Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dk4vv Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T04:22:41.802Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Convergence: Commodity flight simulation and the future

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 February 2016

K. Takeda ,
S. J. Newman ,
J. Kenny  and
M. Zyskowski
K. Takeda
Affiliation:
School of Engineering Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
S. J. Newman
Affiliation:
School of Engineering Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
J. Kenny
Affiliation:
School of Engineering Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
M. Zyskowski
Affiliation:
Microsoft Corporation, One Microsoft Way, Redmond, USA
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The development of commodity flight simulation, in the form of PC game technology, continues to advance at a rapid pace. Indeed, the software industry is now being driven primarily by the requirements of gaming, digital media, and other entertainment applications. This has largely been due to the commoditisation of computer hardware, which is apparent when considering recent trends in central processing unit and graphics processor development.

The flight simulation industry has benefited from this trend of hardware commoditisation, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. It is, however, yet to fully realise the potential for leveraging commodity-off-the-shelf (COTS) software. In this paper the opportunities presenting themselves for the next 25 years of flight simulation are discussed, as the aviation and games software industry’s requirements converge. A SWOT (strengths-weaknesses-opportunities-threats) analysis of the commodity flight simulation software industry is presented, including flight modelling, scenery generation, multiplayer technology, artificial intelligence, mission planning, and event handling. Issues such as data portability, economics, licensing, intellectual-property, interoperability, developer extensibility, robustness, qualification, and maintainability are addressed.

Microsoft Flight Simulator is used as a case study of how commodity flight simulation has been extended to include extensive programmatic access to its core engine. Examples are given on how the base platform of this application can be extended by third-party developers and the power this extensibility model provides to the industry.

This paper is presented to highlight particular technology trends in the commodity flight simulation industry, the fidelity that commodity flight simulations can provide, and to provide a high-level overview of the strengths and weaknesses thereof.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Aeronautical Journal , Volume 112 , Issue 1136 , October 2008 , pp. 599 - 607
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Aeronautical Society 2008 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1. Allerton, D.J., Flight simulation – past, present and future, Aeronaut J, 2000, 104, (1042), pp 651–663.Google Scholar
2. Moore, G.E., Cramming more components onto integrated circuits, Electronics, 1965, 38, (8).Google Scholar
3. http://www.top500.org Google Scholar
4. Takeda, K., Allsopp, N.K., Hardwick, J.C., Macey, P.C., Nicole, D.A., Cox, S.J. and Lancaster, D.J., An assessment of MPI environments for Windows NT, J Supercomputing, 2001, 19, (3), pp 315–324.Google Scholar
5. Zyskowski, M.K., Aircraft simulation techniques used in low-cost, commercial software, 2003, AIAA 2003-5818.Google Scholar
6. http://www.flightgear.org Google Scholar
7. Sweetman, J., Coward, D. and Johnstone, G., The Dambusters, Time Warner Books, 2003, ISBN 0316726184.Google Scholar
8. Anon, JAR-STD3AGoogle Scholar
9. Takeda, K. and Newman, S.J., A COTS-based multi-crew flight simulator for low-level VFR. AFM 05/07, Technical Report, School of Engineering Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK, 2005.Google Scholar
10. Herbrich, R. and Graepel, T., Trueskill: A Bayesian skill rating system, Microsoft Research Technical Report, MSR-TR-2006-80, 2006 Google Scholar
11. http://www.wwiionline.com Google Scholar
12. Zyda, M., Mayberry, A., Wardynski, C., Shilling, R. and Davis, M., The MOVES institute’s America’s army operations game, Proc. SIGGRAPH, 2003, pp 219–220, 2003, ISBN:1-58113-645-5.Google Scholar
13. Modeling and Simulation: Linking Entertainment and Defense, Computer Science and Telecommunications Board, National Research Council, National Academies Press, ISBN 0-309-05842-2, 1997.Google Scholar
14. https://www.dmso.mil/public/transition/hla/ Google Scholar
15. Jackson, E.B. and Hildreth, B.L., Flight dynamics model exchange using XML, AIAA Modeling and Simulation Conference, Monterey, California, USA, 2002, AIAA paper 2002-4482.Google Scholar
16. Standards for the Exchange of Simulation Modeling Data AIAA Modelling and Simulation Technical Committee, Preliminary Draft, January 2003.Google Scholar
17. Artwick, B.A., A versatile computer-generated dynamic flight display, Aviation Research Laboratory, Institute of Aviation, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Office of Naval Research, 1975.Google Scholar
18. http://www.fsinsider.com Google Scholar
19. http://www.vatsim.net Google Scholar
20. http://www.jeppesen.com/wlcs/html/ad/simcharts.jsp Google Scholar
21. http://www.precisionmanuals.com/ Google Scholar
22. http://www.flight1software.com/showcase/fsdiscover Google Scholar
23. http://www.hifisim.com/products.html Google Scholar
24. http://sourceforge.net/projects/tileproxy Google Scholar
25. Allerton, D.J., The case for flight simulation in general aviation, Aeronaut J, 2002, 108, (1065), pp 607–612.Google Scholar
26. http://cigi.sourceforge.net Google Scholar