2011 AGI Virtual Users' Conference Resources

USER PRESENTATIONS

Planning Airborne Network Capabilities for Mobile Ground Users – Zack Shaw, Wyle
Wyle is currently engaged in several studies, prototyping and analyses with ESC/XR and DoD customers in the Boston and Washington D.C. areas. Some activities involve test and evaluation of airborne networks and ground systems with the disadvantaged user in mind. Wyle uses STK during the planning phase for nearly every test event to predict link margin and antennae gain, and enhance technical decision-making. Decisions include optimal aircraft antenna use, placement and configuration to mitigate co-site and maximize range to ground users and also placement of ground users to either stress or optimize the network architecture. Planners used STK’s object insertion functionality to swap antenna objects on the aircraft (in this case a Cessna 206 operated by Avwatch). This helped engineers define the best possible placement and configuration of CDL waveform antennae for optimal performance. Wyle's most recent validation activity for the AF Tactical Data Network (TDN) Lab included use of STK to plan testing of advanced airborne communications that enable, among other things, full motion video (FMV) and voiceover IP (VoIP) services through an airborne gateway. Using local airspace around Hanscom AFB as well as imported DTED data, planners and stakeholders were able to clearly visualize the challenges of terrain, orbit and distance on air-to-ground communications.

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Enhanced System Architecture Design and Evaluation with STK – Tom Porter, Serco Inc.
The Department of Defense Architecture Framework (DoDAF) provides a common means for developing and representing architecture descriptions across all DoD weapons and information technology system acquisitions. DoDAF defines a set of views that act as mechanisms for visualizing, understanding and assimilating the broad scope and complexities of an architecture. Among these, the Operational View Level 1 (OV-1) provides graphical and textual description of operational concepts including its high-level organizations, missions, geographic configuration and connectivity. Traditionally, OV-1 views are limited in their ability to model and visualize the physical environment and its interaction with the architecture. This significantly reduces the accuracy of the OV-1 view and results in an inability to present the architecture to stakeholders in a visually understandable way. Serco has successfully overcome these limitations with a new tool that enables activity models from Unified Modeling Language (UML)-compliant tools to "drive" physics-based 3D graphics using STK as the simulation framework. This new tool, dubbed the UML Animator, has been the cornerstone for capabilities-based assessments, exercise planning and mission area concept of operations development and refinement. In addition, the UML Animator has proven highly successful in assisting non-architects to verify and validate architectural findings.

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System Architecture Analysis with STK – Michael Fuentes, NASA Glenn Research Center
NASA’s Space Communication and Navigation (SCaN) program has developed an integrated network architecture to advance its space operational and service capabilities to support its current and future mission users requirements. The architecture’s main requirements include a unified and networked infrastructure, high-data rate links, interoperability, standard services and the reduction of operational costs. New modeling and analysis techniques are required to rapidly define and analyze the complex architecture options while offering improvements in accessibility, flexibility and interoperability. A suite of tools comprised of COTS and custom software has been integrated into the SCaN Simulator to evaluate architecture design options, feasibility and performance. AGI’s STK is one of the tools used to model and analyze the physics, orbital dynamics and radio frequency (RF) characteristics of space communication links. Oftentimes, the issues which the SCaN program addresses involve more information than the physical properties of communication. STK provides flexibility to integrate other COTS tools and custom software to improve NASA’s modeling and simulation capabilities. With the integration for MATLAB, a new scintillation loss model was developed to improve the performance of low-elevation link analysis. By incorporating QualNet via a custom-developed interface, end-to-end network performance can be analyzed. The integration of AGI’s STK/Scheduler, QualNet and custom interface software is enabling analysis of a realistic traffic load on a network.

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Advanced Communications Network Analysis Using STK – David Gibbons, U.S. Marine Corps Combat Development Command
Mobile ad-hoc networks (MANET) are interconnected systems of wireless nodes capable of forming self-healing, self-learning communications networks. This technology enables rapid, reliable transfer of information throughout the battlespace. The Marine Corps is currently developing, purchasing and fielding new radio devices capable of forming MANET. The Marine Corps Combat Development Command (MCCDC) recently completed high-resolution simulation and analysis to determine the quantifiable advantages of using MANET architectures over traditional circuit-switched voice architectures. This study also examined MANET architectures in support of over-the-horizon amphibious operations, and quantified the ability of MANET assets to enable greater dispersion within the Marine Corps infantry battalion. The results of this study could inform procurement decisions and influence Marine Corps tactics, techniques and procedures. STK’s ability to evaluate signal strength between moving or stationary objects while taking terrain into account was a great asset in the study. With some help from AGI staff, MCCDC was able to develop code that quickly generated signal strength between every two objects of interest in the scenarios. Using STK also allowed engineers to build off of previous scenarios built in the STK environment, saving time and effort. MCCDC also used AGI’s Urban Propagation plugin (developed with Remcom) to look at an urban environment’s effect on communications when using MANET architectures.

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Delivering Competitive Situational Awareness Solutions Using AGI Software Development Kits – Mike Gingell, General Dynamics Canada
GD Canada has used STK desktop and Engine products to develop enhanced products currently fielded in Canada. Applications include tactical mission planning and monitoring and most recently an application to provide high-fidelity analysis of maritime domain awareness in the Canadian Arctic. For many applications, the STK product line is too heavy and many features are simply not required. A lightweight, component-based alternative is required in these situations, a solution that currently exists using the highly effective AGI Component libraries. This presentation will show how GD Canada uses AGI Components to reduce cost and time to market while leveraging state-of-the-art technology features that are valuable discriminators in this market.

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Imagery Data Management Solution Pattern, Mike Tait, Esri
Over the last five years, Esri has made a large investment to build imagery management, discovery and analysis capabilities into its core ArcGIS product line. In response to user requests to deploy these capabilities in their production imagery environments to support specific imagery workflows, Esri has created an imagery data management (IDM) solution for the rapid deployment of COTS ArcGIS imagery capabilities. This solution combines predefined software, hardware, data and implementation support based on Esri’s experience with deploying IDM capabilities worldwide. Additionally, Esri has worked with AGI to integrate STK capabilities to extend the IDM offering to support mission and acquisition planning, as well as enhanced imagery discovery and collection tasking. In this presentation, Esri will provide a live demonstration of the IDM capabilities, as well as an overview of the IDM solution covering capabilities, workflow, components, architecture, hardware, software, implementation and general pricing.

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Using STKv10 to Develop and Refine Integrated CONOPS - Joyce Stivers, TASC
A key concern in any military conflict is the vulnerability of space-based communication networks which support the projection of U.S. military power. As a consequence, any perceived threat to space-based communication systems will likely result in the deployment of backup airborne communication and C2 systems to mitigate the potential loss of friendly space systems. This scenario using STKv10 will show the use of timing delays between the detection of a possible threat to a communication asset and the deployment of an UAV from an aircraft carrier. The UAV will use the new Calculation Tool to determine how long it can stay airborne and safely return to the carrier. The escort satellite will use the tool to determine when it can provide a positive identification of the threat object and this will be coupled with a time delay before it is determined that the threat is in fact space debris and the UAV can be safely recalled. Since all time delays and calculations are user defined, these new STKv10 capabilities provide a very powerful tool for developing and refining CONOPS. By identifying, analyzing and coupling critical time delays and user-defined calculations, system engineering activities are well supported.

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New functions in STK 10: Benefits to our business - Lisa Li, COM DEV
This presentation outlines a few of the new functions in STK 10 as they could impact our daily activities with STK, supporting microspace mission analysis, operations planning and operational flight dynamics activities. The presentation focuses on the calculation tools, new coverage metrics, some of the display improvements and object importing, and the performance improvements.

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Using STK to Test Hardware – Steve Williams, RT Logic
RT Logic provides its clients with advanced communications link testing capability by integrating AGI’s communication systems modeling with RT Logic’s test instrumentation packages.  This allows nominal and worst-case tests to be conducted in the laboratory, significantly reducing cost and risk while dramatically improving test quality and depth with accurate scenarios that would be impossible, dangerous and/or expensive to conduct in the real world. Using the communication link characteristics and behaviors computed by AGI software, RT Logic’s T400CS Channel Simulator generates physics-compliant RF and IF signals that precisely match those encountered in nature.

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Customizing the STK Interface for Enhanced Productivity – Erick Sturm, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
This presentation will cover JPL’s Jupiter Environment Tool (JET), a custom user interface (UI) plugin for STK that provides an interface to Jupiter environment models for visualization and analysis. Users can visualize the different magnetic field models of Jupiter through various rendering methods. These rendering methods are fully integrated within STK's 3D Window, allowing users to take snapshots and make animations of their scenarios with magnetic field visualizations. Analytical data can be accessed in the form of custom vectors. Given these customs vectors, users can access magnetic field data in custom reports, graphs, access constraints, coverage analysis and anywhere else vectors are used within STK.

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Teaching Astrodynamics with STK – Virginia Tech
Faculty and students at Virginia Tech have used STK for many years, especially for space-related research. Many students, both undergraduate and graduate, are self-taught, novice users that have solved difficult research problems using STK. In spring 2011, Virginia Tech formalized the education by offering the first of its kind class for advanced undergraduate and graduate students, a one-credit, hour-long seminar entitled “Special Topics in Astrodynamics Using STK.” This presentation will focus on the course setup, administration and content; future plans for the course development, including a course entitled “Advanced STK”; and an example of one of the projects generated by the students. The project was based on a research need of designing a satellite constellation to track aerosols in the atmosphere using solar occultation.

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Simulating Mobile Hardware and the GNSS Solution by Integrating Spirent's SimGEN with STK – John Pottle, Spirent Positioning Technology
Modeling and simulation of prototype hardware in real GNSS environments is expensive and time consuming, but essential in order to understand the performance characteristics prior to full scale manufacture. Spirent develops and manufactures hardware/software products to stimulate and evaluate the performance of stationary and mobile GNSS hardware systems under a wide range of conditions. AGI's STK excels at the generation, ease of use, and fidelity, depiction and analysis of aircraft and spacecraft trajectories. Further, it's multiple API's enable easy integration with other systems. AGI and Spirent have created an integration between STK and Spirent's SimGENTM GNSS RF simulator control software. This integration provides STK-derived asset mission routes, either in advance of, or in real-time, to Spirent's SimGEN hardware/software suite. The combination of STK and SimGEN more easily and accurately simulates and visualizes mobile hardware (aircraft or spacecraft) and the GNSS solution associated with that hardware. Both the STK or SimGEN simulated GNSS derived position and the Unit Under Test (UUT), can be visualized, explored and geometrically analyzed during the operation of the test. This presentation will introduce the software suites, demonstrate how the integration works, what it achieves and why it matters.

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Enhanced Understanding of Communications Networks on Your Mission with QualNet and STK - Lloyd Wihl, Scalable Network Technologies
Modern warfare relies on timely and effective information-sharing, making a robust communications network mission critical. Today’s complex network communication infrastructures face challenges that threaten performance, security and operations. It is not enough to know the health of your network. It is imperative to understand its impact on fundamental operational abilities – sensing, processing, moving, shooting and communicating. If you’re not positive that your communications network will support you, you’re not ready to embark on your mission. Mission readiness requires panning, testing and training. Communications readiness requires scalable solutions that allow you to plan for every scenario across thousands of live and simulated nodes. STK’s rich 3D geometry environment can now integrate the mission’s supporting network in stunning detail. Test current and future radio effectiveness before physical acquisition and deployment. Leverage QualNet’s extensive library of legacy military and JTRS radio models to test new radio designs integrated with precise aircraft models, ground vehicles and satellite constellations, in detailed terrain and atmospheric conditions. Train to defend the cyber battlefield with hands-on software virtual networks, including malicious packet-level intrusion and disruptions like jamming and eavesdropping, man-in-the-middle. AGI and Scalable Network Technologies (SNT) have integrated their products in a unified, powerful modeling and simulation offering that can ensure mission success by enabling informed, early decisions and response to network performance issues, cyber security threats, and net-centric operations. Benefits include better prediction of operational effectiveness, better understanding of the impact of communication networks on the mission, increased realism and improved mission readiness.

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Integrated Naval and Air Simulation and Modeling with STK and H3 MilSim – Don Gilman, Advanced Gaming Systems Inc.
With the integration of STK and H3 MilSim, you can experience the ability to quickly and efficiently construct naval and air simulations that define your problem space and then allow you to explore that space in multiple environments with precision modeling tools. Examine specific issues ranging from GPS access for precision strike weapons, communications links and nets for network-centric considerations as well as detailed assessments of radar performance, electronic warfare possibilities and asset vulnerability assessments. H3 MilSim provides the key to unlock the full value of simulation and modeling for a wide range of users in homeland security, military operations, training and education as well as technology and policy analysis. Due to its unique two-part design, H3 MilSim provides flexibility and multi-level security support for database independence. The same simulation engine (and scenarios) can use databases based on commercial information sources through to Top Secret. The simulation engine provides enhanced doctrine capabilities to further refine your simulation objectives and it is also possible to enhance existing measures with custom made add-ons. Presentation of complex issues, particularly sensor and weapon engagements, using both 2-D and 3-D capabilities increases the understanding of all concerned, but especially senior decision makers who have limited time to consider the detail and implications of major issues.

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AGI IGNITE PRESENTATIONS

How to Customize Your STK User Interface
Using our UI plugin architecture, you can create custom toolbars, context menus or dialog windows to build specific workflows and processes right into the STK application. Learn how to:

  • Use STK’s API to create your own workflow
  • Integrate with your other tools from within STK
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How to Incorporate STK Into Your MBSE Toolset
Learn the role of STK’s mission modeling and analysis as part of a Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) approach to more efficiently develop and analyze new concepts.
  • Combine commercially available tools to pull the best of industry
  • Simulate entire system designs within the mission context
  • Vary system parameters to tradeoff capability for cost
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What's Coming in STK 10 - New Computational Analysis Tools
With the upcoming STK 10, we are adding two new tools to make it even easier to utilize STK’s analytical power for all of your problems.
Time Tool
  • Name any time instance, interval or interval collection
  • Replace explicit time specifications with named timed entities
  • Establish and easily modify relative mission timelines

Calculation Tool

  • Generate custom calculations with this UI-based tool
  • Perform analysis without programming or external post-processing
  • Use results in reports, graphs and access constraints
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What's Coming in STK - Parallel Coverage Computations
Significantly accelerate your computationally intensive STK analyses by distributing calculations across multiple CPUs residing on a local machine, server or cloud. Example applications include:
  • Coverage analysis involving many coverage assets, large geographic areas, high-resolution terrain, long analysis periods or computationally intensive figures of merit
  • Trade studies with very large dimensions and computationally heavy output metrics
  • Monte Carlo analysis involving thousands of trials
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What's Coming in STK 10 - 2D Map Improvements
We understand that 2D is important, too, so STK’s 2D map control has been completely redone in STK 10. In addition to improved usability (e.g. zoom/ pan), enhancements include:
  • 4x improvement in rendering frame rate
  • Translucency for improved color overlays
  • Support for Bing streaming imagery
  • Esri Map Document support
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