URBAN LEGEND AUSTRALIAN STYLE

fwd:

Date: Fri, 18 Jun 1999 15:31:14 -0400

AIR WARGAMES SIM (or, "some things are too silly *not* to pass on")

This is supposedly a true story from a recent Defence Science Lectures
Series, as related by the head of the Australian DSTO's Land
Operations/Simulation division.

So, the Aussies have been working on some really nifty virtual reality
simulators, the case in point being to incorporate Armed
Reconnaissance Helicopters into exercises (from the data fusion point
of view). Most of the people they employ on this sort of thing are ex-
(or future) computer game programmers.

Anyway, as part of the reality parameters, they include things like
trees and animals. For the Australian simulation they included
kangaroos. In particular, they had to model kangaroo movements and
reactions to helicopters (since hordes of disturbed kangaroos might
well give away a helicopter's position).

Being good little programmers, they just stole some code (which was
originally used to model infantry detachments reactions under the same
stimuli), and changed the mapped icon, the speed parameters, etc. The
first time they demonstrate this to some visiting Americans, the
hotshot pilots have decided to get "down and dirty" with the virtual
kangaroos.  So, they buzz them, and watch them scatter.

The visiting Americans nod appreciatively -- then gape as the
kangaroos duck around a hill, and launch about two dozen Stinger
missiles at the hapless helicopter. Programmers look rather
embarrassed at forgetting to remove *that* part of the infantry coding
-- and Americans leave muttering comments about not wanting to mess
with the Aussie wildlife.

As an addendum, simulator pilots from that point onwards avoided
kangaroos like the plague, just like they were meant to do in the
first place.