Modelling and Simulation Means Prizes: NATO MSaaS Jam 2023
In another first, the Warfighter Podcast are very pleased to be able to work with NATO Modelling and Simulation Working Group to cover their latest initiative - the MSaaS Jam, hosted at the Tech Grove, Orlando, Florida. For those that don’t know this is the spiritual home for Modelling & Simulation across the US DoD.
Over a weekend in June, teams were invited to a ‘hackathon’ style event, fed pizzas and Mountain Dew, and asked to develop a novel simulation service that is scalable, agile, and suitable for training or experimentation.
Teams could take part in person, or remotely as either a participant, SME or observer with the chance for teams to win $5,000. The top three teams were invited to present their solutions to the NATO MSaaS Working Group, as well as be featured at I/ITSEC 2023.
This interview was recorded in two parts, featuring Robert Seigfried (Co-Chair NATO Distributed Simulation Training), Chris McGroarty from U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command - Soldier Center and the winning team (AKA The Topography Troopers) from SimBlocks.io and Applied Research Associates, Inc. Jordan Dauble from SimBlocks joins us in the second half to talk about the experience, and what it took to make the winning solution.
A fascinating initiative from NATO NMSG that sought to break down some of the innovation barriers and introduce new approaches and thinking to distributed simulation. We look forward to covering this event in the future!
Hosts:
- Tom Constable: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-constable/
- Colin Hillier: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colinhillier/
Guests:
- Robert Seigfried: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-siegfried-aditerna/
- Chris McGroarty: U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command - Soldier Center
- Jordan Dauble: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordan-dauble/
Links:
- Website: https://www.warfighterpodcast.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/warfighter-digital/
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkgiH-cwmyc2I2Iyc8MLYtg
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/WarfighterPod
Episode Sponsor: NATO NMSG
NATO and nations use simulation environments for various purposes, such as training, capability development, mission rehearsal, and decision support in acquisition processes or in operations.. Consequently, Modelling and Simulation (M&S) has become a critical capability for the Alliance. M&S products are highly valuable resources and it is essential that M&S products, data, and processes are conveniently accessible to a large number of users as often as possible. However, achieving interoperability between simulation systems and ensuring the credibility of results currently requires large efforts with regard to time, personnel, and budget.
Recent developments in cloud computing technology and service-oriented architectures offer opportunities to better utilise M&S capabilities in order to satisfy NATO's critical needs.
M&S as a Service (MSaaS) is a concept that includes service orientation and the provision of M&S applications via the as-a-service model of cloud computing to enable more composable simulation environments that can be deployed and executed on demand. The MSaaS paradigm supports stand-alone use as well as integration of multiple simulated and real systems into a unified cloud-based simulation environment whenever the need arises.
Robert Siegfried
Chair NMSG / CEO Aditerna
Dr. Robert Siegfried is Senior Consultant for IT/M&S projects and Managing Director of Aditerna. For the German Armed Forces, he has worked on documentation guidelines, model management systems, distributed simulation test beds and process models. Since April 2020 Dr. Siegfried is Chairman of the NATO Modelling and Simulation Group (NMSG). For more than 10 years Robert is an active member of various NMSG working groups and for more than 8 years Robert is leading the NMSG’s “Modelling and Simulation as a Service” (MSaaS) efforts. Dr. Siegfried and his team earned two NATO Science and Technology Organization (STO) Scientific Achievement Awards for their efforts on MSaaS. Dr. Siegfried is involved in various simulation-related standardization efforts and was a long-time member of the Executive Committee of the Simulation Interoperability Standards Organization (SISO). He is author of more than 30 scientific papers and serves as track chair or program committee member for highly recognized conferences like the Winter Simulation Conference and the annual NMSG Symposium. He is Guest Editor of the Journal for Defense Modeling and Simulation.
Chris McGroarty
Chief Engineer, Advanced Simulation, U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command - Soldier Center (DEVCOM SC)
Chris McGroarty is the Chief Engineer for Advanced Simulation at the US Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, Soldier Center, Simulation and Training Technology Center (DEVCOM SC STTC). His research interests include distributed simulation, simulation architectures, applications of Artificial Intelligence Technologies to simulation, novel computing architectures, innovative methods for user-simulation interaction, methodologies for making simulation more accessible by non-simulation experts, future simulation frameworks, and the application of videogame industry technologies. He manages and leads a variety of research efforts that mature, integrate and demonstrate these technologies in a relevant Army and Department of Defense context. He received his Master of Science and Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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