The Aviation Combined Arms Tactical Trainer -- Aviation (AVCATT-A) program is the newest rotary wing aircraft simulator to be fielded to the U.S. Army. A significant requirement of AVCATT is interoperability with the Close Combat Tactical Trainer (CCTT) armor simulators. In order to facilitate interoperability the U.S. Army Simulation, Training, and Instrumentation Command (STRICOM) further required that the AVCATT databases be derived from existing CCTT databases. The CCTT databases were therefore converted to be compatible with the AVCATT image generation platform. This conversion occurred at several levels and addressed multiple issues.

The primary conversion media was to be the SEDRIS Transmittal Format (STF). The basic format of the visual database had to be converted from a hybrid list priority/range buffer priority architecture to a full z-buffer priority implementation Correlation issues with derived databases for other simulation systems. The program driven performance requirements implied an order of magnitude improvement in performance for the AVCATT image generators. Addition of aviation related features and special effects. A difference in the number and types of simulated sensors had to be accounted for. Subtle modifications to the database texture maps and models were required so that they could be viewed from elevated eyepoints rather than ground level.

These issues combined to make the conversion of the databases a complex and demanding effort. This paper will discuss how STRICOM and L3 have cooperated to accomplish this task, the methods that have been employed, some of the challenges encountered, and the degree to which the effort has been successful. Finally there will be some discussion of how the techniques used in this conversion might be applied to other databases and other programs, as well as suggestions for future database requirements to better facilitate similar conversions.