Simulation in Crisis Response

1
Simulation in Crisis Response

Frederick Kuhl, P.E., Ph.D.
OMG Yokohama MeetingApril 2002
MITRE
2
Simulation Is Used Widely in Civil and Military
Preparations for Crisis Response

• Computer-based simulation and modeling is used by
  civil and military organizations to prepare for
  crisis response
• Uses of simulation fall into several categories
• Training of individuals and small groups
• Training of large groups or staffs
• Analysis and prediction of consequences of crises

3
In Civilian Crisis Response, Simulation Usually
Means Role-Playing

• Simulation of a crisis involves many people
  playing a variety of roles
• emergency medical technicians
• chemical technicians
• government authorities and police
• injured or ill persons
• Usual goals are to test and rehearse procedures
• Such simulations are conducted by
• Local and federal governments
• Hospitals and schools
• Computer simulation is used alongside
  role-playing to change the exercise script as
  simulation progresses

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Computer Simulation to Train Local Officials

• Role playing involves many people and trains many
  people
• Computer simulation is more widespread in
  training individuals
• Hazardous materials incident
• Simulation runs on personal computer video,
  audio, computer graphics
• E.g., International Association of Emergency
  Managers, http//www.iaem.com/body_fema_hazmat_sim
  ulation.html

5
Distributed Simulation Not Widespread in Civil
Crisis Response

• Military uses distributed simulation for training
• Often conducts command post exercises to train
  military staffs
• Training audience often geographically dispersed
• Training simulation often combines diverse
  computer models, e.g., air, land, sea warfare
• OMG technologies used for distributed simulation
• Distributed simulation not widespread in civil
  use
• Technically feasible
• Perhaps civil training audience less dispersed
  geographically
• There may not exist as many civil computer models
  to be combined

6
Civil Simulation for Analysis Quite Common

• Simulation used to predict consequences of
• Accidents at chemical or nuclear facilities
• Nuclear, biological or blast weapons of mass
  destruction
• Hurricanes or earthquakes

• E.g., Science Applications International
  Corporation,http//www.saic.com/natsec/model.htm
  l

7
Transportation Security Administration Prepares
to Use Simulation

• TSA organized after attacks on September 11
• TSA is responsible for security of all
  transportation in the U.S. immediate concern is
  civil air transportation
• TSA is organizing research efforts in
• Analysis of passenger and baggage screening in
  airports
• Architecture of information systems to support
  passenger screening
• Training of security personnel on aircraft
• Training of command center staffs

8
U.S. Military NATO Execute Operations Other
Than War (OOTW)

• Examples of OOTW
• Civil affairs and psychological operations
• Peace-keeping
• Humanitarian and disaster-relief operations
• OOTW combine and blur distinction between
  military operations and civil government
• Use of simulation in OOTW falls into same
  categories as in civil crisis response
• individual and small-unit training
• staff training in larger exercises
• analysis and prediction

9
U.S. Army Exploring Use of Entertainment
Technology for Individual Training

• Institute for Creative Technologies, Univ.
  Southern California, has contract to apply
  entertainment and game technologies to immersive
  training

• Individual or small group immersed in realistic
  video and sound using film and game techniques
• Subjects are required to make decisions in real
  time under pressure
• Scenarios often from OOTW or interactions with
  civil population
• See http//www.ict.usc.edu/

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Staff Training in OOTW Deployable Exercise System

• Training support system for staff exercises
• Models objects and environment suitable for OOTW
  scenarios
• System being moved to distributed platform
  chiefly to incorporate other simulations

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Where Standards Can Play a Role

• Standards become more important as the degree of
  coupling between simulations increases
• Typical standalone training simulation requires
  no coupling
• Coordination of analytical results requires
  common data models, including geospatial
  information
• Federation of simulations requires common data
  models and technical infrastructure
• Technical problems between nations the same as
  within
• Common data models for civil crisis planning do
  not exist military OOTW models could be starting
  point
• Common environment models exist, E.g., SEDRIS,
  GIS standards
• Simulation interoperability standards High Level
  Architecture for MS, an OMG standard

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Summary

• Simulation is in wide use in crisis response,
  both civil and military
• Use of simulation follows usual pattern
• Analysis
• Individual training
• Staff training
• Crisis response is unusual in large-scale
  simulation by role-playing
• OMG technologies for distributed simulation are
  used in the military not used much in civil
  applications thus far