Simulation and Synthetic Environment Laboratory (SSEL)

The Simulation and Synthetic Environment Laboratory (SSEL) is a facility within the Department of Informatics and Systems Engineering at the Shrivenham campus of Cranfield University.

The laboratory was established in 1995 following an initial investment by the MoD. A further investment from the MoD in 1996 enabled the purchase of additional equipment. The SSEL was designed to provide appropriate facilities for the teaching of the emerging discipline of Defence Simulation & Modelling (DS&M) where a high proportion of practical work is required. For example, in the new Modelling and Simulation major study for the MSc in Defence Technology the ratio of conventional lectures to laboratory practicals is approximately 1:1.

Currently the primary role of the SSEL is to support the education programmes in DS&M and to complement the other facilities already available at DCMT. Thus it does not duplicate facilities found elsewhere (e.g. CAD), but uses military applications to demonstrate the integration of the various technologies and, in particular, focuses on Synthetic Environments. Applications available in the SSEL range from networked and distributed systems, constructive wargames and CGF through to computer graphics, Virtual Reality, logistics, and OA models.

The laboratory is very much intended as an active working facility, in addition to providing facilities for the demonstration of work from elsewhere. Hence in addition to both example and actual applications, the necessary tools are provided to build and modify applications.

The facilities in the laboratory, both hardware and applications software, have grown significantly since 1995. Interest in DS&M has continued to grow and many more courses have requested DS&M elements in their programmes. Class sizes have also increased and ever more students are seeking to do their project work in this area. The new specialist DS&M courses continue to evolve after their first few presentations. It has already become clear that a wider range of example systems will be needed and that further enhancement of the facilities will be required.

In order to maintain investment in development of the facility, it is necessary to attract industrial sponsorship and collaboration in research and development. However the development of the laboratory in its first three years of operation has concentrated on the design work necessary for its primary teaching role. This was also the basis on which the seed funding was made available from the MoD. Following this initial development it is now planned to develop the research capabilities of the laboratory.

The Simulation and Synthetic Environment Laboratory (SSEL) is a facility within the Department of Informatics and Systems Engineering at the Shrivenham campus of Cranfield University. Currently the primary role of the SSEL is to support the education programmes in DS&M and to complement the other facilities already available at DCMT. Thus it does not duplicate facilities found elsewhere (e.g. CAD), but uses military applications to demonstrate the integration of the various technologies and, in particular, focuses on Synthetic Environments. Applications available in the SSEL range from networked and distributed systems, constructive wargames and CGF through to computer graphics, Virtual Reality, logistics, and OA models.

Simulation and Synthetics Laboratory Environment (SSEL)

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