NEWS BRIEFS
Waltham, MASS. — MUSE Technologies, Inc., developer of advanced visualization and perceptual computing software and solutions, has announced the completion of a second phase of development for the US Navy’s Surface Warfare Development Group (SWDG). The project uses 4D visualization technology to enhance the analysis of ship, submarine and aircraft movements during sea exercises, providing naval experts with a powerful new way to evaluate and analyze complex exercise results.
Earlier this year, MUSE delivered a PC-based software application created with the MuSE (Multi-dimensional user oriented Synthetic Environment) development system that integrated data from the Navy’s Ship Anti-submarine Warfare Readiness Effectiveness Measuring (SHAREM) database with underwater terrain information as well as ship, submarine, helicopter, aircraft and sonobuoy data. Members of the SWDG team deemed the results of the first phase of the program an overwhelming success.
Recent enhancements to the MuSE system include the creation of detailed models of ships and aircraft; the ability to see the sun and moon (which provides a more realistic depiction of lighting to assess visual contacts during an exercise); and the addition of numerous text and graph displays that pair raw and calculated data with the dynamic 4D visualization. Other enhancements for this phase also include the visualization of torpedo attacks; the addition environmental data such as clouds, fog and ceiling visibility; and the inclusion of field data such as water temperature, salinity and ocean current, all of which affect sonar readings.
According to Lt. Commander Gilbert, SWDG Director for Undersea Warfare, “In Phase One of the MUSE project, we were able to gain a much better understanding of the results of a tactical encounter by assessing details that may have been overlooked. Historically, there has been a discrepancy between what ship commanders think has happened during an exercise and what the data reveals. With this MuSE application, events can be isolated and viewed in the correct time-space relationship. This has resulted in easy detection of anomalies, which is exactly what our naval analysts look for.”
Patrick J. Jackson, SWDG’s Deputy Director for Undersea Warfare, added, “The latest deliverable from MUSE has provided SWDG with a much more sophisticated, multi-faceted analysis tool that permits us to ascertain weapon or sensor system problems as well as identify areas that require further engineering or scientific analysis. With the first two phases of the project completed, SWDG plans to use the newest findings to develop a formal concept of operations and determine the full impact of a maritime warfare analysis program.”
Other US government agencies are currently evaluating the application to build upon the SWDG’s exercise analysis.
MUSE Technologies, Inc. is an international leader in data visualization and perceptual computing software and solutions that enable computer users to experience and interact with all types of business, scientific and engineering data. For more information on MUSE Technologies, visit the company’s Web site at http://www.musetech.com . Information about AVS is available at http://www.avs.com .
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