What Is Computer Simulation?

Computer simulation is the application of electronic computers to dynamically and realistically imitate the structure, function, and behavior of the system and the thinking processes and behaviors of people involved in system control.

Computer Simulation

(Computer Application Technology)

It is a descriptive technology

Simulation technology was mainly applied in the military field. In the 1950s and 1960s, simulation technology began to be applied to the development of intercontinental missiles, the Apollo moon landing program, and the operation of nuclear power plants. Since the 1980s, simulation technology has entered a new era of computer simulation with the development of computer technology. Computer simulation technology has begun to be applied to instrumentation, virtual manufacturing, electronic product design, simulation training and other aspects of people's production and life on a large scale. .

Since the 1990s, based on computer simulation technology, a number of high-level, large-scale semi-physical simulation systems have been built in China, such as radio-frequency guided missile semi-physical simulation systems, infrared guided missile semi-physical simulation systems, and fighter engineering flight simulators. , Fighter aircraft semi-physical simulation system, destroyer semi-physical simulation system, etc. These semi-physical simulation systems have played a significant role in the development of weapon models.

In 2008, the overall size of the global computer simulation market reached more than $ 88.3 billion, and the overall size of the Chinese computer simulation market reached more than 29.8 billion yuan. The future development potential of the computer simulation industry is huge.

It is a comprehensive technology based on similar principles, information technology, system technology and related fields of expertise, using computers and various physical effect equipment as tools, and using system models to conduct experimental research on actual or conceived systems. Computer simulation technology has the advantages of economy, safety, repeatability, and freedom from climate, site, and time constraints. It is called the third means for humans to understand and transform nature in addition to theoretical derivation and scientific experiments.

Computer simulation technology is widely used in national defense, industry, and other aspects of human production and life, such as: aviation, aerospace, weapons, national defense electronics, ships, power, petrochemical and other industries, especially in the demonstration, development, Production, use and maintenance processes. Today, the computer simulation industry has become a large-scale industry representing the country's key technologies and core scientific research capabilities. According to the application characteristics of simulation technology, the computer simulation industry can be divided into the fields of computer simulation testing, simulation training, and virtual manufacturing. Among them, computer simulation testing can be divided into electromechanical simulation testing, radio frequency simulation testing, and general testing. Nowadays, the overall size of the global computer simulation market has exceeded 100 billion U.S. dollars. The overall size of the Chinese computer simulation market is more than 70 billion yuan, and the future development potential of the computer simulation industry is huge.

The computer simulation industry is a globally competitive industry. With the first-mover advantage and mature simulation products, manufacturers from developed countries in Europe and the United States, led by the United States, have taken the lead in major computer simulation markets around the world. Their main companies include National Instruments (NI),

With the advancement of science and technology, especially the development of information technology and computer technology, the concept of "simulation" has been continuously developed and improved, so it is very difficult to give simulation a clear and concise definition. But the basic meaning of a popular system simulation is to construct a model of an actual system and experiment with it in order to understand and evaluate the various operating strategies of the system. The model here is a generalized model, including mathematical models, physical models, and so on. Obviously, there are different ways of simulation depending on the model. The system can be divided into two categories: continuous time system and discrete time system. Because the motion laws of these two systems are very different, the models describing their motion laws are also very different. Therefore, the corresponding simulation methods are also different and correspond to For continuous time system simulation and discrete time system simulation.

Computer simulation is a comprehensive technique that uses the results of computer science and technology to build a model of the system being simulated, and performs dynamic experiments on the model under certain experimental conditions. It has the advantages of being efficient, safe, less constrained by environmental conditions, and changing the time scale. It has become an important tool for analysis, design, operation, evaluation, and training systems (especially complex systems).

Computer simulation simulation definition

Simulation is the imitation of a certain level of abstract properties of a real system. People use such models to experiment, get the information they need, and then help people make decisions about problems at a certain level in the real world. Simulation is a relative concept. Any realistic simulation can only be an approximation of some properties of a real system. Simulation is hierarchical. It is necessary to address both the objective system problem to be processed and the level of demand of the processor. Otherwise, it is difficult to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of a simulation system.

Computer simulation simulation method

The traditional simulation method is an iterative process, that is, based on the characteristics (processes) of a certain level of the actual system, abstracting a model, and then assuming the situation (input), performing experiments, the tester interprets the output results and verifies the model. Situation to modify the model and related parameters. Iterate this way until it is considered that this model has satisfied the experimenter's purpose of simulating a certain level of the objective system.

The model's abstract description of a certain level of the system includes: the composition of the system; the static, dynamic, and logical relationships between the various components; the output response of the system under certain input conditions. According to the characteristics of the state variables of the system model, the system model can be divided into: continuous system model-state variables are continuously changing; discrete (event) system model-state changes at discrete time points (usually uncertain) Changes; mixed type-a mixture of the two above.

The computer simulation technology and the computer used for simulation (simulator for short) should fully reflect the characteristics of the above simulation and meet the needs of the simulation worker.

Computer simulation simulator

Computer for simulation. In the 1950s, most of the simulation machines were implemented with electronic simulation computers as mainframes. In some special application areas, hydraulic machines, pneumatic machines, or impedance networks were also used as the main simulation equipment. Due to the shortcomings such as the poor accuracy of electronic analog computers, from the early 1970s, digital analog hybrid simulators have been developed. Since the end of the 1970s, various special and general-purpose emulators with digital machines as mainframes have been popularized and promoted. Due to the remarkable progress of high-performance workstations, supercomputers, small supercomputers, software technology and artificial intelligence technology, in the 1980s, people placed hope on intelligent simulation machines, and also integrated the advantages of digital simulation and simulation On the basis of this, a digital-analog hybrid simulator at a higher level is designed. In some specific simulation fields, this kind of intelligent simulator and high-level digital simulation simulator have achieved encouraging results.

With the rapid development of computer technology, a number of distinctive simulation workstations, small giant-type simulators, and giant-type simulators have also appeared in the simulators. Some simulators introduced in the early 80's, SYSTEM10 and SYSTEM100 are representative of this type of simulator.

Computer simulation system

In order to build an effective simulation system, it generally needs to go through the steps of building models, simulation experiments, data processing, analysis and verification. In order to form a practical large-scale simulation system, in addition to the simulation machine, control and display equipment are also required.