Information Transmission Method and Device for Distributed Co-Simulation System

Abstract

The present invention provides an information transmission method and apparatus for a distributed joint simulation system. The method includes: determining multiple communication modes according to the communication requirements of the distributed joint simulation system in different simulation scenarios, designing corresponding communication protocols for each communication mode respectively, and generating a mapping relationship among the simulation scenario, communication mode, and communication protocol in the simulation master node; constructing a communication middleware, generating an object proxy for each simulation worker node, establishing a unified communication protocol between the communication middleware and the object proxy, and distributing the mapping relationship to each object proxy; and sending the determined simulation scenario or communication mode by the user to the object proxy through the communication middleware, so that the proxy determines the corresponding communication protocol according to the mapping relationship, and converts the communication mode and communication protocol of this node. The present invention improves the efficiency and reliability of information transmission, and provides efficient and reliable information transmission support for joint combat simulation experiments.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of distributed simulation, and particularly to an information transmission method and device for a distributed joint simulation system. Background Art

[0002] With the continuous development of simulation technology, joint simulation systems are increasingly widely used in the fields of military, industry, scientific research, etc. A joint simulation system usually needs to interconnect simulation systems, facilities, devices, and personnel located in different geographical locations and adopting different technical architectures through a network to achieve collaborative simulation. Existing distributed simulation mechanisms (such as HLA, etc.) are mainly based on data communication. In addition to the underlying communication infrastructure, joint simulation must also provide interconnection support for the application layer on top of the communication.

[0003] In the field of military simulation, due to the different responsibilities and division of labor of existing distributed combat simulation systems and the large differences in system architectures, it is very difficult to complete cross-system joint simulation. At the same time, existing joint simulation standards are limited to specific industries or specific tools, lacking a unified standard for integration, resulting in the inability of various distributed heterogeneous combat simulation systems to be fully integrated into a larger test and exercise simulation system. In addition, due to the different simulation mechanisms and communication methods of each system, and the self-contained nature of simulation system resources, existing distributed joint combat simulation systems have deficiencies in aspects such as heterogeneous system interconnection, data communication efficiency, and real-time performance, and it is difficult to meet the requirements of complex joint combat simulation scenarios. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In view of this, embodiments of the present application provide an information transmission method and device for a distributed joint simulation system. Through the object interoperability technology of a multi-mode communication mechanism and the design of an external access gateway, the problem of information interaction between heterogeneous and remote systems is solved, the efficiency and reliability of information transmission are improved, and efficient and reliable information transmission support is provided for joint combat simulation experiments.

[0005] Embodiments of the present application provide the following technical solutions: An information transmission method for a distributed joint simulation system, including:

[0006] According to the communication requirements of the distributed joint simulation system in different simulation scenarios, determine multiple communication modes, design corresponding communication protocols for each communication mode respectively, and generate a mapping relationship between the simulation scenario, the communication mode, and the communication protocol in the distributed joint simulation master node;

[0007] Construct a communication middleware for distributed joint simulation communication management, generate an object proxy for each distributed joint simulation worker node in each such node, establish a unified communication protocol between the communication middleware and each of the object proxies, and distribute the mapping relationship to each of the object proxies through the communication middleware;

[0008] Send the simulation scenario or communication mode determined by the user in the distributed joint simulation master node to each of the object proxies through the communication middleware, so that the object proxy determines the communication protocol corresponding to the simulation scenario or communication mode according to the mapping relationship, and switches the communication mode of this worker node and converts the communication protocol of this worker node.

[0009] According to an embodiment of the present application, the method further includes:

[0010] When sending the simulation scenario or communication mode determined by the user in the distributed joint simulation master node to each of the object proxies through the communication middleware, send the start time and conversion duration of the communication protocol conversion to each of the object proxies;

[0011] If the current worker node does not complete the conversion of the communication protocol within the conversion duration, the object proxy of the current worker node sends a conversion incomplete message to the distributed joint simulation master node through the communication middleware.

[0012] According to an embodiment of the present application, the method further includes: each object proxy registers the attribute information of this worker node with the communication middleware for other distributed joint simulation worker nodes to perform remote object calls according to the node registration information in the communication middleware; wherein, the attribute information includes node instance, naming and specified unique identification information.

[0013] According to an embodiment of the present application, the method further includes: when the communication middleware receives a remote call request from the object proxy of any worker node to other worker nodes, query the registration information of this worker node in the communication middleware to determine whether this worker node performs information registration and whether the registration information is complete, so as to verify the security of this worker node.

[0014] According to an embodiment of the present application, the method further includes: designing an external access gateway, defining the interface of the external access gateway in the communication middleware, registering the external access gateway in the communication middleware, and configuring gateway parameters in the communication middleware to integrate the external access gateway into the communication middleware.

[0015] According to an embodiment of the present application, the method further includes: the heterogeneous system accesses the external access gateway through the loading unit, and transmits system data information in the manner of service interface or background transfer; the service interface includes: WebService or RESTful API, and the background transfer manner includes the transfer manner of message queue or file transfer.

[0016] According to an embodiment of the present application, the communication modes include data publish / subscribe mode, distributed object communication mode, point-to-point communication mode, and broadcast communication mode.

[0017] The present application further provides an information transmission device for a distributed joint simulation system, including:

[0018] A mapping relationship generation module, configured to determine multiple communication modes according to the communication requirements of the distributed joint simulation system in different simulation scenarios, design corresponding communication protocols for each communication mode respectively, and generate a mapping relationship between the simulation scenario, the communication mode, and the communication protocol in the distributed joint simulation master node;

[0019] A communication middleware construction module, configured to construct a communication middleware for distributed joint simulation communication management, generate an object proxy for each distributed joint simulation worker node respectively, establish a unified communication protocol between the communication middleware and each object proxy, and distribute the mapping relationship to each object proxy through the communication middleware;

[0020] An instruction issuing module, configured to issue the simulation scenario or communication mode determined by the user in the distributed joint simulation master node to each object proxy through the communication middleware, so that the object proxy determines the communication protocol corresponding to the simulation scenario or communication mode according to the mapping relationship, and switches the communication mode of the local work node and converts the communication protocol of the local work node.

[0021] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects that can be achieved by at least one of the above technical solutions adopted in the embodiments of this specification at least include: Through the multi-mode communication mechanism and the design of the external access gateway, the embodiments of the present invention establish a communication relationship between the communication middleware and the object proxy, enabling efficient interconnection of heterogeneous and geographically dispersed systems, solving the deficiencies of traditional distributed simulation mechanisms in the interconnection of heterogeneous systems, and improving the reliability of interconnection between systems. In addition, the embodiments of the present invention design an external access gateway, which supports external systems to access the gateway component through the loading unit and transmit system data information in the form of service interfaces, and also supports the transmission of information such as databases or files in the form of background transfer, improving the scalability and reliability of the system, enhancing the user interaction experience, and supporting multiple data formats and protocols, enabling convenient access to new simulation systems or devices, and having good scalability. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the drawings required for use in the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present application. For those of ordinary skill in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative efforts.

[0023] Figure 1 It is a schematic flowchart of the information transmission method for a distributed joint simulation system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 2 It is a schematic structural diagram of the information transmission device for a distributed joint simulation system according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 3 It is a schematic structural diagram of the information transmission device for a distributed joint simulation system according to the second embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0026] The embodiments of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

[0027] The following describes the implementation manners of the present application through specific specific examples. Those skilled in the art can easily understand other advantages and effects of the present application from the content disclosed in this specification. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all the embodiments. The present application can also be implemented or applied through other different specific implementation manners. Various details in this specification can also be modified or changed based on different viewpoints and applications without departing from the spirit of the present application. It should be noted that, without conflict, the following embodiments and the features in the embodiments can be combined with each other. All other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments in the present application without creative efforts belong to the scope of protection of the present application.

[0028] As Figure 1 shown, an embodiment of the present invention provides an information transmission method for a distributed joint simulation system, including:

[0029] S101. According to the communication requirements of the distributed joint simulation system in different simulation scenarios, determine multiple communication modes, design corresponding communication protocols for each communication mode respectively, and generate a mapping relationship between the simulation scenario, the communication mode, and the communication protocol in the distributed joint simulation master node;

[0030] S102. Construct a communication middleware for distributed joint simulation communication management, generate an object proxy for each distributed joint simulation worker node respectively, establish a unified communication protocol between the communication middleware and each of the object proxies, and distribute the mapping relationship to each of the object proxies through the communication middleware;

[0031] S103. Send the simulation scenario or communication mode determined by the user in the distributed joint simulation master node to each of the object proxies through the communication middleware, so that the object proxy determines the communication protocol corresponding to the simulation scenario or communication mode according to the mapping relationship, and switches the communication mode of this worker node and converts the communication protocol of this worker node.

[0032] In the embodiments of the present invention, for a complex distributed joint simulation system, in order to achieve efficient interconnection between systems, a communication middleware is constructed, and an object proxy is set for each system working node, and a unified communication protocol and communication interface are established between the communication middleware and the object proxy. Before interconnection, first, a mapping relationship among the simulation scenario, communication mode, and communication protocol is formed in the system master node, and this mapping relationship is pre-distributed to each object proxy as a cache file. When the system master node receives a communication mode switching instruction or a simulation scenario switching instruction, it only needs to forward the corresponding communication mode or simulation scenario to each object proxy through the communication middleware, without the need for complex data processing processes and analysis and calculation processes, etc., and will not affect the operation efficiency of the system master node; when each object proxy receives a communication mode or simulation scenario switching message, it obtains the corresponding communication protocol from the locally cached mapping relationship table and completes the switching of the communication mode and the conversion of the communication protocol in the local node, realizing efficient and reliable interconnection.

[0033] The communication middleware in this embodiment is the core component of the multi-mode communication mechanism, which is responsible for managing communication modes, protocols, data transmission, etc. In specific implementation, the construction process of the communication middleware mainly includes: (1) setting a communication mode manager, which is used to register, manage, and schedule different communication modes; (2) setting a data transmission engine, which is used to encapsulate, transmit, and de-encapsulate data and support multiple data formats (such as JSON, XML, binary, etc.); (3) setting a message queue, which is used to cache and schedule data to be transmitted to ensure the orderliness and reliability of data transmission; (4) setting a load balancer. Since the communication middleware is responsible for the transmission, management, etc. of multiple data, a load balancer needs to be set to dynamically allocate communication resources according to the network load situation to avoid network congestion.

[0034] In this embodiment, an object proxy is respectively set for each working node in each distributed joint simulation system to simplify the complexity of data transmission, control management, and remote object invocation. The main purpose of its setting is to provide an intermediate layer between working node and working node, and between working node and master node, so that each node can call a remote object or perform data interaction with a remote object as if it were calling a local object, without caring about the underlying network communication details. Moreover, the interaction between each node and a remote object through the object proxy reduces the coupling degree between the nodes. On the other hand, the object proxy can also guarantee the security of the local node, verify the identity and permissions of the interacting nodes, and the object proxy can also provide a data caching function to reduce the repeated invocation of remote objects.

[0035] In some embodiments of the present invention, the communication modes include data publish / subscribe mode, distributed object communication mode, point-to-point communication mode, and broadcast communication mode. Specifically, in implementation, the data publish / subscribe mode is applicable to large-scale data distribution scenarios, where simulation nodes can publish data and subscribe to data of interest; the distributed object communication mode is applicable to low-latency and high-real-time interaction scenarios and supports direct object calls between simulation nodes; the point-to-point communication mode is applicable to direct communication between two nodes; the broadcast communication mode is applicable to one-to-many data broadcast scenarios; and a suitable communication mode is determined according to the communication requirements of the system simulation scenario.

[0036] To ensure the reliability and real-time performance of the interconnection of each node in the simulation system, in some embodiments of the present invention, the method further includes: when the simulation scenario or communication mode determined by the user in the distributed joint simulation master node is sent to each object agent through the communication middleware, the start time and conversion duration of the communication protocol conversion are sent to each object agent; if the current working node does not complete the communication protocol conversion within the conversion duration, the object agent of the current working node sends a conversion incomplete message to the distributed joint simulation master node through the communication middleware.

[0037] Specifically, when the master node in the simulation system sends the communication mode or simulation scenario to each object agent, it generates the start time and conversion duration of the communication protocol conversion, and at the same time sends the start time and conversion duration of the communication protocol conversion to the object agents of each working node through the communication middleware, so that each working node performs the communication protocol conversion action at the unified communication protocol conversion time, thereby ensuring the unity and real-time performance of the system. On the other hand, the object agent of each working node judges whether the current node completes the protocol conversion within the conversion duration. If the current node fails and does not complete the conversion after the conversion duration, the object agent of this node sends a conversion incomplete message to the master node of the system for further testing and maintenance of this node, etc.; if the system master node does not receive the conversion incomplete message fed back by the working node after the conversion duration, it is considered that the working node has successfully completed the mode switch and communication protocol conversion. This embodiment further improves the unity and reliability of the system by setting the start time and conversion duration of the communication protocol conversion, thereby enhancing the efficiency and reliability of information transmission.

[0038] For the convenience of remote calls between each node, in some embodiments of the present invention, the method further includes: each of the object proxies registers the attribute information of the local working node with the communication middleware for other distributed joint simulation working nodes to call remote objects according to the node registration information in the communication middleware; wherein, the attribute information includes a node instance, a name, and specified unique identification information. Each working node registers the attribute information of its own node in the communication middleware to ensure that other working nodes can discover and call it. Specifically, the node instance refers to a specific object created according to a certain class or template of the node; the naming is for the convenience of other simulation nodes to find and access this node by name; the specified unique identification information is for other simulation nodes to accurately find. Specifically, this identification information can be a string, which may include the functional description, location information, etc. of the node.

[0039] When making mutual calls between nodes, to ensure the security of data calls, in some embodiments of the present invention, the method further includes: when the communication middleware receives a remote call request sent by the object proxy of any working node to other working nodes, it queries the registration information of this working node in the communication middleware to determine whether this working node has registered information and whether the registration information is complete, so as to verify the security of this working node. Through the above verification method, the security of mutual calls between nodes is ensured, and it is ensured that only legitimate simulation nodes can register and access remote objects.

[0040] In some embodiments of the present invention, the method further includes: designing an external access gateway, defining the interface of the external access gateway in the communication middleware, registering the external access gateway in the communication middleware, and configuring gateway parameters in the communication middleware to integrate the external access gateway into the communication middleware.

[0041] In this embodiment, an external access gateway is designed. The external access gateway is responsible for connecting external systems (such as heterogeneous simulation systems, databases, file systems, etc.) to the joint simulation platform to achieve data interaction and sharing.

[0042] In specific implementation, before designing the external access gateway, it is first necessary to clarify the types of external systems to be accessed, such as databases, file systems, web services, other simulation systems, etc.; determine the data transmission method and data format according to the type of external system, the transmission method such as real-time data stream, batch data transmission, file transmission, etc., and the data format such as JSON, XML, binary data, etc. Then, according to the above-determined content, design the architecture of the external access gateway. The gateway architecture may include the following components: Protocol adapter: supporting multiple communication protocols, such as HTTP, WebSocket, FTP, TCP / IP, etc., to realize the communication between the external system and the gateway; Data format converter: converting the data format of the external system into the standard format inside the co-simulation system; Service interface: providing a unified API interface for external systems to call; Background transfer service: supporting the transfer of databases or files; Security module: realizing identity authentication, data encryption, and access control.

[0043] In specific implementation, the method further includes: the heterogeneous system accesses the external access gateway through the loading unit, and transmits the system data information in the way of service interface or background transfer; the service interface includes: Web Service or RESTful API, and the background transfer method includes the transfer methods of message queue or file transfer.

[0044] As Figure 2 shown, the present application also provides an information transmission device for a distributed co-simulation system, including:

[0045] A mapping relationship generation module, configured to determine multiple communication modes according to the communication requirements of the distributed co-simulation system in different simulation scenarios, design corresponding communication protocols for each communication mode respectively, and generate a mapping relationship between the simulation scenario, the communication mode, and the communication protocol in the distributed co-simulation master node;

[0046] A communication middleware construction module, configured to construct a communication middleware for distributed co-simulation communication management, generate an object proxy for each distributed co-simulation working node respectively, establish a unified communication protocol between the communication middleware and each object proxy, and distribute the mapping relationship to each object proxy through the communication middleware;

[0047] An instruction issuing module, configured to issue the simulation scenario or communication mode determined by the user in the distributed co-simulation master node to each object proxy through the communication middleware, so that the object proxy determines the communication protocol corresponding to the simulation scenario or communication mode according to the mapping relationship, and switches the communication mode of this working node and converts the communication protocol of this working node.

[0048] In specific implementation, the instruction issuing module is further configured to, when issuing the simulation scenario or communication mode determined by the user in the distributed joint simulation master node to each object agent through the communication middleware, issue the start time and conversion duration of communication protocol conversion to each object agent; if the current working node fails to complete the communication protocol conversion within the conversion duration, the object agent of the current working node sends a conversion incomplete message to the distributed joint simulation master node through the communication middleware.

[0049] In specific implementation, as Figure 3 shown, the device further includes an information registration module, configured to register the attribute information of each working node of each object agent with the communication middleware for other distributed joint simulation working nodes to call remote objects according to the node registration information in the communication middleware; wherein, the attribute information includes node instance, naming, and specified unique identification information.

[0050] In specific implementation, as Figure 3 shown, the device further includes a verification module, configured to, when the communication middleware receives a remote call request from the object agent of any working node to other working nodes, query the registration information of this working node in the communication middleware to determine whether this working node performs information registration and whether the registration information is complete, so as to verify the security of this working node.

[0051] In specific implementation, as Figure 3 shown, the device further includes: an external access gateway design module, configured to design an external access gateway, define the interface of the external access gateway in the communication middleware, register the external access gateway with the communication middleware, and configure gateway parameters in the communication middleware to integrate the external access gateway into the communication middleware.

[0052] Through the multi-mode communication mechanism and external access gateway design, the embodiment of the present invention constructs the communication relationship between the communication middleware and the object agent, can realize the efficient interconnection of heterogeneous and remote systems, solves the deficiencies of the traditional distributed simulation mechanism in the interconnection of heterogeneous systems, and improves the reliability of the interconnection between systems. In addition, the embodiment of the present invention designs an external access gateway, supports external systems to access through the loading of the access gateway component, transmits system data information in the form of service interfaces, and also supports the transmission of databases or files and other information in the background transfer mode, improves the scalability and reliability of the system, enhances the user interaction experience, and supports multiple data formats and protocols, can conveniently access new simulation systems or devices, and has good scalability.

[0053] As described above, it is only the specific implementation manner of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily thought of by those skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in the present application should be covered within the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. An information transmission method for a distributed joint simulation system, characterized in that: include: According to the communication requirements of the distributed joint simulation system in different simulation scenarios, multiple communication modes are determined, corresponding communication protocols are designed for each communication mode, and a mapping relationship between the simulation scenario, the communication mode and the communication protocol is generated in the distributed joint simulation master node; Constructing a communication middleware for distributed joint simulation communication management, generating an object proxy of each distributed joint simulation working node in each working node, establishing a unified communication protocol between the communication middleware and each object proxy, and distributing the mapping relationship to each object proxy through the communication middleware; The simulation scenario or communication mode determined by the user in the distributed joint simulation master node is sent to each of the object agents through the communication middleware, so that the object agent determines the communication protocol corresponding to the simulation scenario or communication mode according to the mapping relationship, switches the communication mode of the working node, and converts the communication protocol of the working node; The communication middleware includes a communication mode manager, a data transmission engine and a load balancer; the communication mode manager is responsible for registering, managing and scheduling different communication modes, the data transmission engine is responsible for data encapsulation, transmission and decapsulation, and the load balancer is used to dynamically allocate communication resources according to network load conditions; The method further comprises: While sending the simulation scenario or communication mode determined by the user in the distributed joint simulation master node to each of the object proxies through the communication middleware, the communication protocol conversion start time and conversion duration are sent to each of the object proxies; If the current working node fails to complete the conversion of the communication protocol within the conversion time, the object proxy of the current working node sends a conversion incomplete message to the distributed joint simulation master node through the communication middleware; The method further comprises: Each object agent registers the attribute information of the working node with the communication middleware, so that other distributed joint simulation working nodes can call remote objects according to the node registration information in the communication middleware; wherein the attribute information includes the node instance, naming and designated unique identification information.

2. The information transmission method for a distributed joint simulation system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The method further comprises: When the communication middleware receives a remote call request to other working nodes sent by the object agent of any working node, the registration information of the working node is queried in the communication middleware to determine whether the working node has registered information and whether the registration information is complete, so as to verify the security of the working node.

3. The information transmission method for a distributed joint simulation system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The method further comprises: An external access gateway is designed, an interface of the external access gateway is defined in the communication middleware, the external access gateway is registered in the communication middleware, and gateway parameters are configured in the communication middleware to integrate the external access gateway into the communication middleware.

4. The information transmission method for a distributed joint simulation system according to claim 3, characterized in that: The method also includes: the heterogeneous system accesses the external access gateway through the loading unit, and transmits system data information in the form of a service interface or background transfer; the service interface includes: Web Service or RESTful API, and the background transfer method includes a message queue or file transfer transfer method.

5. The information transmission method for a distributed joint simulation system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The communication modes include data publish / subscribe mode, distributed object communication mode, point-to-point communication mode and broadcast communication mode.

6. An information transmission device for a distributed joint simulation system, characterized in that: include: A mapping relationship generation module is used to determine multiple communication modes according to the communication requirements of the distributed joint simulation system in different simulation scenarios, design a corresponding communication protocol for each communication mode, and generate a mapping relationship between the simulation scenario, the communication mode and the communication protocol in the distributed joint simulation master node; A communication middleware construction module is used to construct a communication middleware for distributed joint simulation communication management, generate an object proxy of each distributed joint simulation working node in the working node, establish a unified communication protocol between the communication middleware and each object proxy, and distribute the mapping relationship to each object proxy through the communication middleware; An instruction issuing module, used for issuing the simulation scenario or communication mode determined by the user in the distributed joint simulation master node to each of the object agents through the communication middleware, so that the object agent determines the communication protocol corresponding to the simulation scenario or communication mode according to the mapping relationship, switches the communication mode of the working node and converts the communication protocol of the working node; The communication middleware includes a communication mode manager, a data transmission engine and a load balancer; the communication mode manager is responsible for registering, managing and scheduling different communication modes, the data transmission engine is responsible for data encapsulation, transmission and decapsulation, and the load balancer is used to dynamically allocate communication resources according to network load conditions; The instruction issuing module is also used to issue the simulation scenario or communication mode determined by the user in the distributed joint simulation master node to each of the object agents through the communication middleware, and at the same time, issue the communication protocol conversion start time and conversion duration to each of the object agents; if the current working node fails to complete the conversion of the communication protocol within the conversion duration, the object agent of the current working node sends a conversion incomplete message to the distributed joint simulation master node through the communication middleware; The device also includes: An information registration module is used for each object agent to register the attribute information of the working node with the communication middleware, and for other distributed joint simulation working nodes to call remote objects according to the node registration information in the communication middleware; wherein the attribute information includes the node instance, naming and specified unique identification information.

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