Norway, Italy, UK join forces in SIMBASE project

SIMBASE team members at a recent project meeting in Rome: Xinming Jin from LSC in the UK (front, left), Lorentz Buan from Jotne

Kjell Bengtsson, marketing director of Jotne EPM Technology, explains, ”EPMT’s role in SIMBASE is to develop the model server while the other two companies develop the necessary software applications. The goal is to use a PLCS (Product Life-Cycle Support) data model to integrate information from simulation, logistics and systems engineering.”

The SIMBASE project was started in 2004 and addresses the role of modeling and simulation in supporting affordable or “smarter” acquisition of defense capabilities.

“Modeling and simulation can generate information to determine affordability without actually manufacturing physical items first,” says Bengtsson. “Synthetic environments also offer a way of examining the interaction of solutions in natural environments as well as in combination with other defense systems. As a result, synthetic environments can offer an important, cost-effective way of making smarter acquisitions.”

The SIMBASE project will create a repository that can integrate acquisition information from various fields and across product life cycles, including data relating to systems engineering, logistic engineering, synthetic environments and other modeling and simulation tools.

The repository will be based on ISO 10303, popularly known as STEP/PLCS, providing the capability to represent and exchange product model data. The standard covers a wide range of engineering disciplines and provides SIMBASE with neutral capabilities, independent of proprietary software.

According to Bengtsson, the use of ISO 10303 is new to the synthetic environment community. “Among other objectives, SIMBASE will demonstrate how coherent integration with other engineering disciplines can enhance the effectiveness of modeling and simulation.”

The project will deliver an operational SIMBASE solution and an accompanying report in May 2007. To achieve this aim, all available data from an ongoing military project will be used for full-scale tests.

Jochen Haenisch, EPMT’s technical leader for the project, says, ”This is typical for modern, complex projects involving a large number of suppliers from various industries and countries, and thus a variety of technology platforms. We will transfer all product data from all participating parties throughout the project period and store them in the SIMBASE repository, using the model server. By doing this, we will be able to test and prove the effectiveness and the potential of SIMBASE.”