bet, in advance of the roll.  An example of a decision under uncertainty would be for someone in the United States to make a bet on a local European soccer match.  Most people in the United States would have no idea of the probabilities of one team beating the other!

Major decisions in trainer acquisition are made under both risk and uncertainty.  These decisions include, but are not limited to the following:

Choice of contract type: fixed price, incentive fee, etc.

Selection of source from proposals submitted, and

Evaluation of contractor progress during trainer construction.

Risk Analysis techniques are presently being used at the Naval Training Equipment Center to aid in these decisions.  Two Risk Analysis projects will be described in this paper:

Evaluation of proposals for contract award and

Monitoring of contractor progress during construction.

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.

THE COST DATA BASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (CDBMS)

J. Steven Roberts

JMCA

This paper describes the Cost Data Base Management System (CDBMS) and its benefits in estimating the cost of weapon systems.

CDBMS is an interactive cost estimating and documentation system that was developed under contract by SAIC for the Deputy for Airlift and Trainer Systems (ASD/AF) at Wright Patterson AFB (WPAFB).

The ASD/AF development that was completed in April of 1985 is a product improvement over the May 1981 version that was developed for the Deputy for Simulators (ASD/YW).

CDBMS is installed on the ASD Automated Management System (AMS) and is available to all System Project Offices (SPOs) at WPAFB.

CDBMS is a generic estimating system and documentation system.  This means that CDBMS is equally usable by DOD and industry in developing the life cycle cost of weapon systems.  The only non-generic features of CDBMS are certain Air Force specific report formats such as AF1537.  CDBMS does not include any Navy or Army specific report formats however all the data required to produce these reports are contained in the CDBMS system.

CDBMS is in use by several SPOs at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and modification, maintenance, enhancements, and support is being continued under contract with the author of this paper.

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.

MANAGEMENT OF THE SOFTWARE PROBLEM

Edward L. Averill

Staff Engineer to the Software Department

Larry K. Rude

Associate Director Software Engineering

Training & Control System Operations

Honeywell Aerospace & Defense

Two conceptual notions are identified as controlling the current system/software development operations.  Both greatly impact the development process.  The first concerns requirements, while the second concerns program management responsibility.

The experience of practitioners is reported to be quite different than these notions would lead us to expect.  The paper examines the implications of changing the conceptual notions bringing them into consistency with the practical experience. 

Requirements according to these notions should be defined with complete rigor, and design must be exactly as specified (no more and no less than).  Practice shows us that requirements not only mature slowly, but also change through the development and also the life cycle.

A development project, according to the second notion, needs to be treated (to optimize schedule & dollars for this project) as if both the product and the process, by which the product is built, are new work unqualified by previous work.  However practitioners, carrying out the development, feel the work is more similar to maintenance business than it is to new work (i.e. that it is qualified by previous work).  This is because requirements are interpreted in terms of previous experience.  Old designs and implementations are adapted to the “new” project.  And old code (at least the executive part and/or application framework) is used as a springboard to create the new code.  In fact reusability occurs naturally to the degree that it is able.  But under current notions the reusability that is able to occur makes little impact on development cost. 

The paper explores a product line approach to project development in which only very specific product line type requirements are expected to be fixed, and in which the unique project requirements are implemented by a product line development process.

This approach is shown to be consistent not only with practical experience, but also with the current technological advances which make the new concepts practical in to-day’s environment.

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.

A SOFTWARE ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR FLIGHT SIMULATORS

John A. Schepp

The Singer Company

Link Flight Simulation Division

The complexity of modern simulators has overwhelmed the capacity of conventional approaches to maintain effective cognizance and configuration control.  The problem is intensified by the emergence of system engineering techniques which stress functional analysis, requirements allocation, and traceability of design features to requirements.  A Software Engineering Management System (SEMS) is described which uses the technology of a relational data base to overcome previous limitations on principles are applicable to the much broader but similar problems of overall simulator development and life cycle management.  The principal components of SEMS are:

1)       A comprehensive project data base capable of providing multiple user-oriented project views.

2)       A suite of processors and protocols to allow production of project-germane information and documentation.

3)       Supervisory and monitoring capability for the integration of pre-existing software development facilities into the system.

4)       Links to interface geographically separated sites into a unified project control system.

The conceptual development and organization of the system are described and examples of its operation are provided.

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.

CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT IN A SOFTWARE

DEVELOPMENT ENVIRONMENT

T. Michael Moriarity

AAI Corporation

Software configuration management deals with the identifications, change control, and status of software items.  Properly applied configuration management procedures can improve visibility, efficiency, and integrity of the development process.  In software intensive development projects, configuration management principles in general and change control practices in particular are sometimes perceived as obstructions to the development process.  Therefore, these practices are often implemented late in the development life cycle.  The advantages of configuration management are thus lost during the early critical phases of a program.

Part of the reason that configuration management procedures are perceived as an impediment to the development process is that traditional configuration management practices do not provide timely benefits commensurate with their maintenance effort.  Traditional practices were developed on large production programs in which the emphasis was on the control and accounting of a relatively small number of changes to a relatively stable product.  The software development environment, on the other hand, is characterized by the integration of a large number of changes into a transient product.

A configuration management system design to be more compatible with the software development process and to take advantages of software development resources can provide extensive benefits to the development team.  These benefits may encourage the installation of configuration management procedures early in the software development phase, thereby providing the advantages of configuration management throughout the development life cycle.

This paper draws on the experience of several large simulator software development programs to identify design strategies for a configuration management system that provides substantial benefits during the development phase and meets the requirements of traditional configuration management in the later phases of the development life cycle.

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.

AN ALTERNATIVE TO ISD IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF TRAINING PACKAGES FOR THE LAVI FIGHTER AIRCRAFT

Avi Kedem

Manager, Research and Development Section

IAI Training Center

Dr. Jonathon Smilansky

Training Consultant to IAI Training Center,

Research and Development Section

Israel Aircraft Industries is developing a new fighter aircraft, the LAVI, which is to be delivered together with Training Packages for both ground maintenance crews and pilots.

The ISD procedure was to be used as a guideline for the design of Training Packages.  The procedure was found to be focused on task analysis without a clear delineation of how the design of Training Packages would follow from the task definition.  The task analysis phase was found to be unmanageable since thousands of tasks could be defined for both the ground maintenance crews and the fighter pilots.  Therefore, a new instructional development process, called the Integrated Job Performance Training (IJPT), method was created which is based on a shortened job analysis process and on the systematic planning of instructional activities that stem from the analysis.  Under IJPT an instructional design consultant works with subject matter experts to produce Training Packages which are designed around the performance of essential job tasks. 

This article includes a description of the specific stages involved in the design of these Training Packages, and how they differ from the stages involved in the ISD process.  The presentation will also include a description of how this new Training Package development method produces instructional specifications, which in turn become the foundation for the design of aircraft simulators and other training equipment.

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.

THE APPLICATION OF FRONT-END ANALYSIS TO THE

ACQUISITION OF AIR FORCE TRAINING SYSTEMS

Major Andrew J. Courtice, USAF

Deputy for Simulators

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base

The previous methods used to acquire Air Force training systems and devices have been characterized by such descriptions as overly complex, too late to support the initial weapon system deployment, too expensive, and, most importantly, improperly designed or configured to support the training requirements of the eventual weapon system training program.  In analyzing the management prerogatives available to institute solutions to these critical problems, the one area which offers to provide immediate positive solutions and acquisition alternatives is to institute a systematic training based front-end analysis process beginning as early as possible (pre-concept) in the acquisition cycle.  This methodology takes a systems approach to defining the training requirements which will evolve into a fully integrated and costed training system development effort and provide all of the management strategies needed to provide operational maintenance training and training support anywhere in the Weapon System Acquisition Process.

The Deputy for Simulators is establishing such a capability for instituting training system front-end analysis (FEA) in the earliest possible stages of weapon system acquisition.  The Deputy has developed a process that defines FEA in terms of the specific tasks involved in the process.  These tasks can then be selectively applied to weapon system programs to augment or complete front-end analysis as required.  The primary emphasis is to use existing weapon system manpower, personnel, and training processor data to create a notional training system baseline.  Then, in the early acquisition phases, as the weapon system design develops, the training system baseline is concurrently evolved into a new weapon system specific training system requirement and the Air Force will have the information required for total training system acquisition.  This will permit the delivery of the training system and its elements, including the support needed to maintain and operate the training system, early enough to meet the training requirements of the user.

The model is a management tool that provides strategy for acquisition and structure to follow-on technologies and methodologies such as Logistics Support Analysis (LSA) and Instructional Systems Development (ISD).  Early comprehensive MPT considerations and their impacts are the primary benefits.  The model can provide a life cycle audit trail, supporting maintenance, aircrew, and support training need in evolving or existing weapon system programs.  Most importantly, it provides the critical funding estimates and impact analysis needed throughout the acquisition cycle.  It will also provide managers with the timely research and systems data needed to pursue acquisition milestones in a fully coordinated and timely manner.

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.

OVERKILL OR GOOD ENOUGH?

A PRAGMATIC APPROACH TO DEFINE TRAINER REQUIREMENTS

Dr. Steven R. Null

Hughes Aircraft Company

An inquiry into the cause of cost and training effectiveness failures in the development of training devices revealed that an incomplete analysis application process was a contributing factor to the problem.  In order to improve this process, designers began with a systematic examination of the sensory, physical, and mental demands made upon operator trainees.  The demands were scrutinized using both quantitative and qualitative standards.  They were also evaluated from a learning theoretical perspective.  Improving this process resulted in a better definition of trainer needs, and in more effective training delivery at reduced cost. 

Existing device design procedures were augmented by a process termed Performance Demand Analysis, based upon sensory, physical, and mental requirements.  It has been applied to two situations: one, involving the determination of simulation fidelity; the other, the cognitive/memory requirements and training features necessary to solve a longstanding training problem.  In the first inquiry, the visual simulation derived was significantly different from original suggestions resulting in a considerable cost reduction.  Training features for the longstanding training problem were formulated to complement proven instructional strategies to resolve the memory training problem.  In each case, application of these supplemental procedures improved training effectiveness and reduced the cost of the system.  The functional characteristics developed using Performance Demand Analysis yield an objective baseline for a pragmatic trainer design well matched to actual needs.

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.

F-16 SIMULATORS–WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED?

John F. Lethert

Directorate of Engineering

Deputy for Simulators

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base

This paper will look at the F-16 Weapon System Trainer Program to determine what lessons have been learned.  In looking at the lessons learned the paper will examine them in light of current Air Force Simulator Policy, specifically, the training of safety of flight and warfighting tasks, concurrency, and minimizing simulator costs.  In looking at these areas the paper will:

1)       Show how the lessons learned have been incorporated into the F-16 program.

2)       Discuss how they can be incorporated into the F-16 and future programs.

3)       Discuss what is the relationship of these lessons to such initiatives as commercial versus military practices, Modularity, and the Training System Concept.

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.

ADA FROM THE VIEWPOINT OF SOFTWARE ADAPTABILITY AND MAINTAINABILITY

Paul E. McMahon

Link Flight Simulation Division of The Singer Company

A major goal of the Ada language is to decrease the cost impact of software modifications resulting from requirement changes.  This paper shows how Ada has the potential to achieve that goal through example of modifications to the F-16 Trainer Flight Simulator.  Ada features not available in Fortran are discussed as they would be applied to the F-16 TFS examples with the potential modification in mind.  From the Fortran examples provided, the rationale for many of Ada’s features can be seen.  The point is made that Fortran is a programming language, while Ada is a design, documentation, and implementation system.  Ada addresses all stages of the software development life cycle and is not which Ada provides must be initially applied during design activities if Ada’s full benefits are to be realized in reducing the cost impact of software modifications.

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.

NEW COAST GUARD SIMULATORS–OUR FOUR-YEAR EXPERIENCE

Commander David A. Jones

U.S. Coast Guard Aviation Training Center

In July of 1981, the U.S. Coast Guard awarded a contract to Sperry Corp. for two flight simulators.  One simulator was for a recent addition to the Coast Guard inventory, the HU-25A.  The HU-25A, a fixed wing Medium Range Surveillance (MRS), is a modified Falcon 20.  The other simulator was for the HH-65A, a modified Aerospactaile Dauphin helicopter.  The HH-65A was still in development when the simulator contract was awarded so the aircraft and simulator were being produced concurrently.  The project officer for the HH-65A simulator was involved in the entire acquisition process – from draft specifications to ready-for-training date.

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.

COMPUTER-BASED INSTRUCTION: ARE YOU READY?

Lt. Col. R. A. Gregory and Oliver Nelson

Standards and Policy Directorate, DCS/Technical Training , Air Training Command

Randolph Air Force Base, TX

Throughout the education and training communities of the Armed Forces, automated technologies are increasingly being introduced.  The faculties and staffs of all the services are changing management practices and instructional strategies in response to the addition of new computerized systems.  Impacting management, trainers, and students, these new technologies must be introduced based on defined requirements and through well-planned technology transition programs.  Major problems face the traditional faculty and staff: changing course designs and management procedures, developing computer literacy, obtaining expertise to maximize technology capabilities, and solving organizational and personnel problems inherent with the introduction of new technologies.  Historical evidence shows that where management has failed to establish user acceptance in advance of system delivery, program success seldom occurs.  Overselling and improper training often led to improper use of rejection of earlier technology advances, such as television, sound-slide and programmed instruction.  With the advancement of microcomputer technology, education and training applications are rapidly increasing.  The new technology has many benefits to offer educators and trainers, but successful application depends on faculties and staffs willing to accept and knowing how to use it.  In the United States Air Force Air Training Command, new training programs are being designed for managers, supervisors, instructors, and course developers to prepare them for the new technologies.  These initiatives are highlighted so other agencies can also plan training interventions for their faculties and staffs.

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.

THE ARMY’S INTEGRATED TRAINING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

Maj. (P) Robert Behncke

Chief, Training Developments

U.S. Army Development and Employment Agency

Fort Lewis, Washington

This paper addresses the Integrated Training Management System (ITMS), an Army-wide program to automate the management of training functions from company level to Department of the Army.  This beginning in the development of ITMS represents the initial step in fully integrating a management system designed to improve the efficacy with which units go about accomplishing their most important mission: training for the day of war.  Additional changes also lay ahead through the requirement to ultimately integrate ITMS with the Automated Data Systems developed in support of logistics and personnel functions in units.  These efforts to develop a training management system incorporating the technical capabilities and management skills of the 80’s and its subsequent total integration into the Army Management System should receive nothing less than the highest priority.

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.

TRAINING FOR EXCELLENCE

Richard Glennon

NAVTRASYSCEN

Robert Klaus

Army Material Command

Dr. Wyatt Woodsmall

Army Material Command

The purpose of this paper is to present some ideas that have the potential to enhance training effectiveness and training system value.  Knowledge Based Expert System and Neuro-Linguistic to Programming will be suggested as two new technologies that may be applied to training systems.  Finally, the Army’s experience in applying these technologies will be presented.

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.

A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF ISD PROCEDURAL MODELS

Robert H. Schaefer

Grumman Aerospace Corporation

The Instructional Systems Development (ISD) procedural models used by military organizations to govern the development and procurement of training systems are described in a variety of documents, standards, and specifications.  In addition to the model described by military standards, which presumably are interservice in application, some of the services have developed individualized ISD procedures and manuals.  As a result of this proliferation of ISD materials, the military has at its disposal a wide range of ISD standards and specifications to employ when developing a training system.  Due to the diversity of available ISD procedural models, the procuring agency can be confronted with a dilemma as to which one to choose.

A fundamental question is whether or not the ISD models contained in these documents are interchangeable, or whether unique differences exist between them?  If differences between them do exist, what are the relative advantages and merits of each model?  Finally, what criteria should be applied by the procuring agency in order to select the model that is most appropriate to their training system needs?

This paper contains the results of a comparative analysis performed on five of the ISD procedural models contained in various military specifications and standards.  The ISD procedural models analyzed are those contained in:

1)       NAVEDTRA 106A, Interservice Procedures for Instructional Systems Development

2)       AFP 50-58, Handbook for Designers of Instructional Systems

3)       MIL-STD-1379B, Contract Training Programs

4)       MIL-T-29053B, Requirements for Training System Development

5)       NAVEDTRA 110A, Procedures for Instructional Systems Development

A sixth training document, NAVSEA OP 45519, Submarine Training Materials Development Guidelines and Production Specification was also examined.  While NAVSEA OP 44519 does not provide clear traceability to the ISD process model it was included in the comparative analysis as an alternative means of procuring training materials.

The comparative analysis concluded that the ISD based models contained in the above referenced documents are not equivalent.  Each of the five procedural models contain both advantages and disadvantages.  These differences are specifically identified and discussed from two points of view; that of the procuring agency, and that of the contractor.

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.

INSTRUCTIONAL FEATURES AND THE USER

Wayne Olson, Terry Kryway, Amanda Williams Easter

Logicon, Inc.

Flight simulators play a key role in the training of military aircrew.  They provide an environment in which the aircrew may train and practice procedural and flight tasks under the close observation of qualified instructors.  The instructor is responsible for controlling the training event, evaluating performance, and providing feedback.  As training requirements increase and simulators become more complex, so does the task of operating and interacting with them.  Most of this complexity involves the Instructor Operator Station (IOS), the interface between the instructor and the simulator and between the instructor and the trainee.  The quality of training received from these devices depends a great deal on the instructor’s ability to monitor aircrew activities.  Thus, these devices incorporate instructional support features to aid the instructor, but their utilization is the exception rather than the rule.  This is not because instructors are incapable of the task, but because the complexities of operation require substantial training and experience in order for these features to be used effectively.

This indicates a failure to properly analyze the task of the instructor in designing the IOS around his needs.  The purpose of this paper is to provide a general overview and discussion of instructional features from a user’s standpoint.  The intent is not to document the merits of instructional features, but provide insight into user needs.  The information presented is based on interviews with simulator instructors and observation of simulator training sessions at numerous Navy and Air Force simulator-training facilities.

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.

THE HUMAN SIDE OF COMPUTER-BASED TRAINING

Norbert J. Kubilus

Educational Testing Service

More and more, the world of training is becoming a computer-oriented world.  Computer-based training can provide advantages over more conventional training methods in terms of flexibility and cost effectiveness.  While the primary emphasis is being concentrated on the computer hardware and software used to deliver the training content, there is often too little consideration being paid to the human factors.  In general, the human side of computer-based training requires an assessment of the interfaces between the trainee and the computer.  Basically, one must ask whether a computer-based training device can be used easily, accurately and without trainee fatigue.  This paper describes some of the fundamental factors that must be considered such as information presentation, temporal usage concerns, and maintaining trainee interest.

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.

THE NEXT TRAINING CHALLENGE FOR SIMULATION–TEAM TRAINING

Robert A. Hansen and Roy A. Wulff

Link Flight Simulation Division of The Singer Company

Simulation has greatly enhanced the training of individuals and crews through their systematic exposure to essential elements of the environments in which they must perform.  Similar benefits will be available to aviation, infantry, armor, and command teams when simulation and instructional technologies are applied to the unique problems of team training.  Training systems geared to the development and consolidation of specific elements of team skill will employ computerized models of many battlefield environments and of the essential characteristics of friendly and hostile forces that comprises them.  The team trainers of the future will make extensive use of modern computer technology in controlling the interactions among the team members and their practice environment, but they will also permit a high degree of flexibility in team response.  Teams will practice in standardized environments in developing skill in fundamental procedures, but they will also be able to practice in free play settings to encourage the development and evaluation of innovative techniques.  Simulation technology holds great promise for the training of many kinds of teams.  The value of its impact depends heavily, however, on the care with which requirements on each kind of team are defined and on the care with which these requirements are analyzed and expressed as requirements on the training system.

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.

TEAMWORK FROM TEAM TRAINING–NEW DIRECTIONS

Eduardo Salas, Arthur R. Blaiwes, Richard E. Reynolds

Human Factors Division, Naval Training Systems Center

The Human Factors Division of the Naval Training Systems Center has initiated a systematic R&D effort to address three prevailing problems in the areas of team training and team performance.  These are the lack of::  (1) conceptualization and integration of team research studies; (2) a sound team performance measurement system; and (3) research dealing with team processes.  Specifically, this paper describes two unique and innovative projects aimed at solving the above problems and at providing the much-needed guidelines for training operational military teams.  Discussion as to whether existing team training programs teach teamwork (i.e., are we there yet?) is provided.

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.

A PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT SYSTEM FOR TRAINING SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT

Ralph B. Pettit

Sonalysts, Inc.

P. Marshall Magruder

Hughes Aircraft Company

An integrated approach is presented for the development, integration, and management of performance measurement in training systems.  This approach organizes and translates user requirements derived through front-end analysis into a set of quantitative and qualitative performance measures.  Management of the performance measurement system is maintained through the use of a proposed Performance Measurement System Report (PMSR), delivered under the contract.  The report provides a mechanism for determining training requirements accountability and traceability during training system acquisition.  The PMSR allows cooperative involvement among representatives of the procuring agency, contractor, and user community throughout the design, development, and validation of the training system.

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.

INTEGRATING COURSEWARE & GRAPHICS: A TOTAL USER PACKAGE

Keith Grindstaff and Mark Partridge

Ground Systems Group, Hughes Aircraft Company

Development of CAI courseware and graphics displays has always been, from the user’s standpoint, a cumbersome effort, often resulting in wordy, ponderous, text-heavy instructional material.  An integrated courseware and graphics package has been developed to support rapid creation and modification of training exercises, including verbal and visual content, and the simulation environment itself.  This package allows the user, without having any special software expertise, to create and change both the training scenarios (courseware) and all associated graphic displays.  As training requirements and strategies change, and as changes are made to the prime system, the user, a subject matter expert, can make the needed courseware and display updates with no requirement to impact or modify the operational software.

The Display Development System (DDS) allows the user to create graphics displays quickly, using a menu-driven approach.  Both textual and graphics data can be displayed.  Courseware is written in a simple, High-level trainer Authoring Language (HAL) which gives the user complete control of the DDS produced graphics, and control of the entire training exercise.

This integrated package offers many benefits now being realized on two current trainer development programs.  The user of DDS/HAL can quickly make whatever changes are needed to displays and courseware whenever they are needed.  Not having to rely on software personnel to make software changes results in significant savings of time and money.  Beyond that, since this package is independent of the operational trainer software, the user is given tremendous freedom and flexibility in creating and maintaining displays and courseware.  This enables the user to concentrate more fully on courseware, resulting in a more effective presentation of course material.

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.

TOP DOWN STRUCTURED ANALYSIS AND USER INVOLVEMENT:

A COMBINATION ESSENTIAL FOR EFFECTIVE SYSTEMS DESIGN

John J. Chancellor

Eagle Technology, Inc.

James M. Young, Ed.D.

Defense Training Data and Analysis Center

The role of the end user in today’s highly computer-dependent society is one of active participation in the use of the products, which are the outcome of systems analysis and subsequent development.  This role is rapidly becoming an important factor in the development of computer-based training and information systems.  Traditionally, end users have been intimidated by the apparent mystery cloaking the systems analysis process, and thus have learned to accept the information generated by a systems analyst as being the exact truth and not intended to be changed in any way.  Often differing expectations caused some type of conflict, either at the beginning of a project or at the end of a project with the final delivery.  Systems were delivered to less than ecstatic users and sometimes were regarded as unsuccessful.

As the role of the end user becomes increasingly important in developing computer-based systems, there must also be an increase in the number and choices of methods that can be offered to end users.  There must also be a corresponding awareness of the concerns of the end users by the systems analysis involved.  The mystery surrounding the systems analysis process should be opened up and made clearly obvious.  The use of the Top Down Structured Analysis methodology as presented in this paper shows how the use of highly graphical notation coupled with a rigorous approach to documentation can keep people involved and surprises under control.  An example of how this process has aided the Training Technology Applications Program of the U.S. Air Force depicts the success of the methodology.

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.

USER-DIRECTED TRAINER ARCHITECTURE

Eve J. Parrish and Daniel H. Masaki

Ground Systems Group, Hughes Aircraft Company

This paper discusses design concepts of the latest trainer architecture which features user-directed control of the trainer through data based directives.  The discussion focuses on a trainer system design approach that can easily accommodate changes and provides the instructor with greater control and flexibility in creating training exercises.  The goal of this trainer is to shift the responsibility of training exercise design and implementation from programmers to the instructors and subject matter experts.

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.

CONTRACTOR SUPPORT, HOW CAN WE ENSURE TRAINING DEVICE AVAILABILITY?

Timothy R. Mathews, SMSgt, USAF

Headquarters Tactical Air Command

Langley Air Force Base

Phase-out of the simulator maintenance career field in the United States Armed Forces is now well under way.  Whether or not contractors can successfully maintain the military’s training devices is not at issue.  Instead, tomorrow’s challenge will be providing cost-effective and timely support for military trainers while ensuring trainer effectiveness and configuration management of the devices.  If we are to meet that challenge, straightforward contracts that require trainer availability must become commonplace.  Support contracts that include incentive and penalty provisions will benefit both government and industry.  From the user’s perspective, this paper discusses the need for guaranteed trainer availability within the Armed Forces aircrew training community, and proposes methods of implementing contractor support for existing and future aircrew training devices without sacrificing trainer availability.  The author focuses on available methods to successfully transition from either organic support to contractor maintenance to full contractor logistic support.  Benefits of contract support along with pitfalls of current support techniques are examined.  The author also explores the need for enforceable contracts that will enable both the government and industry to capitalize on a successful transition to contractor logistic support.

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.

USE OF THE COMPUTER READABILITY EDITING SYSTEM

J. Peter Kincaid

Naval Training Systems Center (Code 10)

The Computer Readability Editing System (CRES) is a tool for helping technical writers adhere to writing rules contained in military standards and guidelines.  For example, it helps in using consistent terminology, defining technical terms and avoiding certain kinds of awkward sentence construction.  The most important feature of the system is its control of vocabulary using a series of carefully compiled word lists including a common word list of 4,000 words and seven technical word lists (e.g., electronics and propulsion engineering).  Users can easily compile lists for their own needs.  As text is analyzed, CRES flags uncommon words and provides comments about a dozen other features of the text, which should be brought to the writer’s attention.  The system has also been used to assess the readability grade level of job and training reading materials.  These assessment studies became the basis for setting Navy standards; for example, Navy policy is that sailors need to have a ninth grade reading ability to comprehend common job reading materials.  CRES also is aiding the production of training materials for teaching technical vocabulary.

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.

FAULT INSERTION IMPROVES MAINTENANCE TRAINING

Lance E. Young

Hughes Aircraft Company

An effective electronic maintenance-training program is dependent on the ability to insert faults into training equipment so those students may have hands-on experience in troubleshooting “failed hardware”.  The faults, and method of presentation to the student, must reinforce the training objectives while at the same time demonstrate the classic failure mode of the training equipment.  Ideally, the method of fault insertion will be: transparent to the student, low cost, easily maintained, require a minimum of support documentation, be remotely and rapidly controllable, limit wear and tear on training equipment, and pose no safety hazard to personnel or equipment.

The increased complexity and size of operational systems coupled with higher costs for personnel and training dictate the need for a more realistic, effective, and efficient fault insertion technique as opposed to those in common use today.  This paper will examine the concept of a microprocessor based fault insertion device (FID); a technique which has been successfully utilized in several major training systems.  Comparisons will be made between a FID and other common methods of fault insertion.

This paper is available on the I/ITSEC Compendium CD-ROM.

Order it from I/ITSEC’s Website.