18 constraints on federal budgets
for science and engineering, and changes in patterns of industrial
research and development (including the restructuring of corporate
research laboratories at such companies as IBM, Xerox, and
AT&T) influence the nature of research and development in many
fields. Resolution may therefore require action beyond the modeling
and simulation community. Nevertheless, to the extent that the
modeling and simulation community can succinctly and accurately
convey the nature of its concerns, such as through this report, it
may be able to influence the process.
Concluding Remarks
As evidenced by the workshop, strong commonalities exist between
defense and entertainment applications of modeling and simulation
and in the technologies needed to support them. Whereas DOD has
traditionally led the field and provided a significant portion of
related fund-
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ing, the entertainment industry has made rapid advances in 3D
graphics generation, networked simulation, computer-generated
characters, and immersive environments. Aligning the research
agendas of these two communties to allow greater coordination of
research developments, sharing of information, and collaborative
research could provide an opportunity to more rapidly and
economically achieve the goals of both the defense and
entertainment industries.
Linking these two communities represents a significant
challenge; differences in business practices and culture need to be
overcome in order to find mechanisms for cooperation and
collaboration. Additional efforts will be needed to ensure adequate
education of visually literate people who can create engaging
simulated environments and to ensure funding for continued
research. Success will rely on sustained commitment from both
sides—and from a shared belief that the benefits of
collaboration are worth the costs. This workshop represented the
first step toward exploring the benefits and the costs of such
collaboration; the fact that it attracted many participants from
the entertainment industry, as well as DOD, suggests that some
degree of mutual interest exists. Additional steps will need to be
taken to capitalize on that interest.
Notes
1. DOD has recently expressed some
interest in leasing computer hardware and software for its
systems—especially training systems—in order to shorten
the time required to acquire new technologies.
2. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology
Assessment. 1992. After The Cold War: Living with Lower Defense
Spending. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C.,
Chapter 6.
3. Lunceford, Dell, Defense Advanced
Research Projects Agency, personal communication, November 6,
1996.
4. However, as noted in Chapter 1, at
least one project is under way to develop a system that can be used
both as a military training device and a game, demonstrating that
cultural obstacles can potentially be overcome.
5. Bray, Hiawatha. 1997. "Battle for
Military Video Game Niche On," Boston Globe, April 16, p.
1.
6. For a more complete discussion of
federal technology transfer efforts and CRADAs, see U.S. Congress,
Office of Technology Assessment, 1993, Defense Conversion:
Redirecting R&D, U.S. Government Printing Office,
Washington, D.C.
7. Armour, Barry. 1997. "A Different Kind
of Artist," Computer Graphics, February, pp. 23-25.
8. Lardner, Richard. 1997. "The Future of
Army Automators," Inside the Army, April 29.
9. Such sentiments have been expressed
outside the workshop as well. Scott Ross, president of Digital
Domain, a leading digital effects studio, also has noted a growing
need for technical directors, animators, compositors, and digital
artists in general. See "Hollywood Reporter," New Media,
July 31, 1996.
10. Stone, Linda. 1996. "On-line
Multimedia Communities," speech before the Fourth Annual Living
Surfaces Conference: Design for the Internet, Chicago, Ill.,
November 16.
11. Wolkomir, Richard. 1996. "The School
Where It's OK to Major in Fun and Games," Smithsonian,
December, pp. 86-97.
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12. In 1996 federal obligations for
university research in computer science and mathematics totaled
$593 million. DOD provided $280 million, and NSF contributed $261
million. Of the DOD funding, DARPA provided $184 million. See
National Science Foundation. 1996. Federal Funds for Research
and Development—Fiscal Years 1994, 1995, 1996. National
Science Foundation, Washington, D.C., Table C-58.
13. Computer Science and
Telecommunications Board, National Research Council. 1995.
Evolving the High-Performance Computing and Communications
Initiative to Support the Nation's Information Infrastructure.
National Academy Press, Washington, D.C.
14. The discussion of changes in the size,
scope, and nature of research and development has implications far
beyond those for the modeling and simulation community and are not
discussed in detail in this report. CSTB has another study in
progress, "Information Technology Research in a Competitive World,"
that will more fully examine the implications of structural changes
in the conduct of research and development in information
technology in universities, government, and industry.
15. National Science Foundation. 1996.
National Patterns of R&D Resources: 1996. National Science
Foundation, Washington, D.C., Tables C-25, C-26, and C-27.
Conversion to constant 1996 dollars is based on gross domestic
product deflators contained in Table C-1.
16. The center includes computer graphics
programs at Brown University, the California Institute of
Technology, Cornell University, the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill, and the University of Utah. It has a long-term
research mission (11 years) to help improve the scientific bases
for the next generation of computer graphics environments (both
hardware and software). Its research is directed toward modeling,
rendering, interaction, and performance.
17. In real terms, total industry funding
for university research (in all fields of science and engineering)
grew nearly 60 percent between 1987 and 1996, but it still
represents just 7 percent of total university research funds. See
National Science Foundation. 1996. National Patterns of R&D
Resources: 1996. National Science Foundation, Washington, D.C.,
Table C-2.
18. The space program generated many
technologies related to modeling and simulation. Satellite imagery
and mapping together have been a significant driver of imaging
technology.
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Representative terms from entire chapter:
entertainment companies
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