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Game On: Video Game Engines Power Battlefield Visualization September 2006
In three hours, Matt "Bulldog" Patron and his rapid assault team will attack a remote enemy compound that's beyond the team's line of sight. Using his laptop to plan the attack, Patron runs a simulation with a realistic interface, allowing him to call in an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to fly over the compound for aerial reconnaissance. Within minutes, live sensor data streaming directly from the UAV to Patron's laptop gives him a complete picture of the compound. Fortunately, when the attack starts, Patron and his team never fall into harm's way: the simulation is actually powered by a commercial video game engine, and the team runs its exercises in a laboratory. Because of their realistic effects, the same software found in computer games can now be used by researchers to develop battlefield visualizations for the military. These animated "what-if" scenarios will be similar to war-type computer games, only they'll represent the actual environment surrounding the warfighter. "MITRE is using computer game engines for battlefield visualization so the warfighter can experiment in a more agile way," says the real Matt Patron, a MITRE lead software systems engineer. "Warfighters will be able to train for missions or simulate a real-time battle more effectively."
As they train, their point of view could be from inside a tank at the front lines or from a bomber at 30,000 feet. Thanks to the Internet, multiple warfighters in distant locations will be able to participate in the same simulation and see the same results. If you're a commander, you'll be able to see the virtual action unfold on your own laptop. By changing the position of the battlefield participants or changing the weather, for example, you'll see how your squadron reacts to unanticipated events. (See sidebar.) "You'll be able to combine a variety of data sources, such as intelligence, satellite imagery, video, smart bomb technology, GPS, and other sensors," says Patron. "Special Forces can be trained for urban warfare without actually going into a city." The Heart of the Matter A game engine lies at the core of every computer game. In a war game, the engine provides the horsepower for the graphics, lighting, texture mapping, and physics. One of the advantages of using a commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) game engine is the time saved in developing the complex mathematics for battlefield effects. Take collisions and their aftermath, for example. What happens when a bullet ricochets off a wall? Does it ricochet again or go through some other material? What happens when two objects collide in 3D space as they're moving at different velocities? Will an artillery shell go through the sand and bust up a deeply buried bunker? "All the algorithms for physical interactions are built into the game engine," says Patron, "so the developer or military user doesn't have to worry about that stuff. In addition, a game engine is very good at collecting data from a number of disparate sources scattered about the network, bringing it back to the server, and redistributing it to all the other players. "For example, if you and I are in a game and I shoot the wall and the bullet ricochets, you're going to see the results on your laptop even though you're located someplace else. The information that I am using to change my world is changing your world at the same time, so everybody is in sync." Serious Play In developing battlefield visualization, Patron and his group are using a commercially available game engine. "It has the functionality, pricing, and licensing factors we wanted," notes Patron. "The company also gives you the source code and access to its development server. As changes are made to the source code, you can download them every night." He believes the real power of a COTS game engine is that it's a flexible tool that can be modified and enhanced. "The military is rapidly evolving with new radios, new airplanes, and new data feeds, so an updating mechanism makes the application that much more powerful," he says. "New inputs can be added by the end-user, a contractor, or MITRE." The game engine can be customized to make it unique for a military application. The graphics, models, and buildings, for example, can be added by using third-party graphics packages such as 3ds Max or Adobe After Effects. "Our goal," says Patron, "is to take any source of military data—live video from an unmanned aerial vehicle, sensor data, or satellite imagery—and quickly integrate it into a visualization application without rewriting the software. Battlefield visualization provides an 'interactive laboratory' for the military to try new ideas and weapons. The effects of a weapon of a given weight and power or a sensor's coverage patterns can be simulated in a war game before you ever actually produce it. "You can even tell how your warfighters perform by analyzing their tactical techniques. Do they understand about sticking together in crossfire and choke points? You can see successful teams use those techniques to win a mini battle." —by David A. Van Cleave Related Information Articles and News
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