Table-Top Development, Simulation, and Evaluation Environment for Battlefield Information System Concepts

Abstract

A software development environment for prototyping, simulating, and evaluating advanced concepts in US Army battlefield information systems was designed and implemented as a lower cost alternative to complex development and simulation facilities. The workstation-based development environment was designed to evaluate a variety of soldier-machine interface design requirements and specifications, as well as communications and database concepts for future Army vehicle and weapons systems. Using this environment, an armor maneuver control application was implemented, demonstrated, and evaluated in a networked testbed. The application demonstrated the creation and transmission of tactical graphic and text information, automatic message routing, and rapid reconfiguration of the soldier-machine interface. Use of the development environment has demonstrated that battlefield information system prototypes can be quickly and inexpensively simulated and evaluated, and can be used as an adjunct or alternative to other simulation facilities.