The Adacel VAST Security Simulator enables a user to re-create a facility and its corresponding physical protection system as a 3d virtual facility. The system includes a comprehensive scenario generation toolset to enable a user to define the location and capabilities of a facility’s detection assets such as surveillance cameras, motion sensors and access control devices.

The user can change the types, quantity and capabilities of the detection assets and run “what if” threat scenarios to validate the location and deployment of sensors as well as to help assess a facility’s vulnerability.

Alarms are triggered by simulated vehicles, personnel, aircraft, boats etc. The simulated alarm messages and synthetic video feeds will appear on the operator’s displays – just like live data.

System Uses

The VAST simulator is extremely versatile and can be used for a number of diverse activities, such as:

Security Personnel Training
The system can reduce on the job training time by teaching an operator the location and capabilities of the sensors at a particular site, the building locations, fence perimeters, obstructions and coverage gaps etc. In addition the system can be used to teach response procedures and to aid in teaching situational awareness and decision-making skills.

Simulated Force on Force Exercises
Force on Force exercises are currently mandated in many industries. However the nature of force on force exercises introduces many artificial elements which can compromise their overall effectiveness.

For example:

The VAST security simulator can simulate all of these activities without compromising facility security or the associated costs and man power requirements.

Human Factors Studies
The simulator can be used as a powerful research tool for performing human factor studies that assist in designing more efficient systems. Areas of research could include; operator workload, stress, number of simultaneous actions, security force communications, and orchestration of neutralization forces.

Planning & Evaluation
The system enables a user to add and define new sensors and capabilities to a virtual facility. Their benefits can be quickly validated prior to actual installation.

In addition, surveillance assets such as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles can be added to a scenario to validate their usefulness.

Procedure Development & Validation
New threats can be modeled and run against established procedures in the simulator to validate their effectiveness. New procedures can be tried and their effectiveness validated through further simulation.

Conduct Performance Benchmarking
Every system has a failure point. If it’s a steel beam it is the point of structural failure. With a Physical Security System is can be the saturation point for operator workload or the capacity of a network to handle data. A simulator can help validate when and how a failure will occur.

VAST Options

VAST has a number of add on components which significantly expand the capabilities and uses of the VAST simulation suite.

Current VAST options include:

	VAST Camera Station Synthetic video streams created in VAST can be displayed on many vendors IP based surveillance applications. Alternatively, VAST Camera Station provides a generic interface to display up to four concurrent streaming video feeds per display. Multiple displays can be utilized. An AXIS 295 joystick can be plugged into the system for Pan, Tilt and Zoom operations.
	VAST AC&D Alarm messaged generated in VAST can “stimulate” many vendors alarm display software applications. The VAST Access Control & Display (AX&D) system is a generic application for displaying alarm messages. The system has the following features: Alarm display on map at sensor location Acknowledge & release alarms Pan & Zoom map display Automatic 2D map generation from VAST 3D visual database.
	UAV Mission Simulator The UAV Mission Simulator simulates a ground control UAV operator’s station. The system simulates the geographical environments and operations of UAV pilots and payload specialists. The UAV Mission Simulator can run as a stand alone system or can be integrated into the VAST security simulator to provide fully coordinated exercises.
	Emergency Dispatch Simulator The VAST Emergency Dispatch Simulator provides a software only communications solution. The system can be used with all of the VAST simulators to provide voice communications between scenario participants.
	Driving Simulator The Driving Simulator provides an integrated and coordinated capability for simulating response forces in ground vehicles. Operators can drive freely through the simulation in vehicles such as HUMVEEs, pickup trucks and police vehicles.