Military Scenerios Through Virtual Worlds
Advances in computerized modeling and prediction of group behavior, together with improvements in video game graphics, are making possible virtual worlds in which defense analysts can explore and predict results of many different possible military and policy actions, say computer science researchers at the University of Maryland in a commentary published in the November 27 issue of the journal Science.
“Defense analysts can understand the repercussions of their proposed recommendations for policy options or military actions by interacting with a virtual world environment….They can propose a policy option and walk skeptical commanders through a virtual world where the commander can literally ’see’ how things might play out. This process gives the commander a view of the most likely strengths and weaknesses of any particular course of action,” write authors V.S. Subrahmanian, a Maryland computer science professor and director of the University’s Institute for Advanced Computer Studies (UMIACS), and John Dickerson, a UMIACS computer science researcher.
Computer scientists now know pretty much how to do this, and have created a “pretty good chunk” of the computing theory and software required to build a virtual Afghanistan, Pakistan or another “world,” explains Subrahmanian, who notes that much of the leading edge of this work has been done at the University of Maryland. (more…)
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Predicting Pandemics Before They Happen
![“Once any significant number of cases are identified [in an area], the pandemic spread is virtually impossible to control," says industrial engineer Sandra Garrett.](http://x-journals.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/sandra-garrett.jpg "sandra-garrett")
“Once any significant number of cases are identified 9in an area0, the pandemic spread is virtually impossible to control," says industrial engineer Sandra Garrett.
“The goal is a public information and awareness system for pandemic with the same level of credibility, timeliness and visibility as storm-warning icons presented on television screens,” said Barrett Caldwell, a Purdue University associate professor of industrial engineering.
The system works by monitoring “event phases” of human behavior leading up to a pandemic, such as an increase in people purchasing flu-related medications or “foraging” on the Internet for certain types of information related to the flu.
Understanding these phases might be a way to overcome a fundamental hurdle in controlling pandemic: Conventional approaches require public-health officials to know when certain events leading to pandemic begin, Caldwell said. (more…)
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