One Semi-Automated Forces (OneSAF)

One Semi-Automated Forces (OneSAF) is a distributed computer simulation used by the U. S. Army that supports both Computer Generated Forces (CGF) and Semi-Automated Forces (SAF) applications. It is an entity level simulation where the objects in the simulation represent individual soldiers, platforms, units and bahaviors. This enables OneSAF to support a wide range of U.S. Army Brigade and below constructive simulations and virtual simulators. OnseSAF is suitable to support applications including training, analysis, research, experimentation, mission-planning and rehearsal activities. OneSAF is actually the name of the program office, not a product. The term OneSAF refers to the mission of creating one SAF CGF to meet a broad spectrum of simulation needs across multiple modeling and simulation domains. The program office was established to build a single SAF to replace many existing CGF’s and SAF’s to save the Army money. OneSAF provides a domestic release that is available to all U.S. Government users and an international version to support non-U.S. requirements. ^[1]

History

Jan 1996: The Computer Generated Forces Assessment Working Group recommended to the Army leadership that a flexible Semi-Automated Forces architecture be developed that could integrate the best features of existing CGFs: Modular Semi-Automated Forces (ModSAF), Close Combat Tactical Trainer (CCTT) SAF, JANUS Battle Simulation, Joint Tactical Simulation (JTS), Battlefield Environment Weapon Systems Simulation (BEWSS), Interactive Tactical Environment Management System (ITEMS), Joint Conflict Model (JCM), Brigade/Batallion Battle System (BBS)

May 1997: The Deputy Commanding General, Training and Doctrine Command approved the Mission Needs Statement for OneSAF. The Deputy Undersecretary of the Army (Operations Research) directed that Army Materiel Systems Analysis Activity lead a team to develop a requirements document and an acquisition strategy.

May 2001: Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) wins the contract for OneSAF Architecture and Integration.

September 2006: Version 1.0 of OneSAF is released.

2010: Scheduled for Validation (Government Acceptance Testing).

October 2010: Version 5.0 of OneSAF is released.

March 2011: Possible release of Version 5.1 of OneSAF.

Description

SAF systems are computer software systems to generate and control autonomous entities (such as soldiers, vehicles, or aircraft) in a simulation using a combination of behavior generation algorithms and human operator commands. SAF systems play an important role in virtual environment simulations.

There are many computer generated forces (CGF) simulations. These are often referred to as constructive simulations. CGFs model and simulate combat entities and systems. These entities and systems are actors in the simulation. (In contrast with constructive simulations, in virtual simulations [like flight simulators] the humans are actors in the simulations.) A SAF is a CGF in which the entities have some level of autonomy. For instance SAF entities often react to contact, can do some limited route re-planning when faced with an obstacle, can choose some actions based on their knowledge of the current situation, etc. SAF entities are semi autonomous, because they generally require human operators to do holistic planning, provide goals for goal-directed behaviors, etc.

Distributed simulation. SAF systems are typically constructed using a simulation technology called distrubuted simulation. In a distributed simulation, large-scale simulation stytsems are assembled fom a set of indepenedent simulation nodes communicating va a network. Crewed simulators and sAF systems may be nodes linked in a distributed simulationl . An advantage to this technology is that it is scaleabiilty. Additional participants and/or additonal models can be added by adding more computer nodes in the distributed simulation. In a distributed simulation, the networked nodes report the attributes and actions of interest regarding their sumulated entities by exhanging newtork messages. A network protocol defines the form of the messages, the conditions under which specific messages should be sent, and the proper processing for a received message. Several standard distributed simulation network protocols exist, including Distributed Interactive Simulation (DIS) and High Level Architecture (HLA) and Test and Terrain Architecture (TENA). OneSAF is both DIS and HLA compliant. These standards allow the definition of classes of objects in the simulated work and the type of permissible interactions between those objects. All assume that certain details of the simulated world, such as the terrain, are known in common between the simulation nodes before the scenario begins; and allow for implicit understanding or explicit control of the passage of simulated time in the virtual environment. ^[2]

Anther feature of OneSAF is its composiblity. Composabiltiy is a design philosophy and implementation methodology of OneSAF that enables users to rapidly tailor the simulation to meet the needs of a specific simulation exercise or experiment. The toolbox analogy is useful in explaining composability. When a person wants to fix a light switch, he or she doesn’t generally drag the entire work bench from the garage to the site of the repair. Instead, he or she takes the two or three tools from the bench and takes only those. When that person now wants to rebuild the master brake cylinder on his car, he takes a different set of tools from the bench. With OneSAF, the designer of the simulation exercise or experiment can build an instance (or composition) of OneSAF that has only those tools needed for that job. OneSAF also supports battlespace composition. The entity, unit, and behavior composer tools allow the user to modify the way the simulation operates – without recompiling any software. Composability is enabled through the OneSAF product line architecture framework (PLAF). Software is commonly developed in a horizontally layered architecture. In OneSAF, tools are arranged in vertically organized product lines. The interactions between modules in these product lines are controlled through hundreds of defined application programmer interfaces (API’s) and data interchange formats (DIFs). This modular architecture enables developers outside of the OneSAF team to develop new modules to replace existing modules with newmodules. As long as these new modules comply with the architecture and use the correct API’s and DIFs, a user can build a composition that will "plug and play" with the other modules.

References

1. ^ http://www.peostri.army.mil/ U.S. Army Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training, & Instrumentation
2. ^ "Behavior Generation in Semi-Automated Forces." Mikel D. Petty, PhD. University of Alabama in Huntsville Center for Modeling, Simulation, and Analysis.

External links

• U.S. Army Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training, & Instrumentation
• OneSAF Public Site