On Reducing Entity State Update Packets in Distributed Interactive Simulations using a Hybrid Model

A key component in Distributed Interactive Simulations (DIS) is the number of data packets transmitted across the connected networks. To reduce the number of packets transmitted, DIS applications employ client-side predictive contracts. One widespread client-side predictive contract technique is dead reckoning. This paper proposes a hybrid predictive contract technique, which chooses either the deterministic dead reckoning model or a statistically based model. This results in a more accurate representation of the entity’s movement and a consequent reduction in the number of packets that must be communicated to track that movement remotely. The paper describes the hybrid technique and presents results that illustrate the reduction in packet transmissions. This hybrid technique is compared to the standard dead reckoning method.