SYNAPSE: connect VBS4 to external systems through one gateway

A training environment becomes harder to maintain each time another device or application receives its own connection to the simulator. Commands, state updates and telemetry arrive through different paths. When the simulator or a connected system changes, the team has to work out which integration now behaves differently.

SYNAPSE is AIC’s VBS4 integration gateway. It provides a controlled boundary for external software, hardware, autonomy components and telemetry sources to interact with the synthetic environment. Customer demonstrations are available now, with the connected systems and intended exchange agreed before the session.

Give commands, events and state an explicit boundary

SYNAPSE uses a native VBS-side gateway to normalise, validate and route external requests through defined simulation adapters. It supports versioned commands, event publishing and outbound telemetry. A simulation software development kit facade separates VBS-specific implementation from the external systems using it.

This makes the integration boundary something engineers can inspect. A request should have a defined meaning, a permitted destination and a visible result. External applications should not need to understand every internal simulator call to perform an agreed task. The gateway provides a place to examine validation, routing and diagnostics together.

Commands and changing state have different requirements. An instruction that must be processed reliably is different from a stream of rapidly changing positions or sensor state. SYNAPSE’s architecture separates reliable command channels from high-rate state paths, with events and telemetry available for systems that need to observe what happened.

Connect the systems that matter to the exercise

SYNAPSE supports TCP, UDP and MQTT interfaces, native C++ access, scripting and SQF bridges, external state injection, entity control and camera integration. Its integration scope includes the VBS Simulation SDK and Gears, with pathways for external flight dynamics, Control AI and ArduPilot or MAVLink work.

Confirm the exact interface and software versions for the customer’s configuration. Bring the external system specification, required update behaviour and simulator version. Agree the messages the demonstration will exchange and what the gateway must accept or reject.

For intelligence training, examine whether the external application supplies the agreed information, participants see the intended synthetic state and the exercise team can inspect the telemetry afterwards. Define those requirements around the lesson the exercise needs to support.

Work within the training network

SYNAPSE is designed for local operation on VBS workstations and training networks, including disconnected simulation estates. Command, state and telemetry exchange can remain within the customer environment. Centrally hosted gateway services may be appropriate where the deployment calls for them.

Authentication, transport protection, component signing and host hardening need to match that environment. SYNAPSE provides the integration boundary; the deployment team must specify the controls around it. A local installation still needs defined permissions and clear ownership of the systems allowed to send commands or receive exercise data.

For restricted training networks, agree the permitted peers, identity arrangements, local dependencies and transfer policy. Record these with the tested interface and software versions so the simulation owner can assess the complete configuration.

Combine integration with the right terrain and exercise design

The gateway is one part of a training environment. VBS UK Dataset supplies national terrain at three fidelity levels. VBS UK Training Areas supplies detailed inserts for location-specific rehearsal. The required terrain, participating systems and exercise objectives should be scoped together.

AIC also provides VBS simulation consulting through VANGUARD. That work covers scenario design, terrain generation, optimisation and simulation integration. An engagement can focus on the gateway, the surrounding exercise environment or a defined combination of both.

The AIC intelligence software guide places these training capabilities alongside the wider portfolio. Where an exercise exchanges information with an intelligence application, specify the data, supported formats, permissions and receiving interface as part of that integration.

Ask the demonstration to show failure as well as success

Begin with a small exchange: one external system, an agreed command and a defined stream of state or telemetry. Inspect the request, the simulator response and the diagnostic information. Then submit a malformed or unsupported request and observe the boundary’s response in the agreed test setup.

Discuss what happens if the external connection stops, if state arrives at a different rate or if the simulator version changes. Record which behaviours have been demonstrated and which need further integration work. The SYNAPSE VBS integration evaluation provides an illustrative framework for these checks.

Compare the next integration as well as the first

The economic question is how much interface work can be maintained once and reused. Compare the gateway and adapter costs with the build, testing and support effort for separate plugins. Include the next connected system and the next simulator upgrade in that calculation.

Arrange a SYNAPSE demonstration. Send the VBS version, external system, required commands and telemetry, network constraints and exercise purpose. AIC can then scope a demonstration and an integration proposal around the exchange your training team actually needs.