ITC/USA 2006 Conference Proceedings / The Forty-Second Annual International Telemetering Conference and Technical Exhibition / October 23-26, 2006 / Town and Country Resort & Convention Center, San Diego, California / In this paper we provide the motivation for a neutral instrumentation hardware abstraction language that is focused on the description and control of instrumentation systems and networks. We also describe the design approach and structure of such a language that meets the needs. The language design is described according to the three roles it must serve: (1) as a descriptive language for specifying and describing the components and configuration of an instrumentation system, (2) as a command language for issuing configuration and data commands to instrumentation hardware and (3) as a query language for requesting the current state of instrumentation hardware.

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 20-23, 2003 / Riviera Hotel and Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada / This paper presents the description of a new XML-based data display language called Data Display Markup Language (DDML) that can be used as an interlingua for different data display configuration formats. Translation of data display configuration between various vendor- formats can be accomplished by translating in and out of DDML. The DDML can also be used as a vendor-neutral format for archiving and retrieving display configurations in a test and evaluation (T&E) configuration repository.

Companies often require designers to work with and operate between different computer-aided design (CAD) systems. To interoperate between these systems, a neutral design standard for CAD models is needed that allows for generation, customization, and parameterization. Current standards often fail to incorporate file history and design intent. The research proposes a simplified, neutral design format that can be used to generate models in different CAD systems. The format proposes additional functionality not yet found in existing neutral formats or scripts. The system was tested by generating models in both NX and CATIA, then comparing the models for accuracy, flexibility, and similarity of the results. Utilizing the principles established with the neutral framework, a system was developed that facilitates a collaborative CAD modeling environment that supports the interaction of models within virtual reality (VR). A framework is presented that allows for the models to be created and then used in VR without the need for conversion. Strategies are discussed for minimizing the impacts of latency and unit testing was conducted to evaluate functionality. Furthermore, feasibility of using modern game engines such as Unity, Unreal Engine, and Godot to aid in the development of both VR and physics simulations are discussed. The above foundation and frameworks enhance collaboration in training and simulation in VR environments. This research demonstrates that by using neutral design standards, collaboration could be improved between different software, as well as between different engineers. Common strategies can be used for solving issues with conversions across the design space and integrated into future VR systems. This research will be indispensable to furthering studies of collaboration and design in remote environments.

Companies often require designers to work with and operate between different computer-aided design (CAD) systems. To interoperate between these systems, a neutral design standard for CAD models is needed that allows for generation, customization, and parameterization. Current standards often fail to incorporate file history and design intent. The research proposes a simplified, neutral design format that can be used to generate models in different CAD systems. The format proposes additional functionality not yet found in existing neutral formats or scripts. The system was tested by generating models in both NX and CATIA, then comparing the models for accuracy, flexibility, and similarity of the results. Utilizing the principles established with the neutral framework, a system was developed that facilitates a collaborative CAD modeling environment that supports the interaction of models within virtual reality (VR). A framework is presented that allows for the models to be created and then used in VR without the need for conversion. Strategies are discussed for minimizing the impacts of latency and unit testing was conducted to evaluate functionality. Furthermore, feasibility of using modern game engines such as Unity, Unreal Engine, and Godot to aid in the development of both VR and physics simulations are discussed. The above foundation and frameworks enhance collaboration in training and simulation in VR environments. This research demonstrates that by using neutral design standards, collaboration could be improved between different software, as well as between different engineers. Common strategies can be used for solving issues with conversions across the design space and integrated into future VR systems. This research will be indispensable to furthering studies of collaboration and design in remote environments.

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 18-21, 2004 / Town & Country Resort, San Diego, California / This paper presents a new approach for the effective generation of translator scripts that can be used to automate the translation of data display configurations from one vendor format to another. Our approach uses the IDEF5 ontology description method to capture the ontology of each vendor format and provides simple rules for performing mappings. In addition, the method includes the specification of mappings between a language-specific ontology and its corresponding syntax specification, that is, either an eXtensible Markup Language (XML) Schema or Document Type Description (DTD). Finally, we provide an algorithm for automatically generating eXtensible Stylesheet Language Transformation (XSLT) scripts that transform XML documents from one language to another. The method is implemented in a graphical tool called the Data Display Translator Generator (DDTG) that supports both inter-language (ontology-to-ontology) and intra-language (syntax-to-ontology) mappings and generates the XSLT scripts. The tool renders the XML Schema or DTD as trees, provides intuitive, user-friendly interfaces for performing the mappings, and provides a report of completed mappings. It also generates data type conversion code when both the source and target syntaxes are XML Schema-based. Our approach has the advantage of performing language mappings at an abstract, ontology level, and facilitates the mapping of tool ontologies to a common domain ontology (in our case, Data Display Markup Language or DDML), thereby eliminating the O(n^2) mapping problem that involves a number of data formats in the same domain.

ITC/USA 2006 Conference Proceedings / The Forty-Second Annual International Telemetering Conference and Technical Exhibition / October 23-26, 2006 / Town and Country Resort & Convention Center, San Diego, California / This paper presents the description of the updated Data Display Markup Language (DDML), a neutral format for data display configurations. The development of DDML is motivated by the fact that in joint service program systems, there is a critical need for common data displays to support distributed T&E missions, irrespective of the test location, data acquisition system, and display system. DDML enables standard data displays to be specified for any given system under test, irrespective of the display vendor or system in which they will be implemented. The version 3.0 of DDML represents a more mature language than the version 1.0 presented at the 2003 ITC. The updated version has been validated for completeness and robustness by developing translators between DDML and numerous vendor formats. The DDML schema has been presented to the Range Commander’s Council (RCC) Data Multiplex Committee for consideration for inclusion in the IRIG 106 standard. The DDML model will be described in terms of both the XML schema and the UML model, and various examples of DDML models will be presented. The intent of this paper is to solicit specific input from the community on this potential RCC standard.

ITC/USA 2005 Conference Proceedings / The Forty-First Annual International Telemetering Conference and Technical Exhibition / October 24-27, 2005 / Riviera Hotel & Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada / The focus of this paper is to describe a unified methodology for developing both internal and external data display translators between an Instrumentation Support System (ISS) format and Data Display Markup Language (DDML), a neutral language for describing data displays. The methodology includes aspects common to both ISSs that have a well documented text-based save format and those that do not, as well as aspects that are unique to each type. We will also describe the means by which an external translator can be integrated into a translator framework. Finally, we will describe how an internal translator can be integrated directly into the ISS.

ITC/USA 2007 Conference Proceedings / The Forty-Third Annual International Telemetering Conference and Technical Exhibition / October 22-25, 2007 / Riviera Hotel & Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada / The Instrumentation Hardware Abstraction Language (IHAL) has been developed to be a neutral language that is focused on the description and control of instrumentation systems and networks. This paper describes the various instrumentation configuration management tools we have designed that make use of IHAL’s neutral specification of instrumentation networks. We discuss the features currently present in prototypes as well as future enhancements.

Due to the multiplicity of computer-aided engineering applications present in industry today, interoperability between programs has become increasingly important. A survey conducted among top engineering companies found that 82% of respondents reported using 3 or more CAD formats during the design process. A 1999 study by the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) estimated that inadequate interoperability between the OEM and its suppliers cost the US automotive industry over $1 billion per year, with the majority spent fixing data after translations. The Neutral Parametric Canonical Form (NPCF) prototype standard developed by the NSF Center for e-Design, BYU Site offers a solution to the translation problem by storing feature data in a CAD-neutral format to offer higher-fidelity parametric transfer between CAD systems. This research has focused on expanding the definitions of the NPCF to enforce data integrity and to support associativity between features to preserved design intent through the neutralization process. The NPCF data structure schema was defined to support associativity while maintaining data integrity. Neutral definitions of new features was added including multiple types of coordinate systems, planes and axes. Previously defined neutral features were expanded to support new functionality and the software architecture was redefined to support new CAD systems. Complex models have successfully been created and exchanged by multiple people in real-time to validated the approach of preserving associativity and support for a new CAD system, PTC Creo, was added.

The challenge of interoperability is to retain model integrity when different software applications exchange and interpret model data. Transferring CAD data between heterogeneous CAD systems is a challenge because of differences in feature representation. A study by the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) performed in 1999 made a conservative estimate that inadequate interoperability in the automotive industry costs them $1 billion per year. One critical part of eliminating the high costs due to poor interoperability is a neutral format between heterogeneous CAD systems. An effective neutral CAD format should include a current-state data store, be associative, include the union of CAD features across an arbitrary number of CAD systems, maintain design history, maintain referential integrity, and support multi-user collaboration. This research has focused on extending an existing synchronous collaborative CAD software tool to allow for a neutral, current-state data store. This has been accomplished by creating a Neutral Parametric Canonical Form (NPCF) which defines the neutral data structure for many basic CAD features to enable translation between heterogeneous CAD systems. The initial architecture developed begins to define a new standard for storing CAD features neutrally. The NPCF's for many features have been implemented in a multi-user interoperability program and work between NX and CATIA CAD systems. The 2D point, 2D line, 2D arc, 2D circle, 2D spline, 3D point, extrude, and revolve NPCF's will be specifically defined. Complex models have successfully been modeled and exchanged in real time and have validated the NPCF approach. Multiple users can be in the same part at the same time in different CAD systems and create and update models in real time.