Sign In
RSS feed LinkedIn page Watch us on Youtube
Skip to main content
Help (new window)

Publications

:

NATO Modelling and Simulation - Glossary of Terms Project

The aim of this document is to create a common understanding of M&S terms and where agreement cannot ultimately be reached, to understand variations in definitions. The M&S community is kindly invited to help us improving this living document by using the dedicated feedback form.

Comment or Suggest New Term

  
A simulator or simulation system with an active feedback loop.
Australian Defence Simulation Glossary
  
Any structural activity that is undertaken to represent higher level strategic guidance, doctrine operational concepts, concepts of operation and combat scenarios in terms of varying degrees of abstraction and reality.
NATO MSG MS Glossary and Acronym List 1.2
  
Services, applications and data which are, or potentially can be, used (and reused) by more than one simulation system/user (client) and for which benefits can be realised by making them discoverable and available.
Australian Defence Simulation Glossary
  
MSG-120
A highly composable system provides recombinant components that can be selected and assembled in various combinations to satisfy specific user requirements. To take full profit from this methodology, there is a need to get a framework providing simulations services and modular components compliant to the framework and replaceable.
  
CGF
A generic term used to describe the computer representation of forces in simulations which attempt to model human behaviour sufficiently so that forces will take some actions automatically, without requiring human-in-the-loop interaction.
Australian Defence Simulation Glossary, modified for NATO use.
1. CGF’s may be fully autonomous, requiring no human direction, or semi-autonomous, requiring some direction by a human controller (see SAF definition).2. CGF’s represent friendly, opposing, and neutral battlespace entities not portrayed by manned simulators.
  
CM
A statement of the content and internal representations that are the user's and developer's combined concept of the model.
US DoD Glossary modified for NATO use.
It includes logic and algorithms and explicitly recognises assumptions and limitations.
  
A simulation (system) involving simulated control entities (including agents) operating simulated systems.
Australian Defence Simulation Glossary
Real people make inputs to such simulations, but are not directly involved in determining the outcomes.
  
A mathematical or computational model whose output variables change in a continuous manner.
IEEE GLOSSARY
  
A system that produces feel forces, on manned simulators controls, which accurately reflect those felt by the operator in real world conditions.
US DoD Glossary
  
The relevance that the user sees in the model, and the confidence that the user has that the model or simulation can serve its purpose.
NATO MSG MS Glossary and Acronym List 1.2
The appropriateness of the model plus the correctness of the model equals the credibility.
  
A Simulation that is terminated by the occurrence of a certain event.
NATO MSG MS Glossary and Acronym List 1.2
See also Event
  
DEM
Datamodel
Formally defined data model for the interchange of data between networked simulations used to create and operate a distributed, time and space coherent synthetic environment.
MSG-120
  
A device which accepts data outputs from a (distributed) simulation system or federation, and stores them (time stamped) for later usage such as analysis or replay in the same time sequence as the data was originally received. 
MSG-120
  
A simulation system that does not contain any probabilistic (or random) components.
MSG-120
Contrast with probabilistic simulation
  
The action to decompose an aggregated entity into multiple entities representing its components.
US DoD Glossary
  
A simulation that uses a discrete model where the dependent variables (i.e. state indicators) change discretely at points in time referred to as events.
MSG-120
  
A simulation system built on components linked to a network.
MSG-120
Components may be:Constructive simulation applications (software),Virtual simulators (manned),  Live simulations,General purpose tools (visualization systems, control devices, data loggers, etc.).Operators/users may also contribute to the system output in providing direct input and/or commands during its exploitation.
Preferred Term 
Abbreviation 
Admitted Term 
Depreciated Term 
Definition 
Source 
Further Information