Agent-Directed Simulation (ADS'05) 

Part of the 2006 Spring Simulation Multiconference (SpringSim'06)

DEVS Agents to Support Conformance Testing of Emerging Defense Information Standards

by

Bernard P. Zeigler,

Arizona Center for Integrative Modeling and Simulation, and

Joint Interoperability Test Command

Fort Huachuca, AZ 85613-7051

Using the Agent-Directed Simulation (ADS’06) conference’s definition, “agent-supported simulation deals with the use of agents as a support facility to enable computer assistance in problem solving or enhancing cognitive capabilities.”  In this talk, I will make use of the agent-supported simulation metaphor to show how DEVS modeling and simulation methodology is attaining core-technology status in the infrastructure for standards conformance testing of information technology-based defense systems. The overall context of the talk is the development of automated test case generation for testing new defense systems for conformance to military tactical data link standards (which constitutes a significant and necessary step for evaluating system interoperability in Joint and multinational operations).  In particular, the DEVS formalism has proved capable of capturing the information-processing complexities underlying the MIL-STD-6016C standard for message exchange and collaboration among radar sensors and control systems. An emerging family, the current version already goes beyond specifying basic message formats to constraining dialogic protocols for radar track observation and sharing; extensions are under way to push further into collaborative agent approaches for formation of integrated battle space pictures. Viewed as agent technology for testing the behavior of multi-agent systems, this testing context serves as an apt one to expose the DEVS modeling and simulation methodology as a generic agent-based support facility for enhancing the cognitive capabilities of human testers of complex defense information standards.