EWMS - Extensible Workflow Management for Simulations

Abstract

The DLR Institute of Flight Guidance is one of the leading establishments in the field of air traffic management research worldwide. Research is conducted using several simulation environments. Simulators like the Tower Simulator, the Approach and Radar Simulator, and different fast-time simu¬lation tools focus on different parts of air traffic and help to examine various aspects of the air traffic environment (e.g. controller view, pilot view, general traffic situation, etc.). The institute's research activities include validation and verification of new systems and procedures, such as airport infrastructure, routes, or assistance systems for air traffic controllers and pilots. Most software systems to operate the simulators are commercial products that concentrate on simulation, and do not emphasise on analysis of simulation outcome. Other tools do provide detailed output for subsequent analysis, but output content and format varies widely between tools, requiring specific post-processing for each simulation environment. In the past, DLR developers have implemented numerous tools to record and analyse data from individual simulations. These tools were developed independently for different simulators, different simulation campaigns, using several different programming languages. The underlying algorithms were often not sufficiently tested and documented, and tool validation itself was often a by-product of simulation evaluation. The Extensible Workflow Management for Simulations (EWMS) was developed to support, simplify and enhance the process of simulation analysis and evaluation. The main objectives of the EWMS concept are a consistent data backup strategy, transparent post processing and standardised, well docu¬mented and peer-reviewed algorithms and methods for analysis and reporting. This paper describes the motivation for the EWMS project and the requirements that drive the design, followed by a discussion of the implementation for a number of key concepts.