Case Study in M&S Re-use: EPSim Pioneer UAV External Pilot Trainer

1. Case Study in M&S Re-use:EPSimPioneer UAV External Pilot Trainer Jeffrey Wallace

2. Problem Statement/Requirement • The Pioneer UAV requires an external pilot for recovery • Fly into a net stretched across the back of an Austin class LPD • Land on a short landing strip • Shipboard recovery is a very difficult task • Turbulence around the superstructure of the ship is strong enough to drastically effect the air vehicle • No way to practice, and skills erode rapidly • Existing methods of flight simulator construction at the time were insufficient to build an effective training system • Average cost of a mishap cost $500K - $1M • Time to refurbish problematic too

3. Solution • Create a trainer based on high-fidelity engineering and design level models AND data • Non-linear 6DOF model • Immersive visualization • Employ the real control boxes

4. Re-use of Components • Non-linear 6DOF code • DMSO Environmental Effects in DIS Demo co-funded with Army 6.1 program • High-fidelity performance data • Pioneer UAV wind tunnel data from a Naval Postgraduate School master’s thesis • Open source visualization code

5. EPSim • Hardware • Onyx and Octane series platforms • Kaiser Electro-Optics head-mounted displays • Polhemus and Intersense trackers • BG Systems A/D converters • Budget • Low seven digits • Time • First system delivered in nine months • Result • Mishaps dropped off considerably

6. Summary • Always look for opportunities to re-use assets • Avoid NIH syndrome • I do not mean the National Institutes of Health!!! • Resources will only become more scarce, so an organized theory and practice of re-use should be created • Responsiveness leads to user and sponsor satisfaction • Business takes care of itself