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Sunday, December
12, 1999 From another place:
The following is a slightly edited version of
an item from one of the mailing lists that I read:
The reuse of some object-oriented code has caused tactical
headaches for Australia's armed forces. As virtual reality
simulators assume larger roles in helicopter combat training,
programmers have gone to great lengths to increase the realism
of their scenarios, including detailed landscapes and - in the
case of the Northern Territory's Operation Phoenix- herds of
kangaroos (since disturbed animals might well give away a
helicopter's position).
The head of the Defense Science &; Technology Organization's
Land Operations/Simulation division reportedly instructed
developers to model the local marsupials' movements and
reactions to helicopters. Being efficient programmers, they
just re-appropriated some code originally used to model infantry
detachment reactions under the same stimuli, changed the mapped
icon from a soldier to a kangaroo, and increased the figures'
speed of movement.
The newly modified software was demontrated to a visiting
team of Americans. The hotshot Aussie pilots "buzzed" the
virtual kangaroos in low flight during the simulation. The
kangaroos scattered, as predicted, and the visiting Americans
nodded appreciatively... then did a double-take as the
kangaroos reappeared from behind a hill and launched a barrage
of Stinger missiles at the hapless helicopter. (Apparently the
programmers had forgotten to remove that part of the infantry
coding.)
The lesson? Objects are defined with certain attributes,
and any new object defined in terms of an old one inherits
all the attributes. The embarrassed programmers had learned
to be careful when reusing object-oriented code, and the Yanks
left with a newfound respect for Australian wildlife.
Simulator supervisors report that pilots from that point
onward have strictly avoided kangaroos, just as they were
meant to.
-- From June 15, 1999 Defense Science and Technology
Organization Lecture Series, Melbourne, Australia, and
staff reports
---
Sams
Teach Yourself the Internet in Ten Minutes 2nd Edition by Galen Grimes
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understand.
The official story:
You've probably been sent a few versions of this (though it is much
less common than than the original story), but just in case you haven't...
This particular message was forwarded by someone to the sfconsim (i.e.
science fiction wargame) mailing list, in response to the posting of the
original story.
> > ---------- > > From: Grisogono, Anne-Marie > >
Sent: Monday, July 12, 1999 5:26:05 PM > > To: LOD All > >
Subject: official reply to virtual kangaroo emyth > > Auto forwarded
by a Rule > > >Hi everyone > >Apparently this e-myth has
been rebounding to some of you, so here is the >official reply.
>Please feel free to send on to any of your correspondents. . . and
>apologies >to anyone who has been inconvenienced by it. >
>This story has gone around the globe a few times I reckon. It's been
>discussed in Parliament, reported on in the press, and keeps being
>forwarded >to me from all corners. Anyway, here below is the answer
I send anyone who >asks about it. Now I know how e-myths arise and
evolve! > >Regards >Anne-Marie >
>============================= > >It's probably too late to
recall and correct the story (it's already been >forwarded to me by
several different sources) but since you ask, here is >the >kernel
of truth in it: >I related this story as part of a talk on Simulation
for Defence, at the >Australian Science Festival on May 6th in
Canberra. >The Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter mission simulators built
by the >Synthetic Environments Research Facility in Land Operations
Division of >DSTO, do indeed fly in a fairly high fidelity environment
which is a 4000 >sq >km piece of real outback Australia around
Katherine, built from elevation >data, overlaid with aerial photographs
and with 2.5 million realistic 3d >trees placed in the terrain in those
areas where the photographs indicated >real trees actually exist.
>For a bit of extra fun (and not for any strategic reason like
kangaroos >betraying your cover!) our programmers decided to put in a
bit of animated >wildlife. Since ModSAF is our simulation tool, these
were modelled on
[That's Modular Semi-Automated Forces--units controlled by the computer
using game-quality AI--Brian]
>ModSAF's Stinger detachments so that the associated detection model
could >be >used to determine when a helo approached, and the
behaviour invoked by such >contact was set to 'retreat'. Replace the
visual model of the Stinger >detachment in your stealth viewer with a
visual model of a kangaroo (or >buffalo...) and you have wildlife that
moves away when approached. It is >true that the first time this was
tried in the lab, we discovered that we >had forgotten to remove the
weapons and the 'fire' behaviour. It is NOT
>true >that this happened in front of a bunch of visitors
(American or any other >flavour). We dont normally try things for the
first time in front of an >audience! >What I didnt relate in the
talk is that since we were not at that stage >interested in weapons, we
had not set any weapon or projectile types, so >what the kangaroos
fired at us was in fact the default object for the >simulation, which
happened to be large multicoloured beachballs. >I ususally conclude the
story by reassuring the audience that we have now >disarmed the
kangaroos and it is again safe to fly in Australia. >well, now you
know.... >:-) >Anne-Marie >Dr Anne-Marie Grisogono >Head,
Simulation >Land Operations Division >DSTO > >PO Box 1500
>Salisbury 5108 >South Australia > >ph +618 8259 6532 >fx
+618 8259 5055 >
Evan Powles epowles@peninsula.starway.net.au
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