Krauss-Maffei Wegmann - Twenty-First Century Simulation
Krauss-Maffei Wegmann adopts Presagis AI.implant tools & middleware solution to help train both civilian and military personnel for the twenty-first century.
Over the last several years, game developers have led the way in creating interactive and immersive video experiences. As a result, simulation developers in other industries are beginning to harness this powerful technology. Industry-leaders like Krauss-Maffei Wegmann GmbH & Co. KG (KMW) are now adopting cutting-edge game technology in order to advance their own simulation offerings.
Developers in the entertainment and military & civil training simulator industries have had a longstanding relationship in which technological advancements in one sector have led to expanded capabilities in the other.
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Taking their cue from top video game publishers, KMW decided to investigate the advantages of working with Presagis' AI.implant for their simulation and training offerings. In order to meet their own well-established standards of excellence, they set a rigorous evaluation process for themselves, and, after 3 months of extensive comparisons, KMW adopted AI.implant as their Artificial Intelligence middleware solution. During the intense evaluation process and beyond, the developers at KMW discovered that this commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) middleware solution could help them to save resources and to deliver advanced simulations to their end-customers. |
COTS tools help us to save resources, time and money and to concentrate our efforts on meeting our customers' very demanding needs. |
Industry Leader
Based in Munich and Kassel, KMW is a leading provider of armored wheeled and tracked vehicles in Europe. KMW develops, manufactures, and offers technical support for combat vehicles and has customers in over 20 countries worldwide. As part of their extensive product offerings and support services, KMW also designs, develops, and produces vehicle simulations and training devices. Customers can choose between a variety of complete simulation systems as well as individual training equipment that are all targeted to both the military and civilian sectors. In addition, KMW also offers its customers training materials, administration of the training itself, maintenance, upkeep, and logistical supervision.
Advanced Gaming Technology
With 240 employees, the Training & Simulation (TS) division of KMW makes training equipment and simulators for a variety of ground vehicles, including cars, trucks, locomotives, as well as armored wheeled and tracked military vehicles. According to Wilhelm Braunschober, a Senior Manager of TS, "Most of our simulators are used for training purposes, but some are used for R&D and some for entertainment."
The opportunity to switch to a middleware AI solution came when KMW decided to upgrade their simulation offerings. Braunschober says that "We had a choice to either redesign our existing battlefield software for the new requirements, including Military Operations in Urbanized Terrain (MOUT) operations, or to build on an established technology."
As Holländer explains, "Training for MOUT areas required a new approach that would enable the complex and intelligent movement of characters in large and increasingly sophisticated environments. Although we did consider 'reinventing the wheel', time and resource constraints led to the decision to buy a COTS gaming AI solution."
Ultimately, KMW decided to adopt COTS tools because, as Braunschober explains "COTS tools help us to save resources, time and money and to concentrate our efforts on meeting our customers' very demanding needs."
We found the AI.implant software development kit (SDK) flexible enough to meet the demands of our developers as well as current and future customers alike.
- Udo Holländer, Team Leader, Training & Simulation, Krauss-Maffei Wegmann
Tough Tests for COTS
Holländer and Braunschober were part of the 5 person core team that evaluated AI.implant over the course of 3 months. According to Braunschober, "The evaluation process began with a thorough review of technical documentation and evaluations as well as independent comparisons of AI.implant and other middleware solutions. We also took the opportunity to consult with members of the AI.implant team." Every middleware technology that KMW considered was evaluated along technical, commercial, and legal guidelines.
The team also checked their options against their expectations for the game engine and against customer requirements. According to Holländer, "This led to the formation of some contradictory requirements. For example, even though we required artificial intelligence from the game engine, the simulation process was required to retain full control over its combatants in a scenario. Fortunately, we found the AI.implant SDK flexible enough to meet the demands of our developers as well as current and future customers alike."
Ultimately, KMW chose AI.implant because, according to Braunschober, "It had the strongest rating against our internal requirements and was the best package for our needs."
Simulations for the 21st Century
Using AI.implant, the simulation developers at KMW save on resources and the simulation end-users are able to train both civilians and soldiers for twenty-first century scenarios. According to Braunschober, "Using AI.implant enabled us to transform our battlefield simulations, which were previously based on cold-war scenarios, into modern scenarios that include MOUT operations."
Braunschober considers the modular extensible architecture to be essential and singles out the ability to integrate AI.implant with host platforms or engines as being indispensable forTS. Holländer also adds that "The fact that the SDK was designed with user overridability and inheritance in mind are of crucial importance for our simulation projects."
The support offered by the AI.implant team at Presagis is also important to the development team. According to Braunschober, "We have been working with AI.implant since 2003 and have developed a good relationship with the developers and support personnel. They respond to our needs in a timely and efficient manner."
Braunschober is looking forward to KMW's future with AI.implant. Says Braunschober, "We hope that Presagis will continue to further develop its powerful Artificial Intelligence technology to meet our end-users' ever mounting simulation needs."