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Standards
Simulation Australia is working with a number of organisations to contribute to the definition of simulation-related standards:
Body of Knowledge Prize
The Prize
As well as awarding SimTecT Best Paper and Best Student Paper, Simulation Australia also awards a best Body of Knowledge prize to that paper which best contributes to the development of standards, capture of best practice or contribution to the Australian Simulation community's body of knowledge. The award will provide up to $5,000 for travel and accommodation relating to presentation of that paper at the next SISO SIW, normally held in the US or Europe.
Criteria
Authors are invited to submit a paper for this award, which will be judged on the following criteria:
- Awareness of the place the work occupies within the simulation community of practice - either by reference to other work or by review of associated literature.
- Contribution to the best practice in development of simulation systems or simulation based methodologies.
- Innovation in the use of simulation, especially in ways that address Australian opportunities.
- Degree to which the work makes use of, or contributes to the development of, simulation standards.
The prize is open to all authors who submit an abstract to the forthcoming SimTecT.
Background
A central part of any conference is the papers. The proceedings of each year's SimTecT holds a broad range of viewpoints, insights into tools and methodology, and an invaluable snapshot of the status of simulation in Australia. Year on year, ideas are raised, become widespread, are adapted and critiqued, and each year's SimTecT papers are a constant improvement in quality and breadth over the previous years.
To further encourage excellence in papers submitted, each year Simulation Australia provides a Best Paper Award of up to $5,000 towards presentation of that paper at I/ITSEC in Orlando. So, as part of the review process, each paper submitted to the conference is scored for Clarity, Originality, Relevance to the conference themes, & Importance to the field. This applies to both refereed papers and non-refereed papers.
Over the last few years, the practice of simulation has grown and developed to the point where it is recognised as a profession in its own right, distinct from the physicists and psychologists, engineers and medical doctors that practice this discipline. Some of the main characteristics of a recognised profession are:
- Strong ethics;
- Well established professional organizations;
- Well defined Body of Knowledge; and,
- Common education & professional certification programs.
Simulation Australia strongly contributes to each of these areas, but in order to further promote the development of the collective capability of our community, Simulation Australia will now also make the best Body of Knowledge award.
Timing
Closing date: TBA
Winner announced by email.
Award Winners
2010
In 2010, the inaugural winner of the Body of Knowledge Award was Paul Pearce, from Deep Blue Tech, for his paper: A Roadmap For Simulation-Based Acquisition.
How to Submit
Submit a paper at the next SimTecT.
I'm excited about how this can help us group as a community, and I especially look forward to seeing contributions from the mining, transport and construction communities, as well as from well established communities such as defence.
Best of luck in your submissions,
Michael McGarity
Chair, Simulation Australia Standards Committee
Simulation Interoperability Standards Organization - Australia
Simulation Australia and SISO have established the Australia Standing Study Group (SISO Australia) to liaise and inform the Simulation Interoperability Standards Organization in order to meet the needs of the Australian simulation community.
Download the SISO Australia:
SISO has established an , which is a public forum to inform the SISO Australia community, and to communicate with the SISO Australia Committee.
Vision
To liaise and inform the International Simulation Interoperability Standards Organisation in order to meet the needs of the Australian Simulation community.
Mission
- Actively contribute to and coordinate the development of international standards that meet the needs of the Australian simulation community;
- Promote the existence and benefits of standards within the Australian community; and
- Encourage active Australian community involvement in the Standards formulation process.
Benefits of Actively Contributing to SISO Australia
- Receive a free membership of SISO, and Simulation Australia (for up to two years)
- Eligible for sponsored attendance at a SISO workshop in the US or Europe (one per year)
- Subject area leaders recognised as "Australian Experts".
SISO Description
The Simulation Interoperability Standards Organisation is a US-based, but international organisation that is focussed on facilitating simulation interoperability across a wide spectrum. SISO provides forums, educates the Modelling & Simulation (M&S) community on implementation, and supports standards development. SISO runs Simulation Interoperability Workshops - two in the US and one in Europe each year and also the Behavioural Representation in M&S Conferences (BRIMS). SISO membership now exceeds 1400 from 28 countries, representing well over 400 organizations, including commercial, academic, government, and military agencies.
While its charter addresses simulation interoperability (largely DIS/HLA), SISO is really much broader and spans many aspects of M&S activities.
SISO is open to anyone to join and contribute and has strong non-US membership. Anyone can subscribe to the reflectors and follow and contribute to the often-interesting discussions. However, the SISO Australia Standing Study Group ensures the contribution of members of the Australian simulation community is rationalized and formalized for greater impact.
Active SISO Study Groups
| Study Group | Country Lead |
| Common Image Generator Interface (CIGI SSG) | |
| Discrete-Event Systems Specification (DEVS SG) | |
| Generic Methodology for VV&A in the M&S Domain (GM-VV SG) | |
| HLA Performance Recommended Practice (HPRP SG) | |
| Extensible Modeling and Simulation Framework Profile (XMSF Profile SG) | |
| Intelligent Tutoring System Interoperability (ITSI SG) | |
| Mode 5/Select Identification Friend or Foe (Mode 5/S IFF SG) | |
| Simulation Conceptual Modeling (SCM SG) | |
| Transfer of Control (TC SG) | |
| SCORM - Simulation Interface Standards (SCORM-Sim SG) | |
| Economics of Modeling and Simulation (EM&S SSG) | |
| Live, Virtual, Constructive (LVC) Architecture Interoperability (LVC SG) | |
| Message Passing for Simulation-based Collaborative Engineering Design (Message-Sim) SG |
SISO Product Development Groups
| Product Development | Country Lead |
| Base Object Model Specification (BOM PDG) | |
| Coalition - Battle Management Language (C-BML SG) | |
| Core Manufacturing Simulation Data (CMSD PDG) | |
| Commercial Off-the-Shelf Simulation Package Interoperability (CSPI PDG) | |
| Distributed Interactive Simulation Extension (DIS PDG) | |
| High Level Architecture-Evolved (HLA-Evolved PDG) | |
| Link 11 A/B Network Simulation Standard (Link 11 A/B PDG) | |
| Link-16 Simulation Standard (Link-16 PDG) | |
| Military Scenario Definition Language (MSDL SG) | |
| Real-Time Platform Reference Federation Object Model (RPR FOM PDG) | |
| Simulation Reference Markup Language (SRML SG) | |
| Verification, Validation & Accreditation Overlay to Federation Development (VV&A PDG) | |
| HLA Federation Development and Execution Process (FEDEP) **NEW** | |
| Generic Methodology for Verification and Validation and Acceptance (GM -V&V) **NEW** |
Joining SISO Australia
To apply for membership, complete the Nomination Form, and include it in an email to the . Your application will be considered by the SISO Australia Committee.
Obtaining a Simulation Australia Sponsored SISO Membership
To achieve the simultaneous aims of encouraging active participation in standards activities and adding value to Simulation Australia memberships, the following process is used:
- Corporate Simulation Australia Members will be offered two SISO memberships to distribute to nominated individuals within their organisation.
- Simulation Australia Members will be encouraged to only take up the SISO membership offer if the individuals they nominate will be active contributors.
- The SISO Australia Committee will receive nominations for individuals to receive a SISO membership. Such nominations may come from the individual or from a third party (including members of the SISO Australia Committee). The nomination should include the area of standards activity in which the individual intends to contribute, and the anticipated level of contribution, as per the Nomination Form.
- The SISO Australia Committee will ascertain the Simulation Australia membership status of the individual, and review the nomination for applicability and merit.
- After review, the nomination may be accepted by a majority vote of the SISO Australia committee.
- Upon acceptance of the nomination, Simulation Australia will be informed and a SISO membership allocated to the individual.
- The Simulation Australia Executive Officer will coordinate the allocation of the 100 SISO Memberships, and will inform SISO of any changes.
SISO Australia Committee
The SISO Australia Committee has the following roles:
- Chair: Head of the Committee, charged with leading meetings, approving agendas, being the SISO EXCOM liaison and in general being the Committee spokesman;
- Vice Chair: Provides the function of the Chairman in the event that the Chairman cannot provide that function; and
- Members (up to 15): attend the meetings (normally by phone), actively participate and contribute to discussions in order to support the responsibilities of the Committee.
As a result of the elections which closed on 1 December 2006, members of the SISO Australia committee are:
| Name | Organisation |
| Michael McGarity (Chair) | Raytheon |
|---|---|
| Craig Pepper (Deputy-Chair) | Boeing |
| Peter Hill (Secretary) | Simulation Australia |
| Shane Arnott | Boeing |
| John Morrison | |
| Peter Radonyi | Jacobs Australia |
| Peter Ryan | DSTO |
| Chris Skinner | DisPlay |
| David Stratton | Uni of Ballarat |
| Grant Tudor | Army |
| Lucien Zalcman | Zalcman Consulting |
SISO SiWs
Simulation Australia may sponsor a representative to attend a SISO SiW. Selection is based on merit, and a report must be produced, which can be distributed.
Dr Peter Ross from DSTO attended the DIS PDG Standards Meeting, at the Fall Simulation Interoperability Workshop, Orlando, USA, from 17 to 21 September 2007.
Download the report.
SISO / SIAA Meeting November 2005
On 28th November, representatives from SISO and the SIAA met at I/ITSEC to review SISO Australia's Terms of Reference.
Attendees were:
| SISO | SIAA |
| Rick Severinghaus | Shane Arnott |
| Sam Knight | Craig Pepper |
| Katherine Morse | Anthony Nixon |
| Peter Hill | |
| Peter Ryan |
Standards Australia
Simulation Australia is co-operating with Standards Australia on the IT-031 Computer Modelling and Simulation committee.
A sub-committee has been formed as a focus for SIAA's contributions:
| Michael McGarity | CAE | |
|---|---|---|
| Craig Pepper | Boeing |
ADF DIS Enumerations Standard
The Standards Sub-Committee has produced a draft Distributive Interactive Simulation Enumerations standard for use in connection with Australian Defence Force. The Draft ADF DIS Enumerations Standard document may be found in the Library.
Details of further activities will be posted as they become available.