Strategy games — both traditional and modern — may be viewed as simulations of abstracted decision-making for the purpose of training military and political leaders (see History of Go for an example of such a tradition, or Kriegsspiel for a more recent example). Many other video games are simulators of some kind. Such games can simulate various aspects of reality, from business, to government, to construction, to piloting vehicles (see above).Main article: Simulation game
The only true way to test GNSS receivers (commonly known as Sat-Nav's in the commercial world)is by using an RF Constellation Simulator. A receiver that may for example be used on an aircraft, can be tested under dynamic conditions without the need to take it on a real flight. The test conditions can be repeated exactly, and there is full control over all the test parameters. this is not possible in the 'real-world' using the actual signals. For testing receivers that will use the new Galileo (satellite navigation) there is no alternative, as the real signals do not yet exist.
Simulation is used at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) to train and certify Space Shuttle engineers during simulated launch countdown operations. The Space Shuttle engineering community participates in a launch countdown integrated simulation before each shuttle flight. This simulation is a virtual simulation where real people interact with simulated Space Shuttle vehicle and Ground Support Equipment (GSE) hardware. The Shuttle Final Countdown Phase Simulation, also known as S0044, involves countdown processes that integrate many of the Space Shuttle vehicle and GSE systems. Some of the Shuttle systems integrated in the simulation are the Main Propulsion System, Main Engines, Solid Rocket Boosters, ground Liquid Hydrogen and Liquid Oxygen,External Tank, Flight Controls, Navigation, and Avionics.[54] The high-level objectives of the Shuttle Final Countdown Phase Simulation are: The Shuttle Final Countdown Phase Simulation takes place at the Kennedy Space Center Launch Control Center Firing Rooms. The firing room used during the simulation is the same control room where real launch countdown operations are executed. As a result, equipment used for real launch countdown operations is engaged. Command and control computers, application software, engineering plotting and trending tools, launch countdown procedure documents, launch commit criteria documents, hardware requirement documents, and any other items used by the engineering launch countdown teams during real launch countdown operations are used during the simulation. The Space Shuttle vehicle hardware and related GSE hardware is simulated by mathematical models (written in Shuttle Ground Operations Simulator (SGOS) modeling language [56]) that behave and react like real hardware. During the Shuttle Final Countdown Phase Simulation, engineers command and control hardware via real application software executing in the control consoles – just as if they were commanding real vehicle hardware. However, these real software applications do not interface with real Shuttle hardware during simulations. Instead, the applications interface with mathematical model representations of the vehicle and GSE hardware. Consequently, the simulations bypass sensitive and even dangerous mechanisms while providing engineering measurements detailing how the hardware would have reacted. Since these math models interact with the command and control application software, models and simulations are also used to debug and verify the functionality of application software.[57]
Simulation techniques have also been applied to payment and securities settlement systems. Among the main users are central banks who are generally responsible for the oversight of market infrastructure and entitled to contribute to the smooth functioning of the payment systems. Central Banks have been using payment system simulations to evaluate things such as the adequacy or sufficiency of liquidity available ( in the form of account balances and intraday credit limits) to participants (mainly banks) to allow efficient settlement of payments.[50][51] The need for liquidity is also dependent on the availability and the type of netting procedures in the systems, thus some of the studies have a focus on system comparisons.[52] Another application is to evaluate risks related to events such as communication network breakdowns or the inability of participants to send payments (e.g. in case of possible bank failure).[53] This kind of analysis fall under the concepts of Stress testing or scenario analysis. A common way to conduct these simulations is to replicate the settlement logics of the real payment or securities settlement systems under analysis and then use real observed payment data. In case of system comparison or system development, naturally also the other settlement logics need to be implemented. To perform stress testing and scenario analysis, the observed data needs to be altered, e.g. some payments delayed or removed. To analyze the levels of liquidity, initial liquidity levels are varried. System comparisons (benchmarking)or evaluations of new netting algorithms or rules are performed by running simulations with a fixed set of data and wariating only the system setups. Inference is usually done by comparing the benchmark simulation results to the results of altered simulation setups by comparing indicators such as unsettled transactions or settlement delays
Simulations are useful in modeling the flow of transactions through business processes, such as in the field of sales process engineering, to study and improve the flow of customer orders through various stages of completion (say, from an initial proposal for providing goods/services through order acceptance and installation). Such simulations can help predict the impact of how improvements in methods might impact variability, cost, labor time, and the quantity of transactions at various stages in the process. A full-featured computerized process simulator can be used to depict such models, as can simpler educational demonstrations using spreadsheet software, pennies being transferred between cups based on the roll of a die, or dipping into a tub of colored beads with a scoop.[49]Main article: Sales process engineering
Simulations of production systems is mainly a used to examine improvements or investments in a production system. Most often is this done using a static spreadsheet with process times and transportation times. For more sophisticated simulations Discrete Event Simulation (DES) is used with the advantages to simulate dynamics in the production system. A production system is very much dynamic depending on variations manufacturing processes, a assambly times, machine set-ups, breaks, breakdowns and small stoppages.[48] There are lots of programs commersely used for discrete event simulation. They differ in usability and markets but do often share the same foundation. There is an academic project investigating the possibilities to use production simulation software for ecology labeling, named EcoProIT.
A robotics simulator is used to create embedded applications for a specific (or not) robot without being dependent on the 'real' robot. In some cases, these applications can be transferred to the real robot (or rebuilt) without modifications. Robotics simulators allow reproducing situations that cannot be 'created' in the real world because of cost, time, or the 'uniqueness' of a resource. A simulator also allows fast robot prototyping. Many robot simulators feature physics engines to simulate a robot's dynamics.Main article: Robotics simulator
Military simulations, also known informally as war games, are models in which theories of warfare can be tested and refined without the need for actual hostilities. They exist in many different forms, with varying degrees of realism. In recent times, their scope has widened to include not only military but also political and social factors (for example, the NationLab series of strategic exercises in Latin America.[47] Whilst many governments make use of simulation, both individually and collaboratively, little is known about the model's specifics outside professional circles.Main article: Military simulation
Bearing resemblance to flight simulators, marine simulators train ships' personnel. The most common marine simulators include: Simulators like these are mostly used within maritime colleges, training institutions and navies. They often consist of a replication of a ships' bridge, with operating console(s), and a number of screens on which the virtual surroundings are projected.
Flight Simulation Training Devices (FSTD) are used to train pilots on the ground. In comparison to training in an actual aircraft, simulation based training allows for the training of maneuvers or situations that may be impractical (or even dangerous) to perform in the aircraft, while keeping the pilot and instructor in a relatively low-risk environment on the ground. For example, electrical system failures, instrument failures, hydraulic system failures, and even flight control failures can be simulated without risk to the pilots or an aircraft. Instructors can also provide students with a higher concentration of training tasks in a given period of time than is usually possible in the aircraft. For example, conducting multiple instrument approaches in the actual aircraft may require significant time spent repositioning the aircraft, while in a simulation, as soon as one approach has been completed, the instructor can immediately preposition the simulated aircraft to an ideal (or less than ideal) location from which to begin the next approach. Flight simulation also provides an economic advantage over training in an actual aircraft. Once fuel, maintenance, and insurance costs are taken into account, the operating costs of an FSTD are usually substantially lower than the operating costs of the simulated aircraft. For some large transport category airplanes, the operating costs may be several times lower for the FSTD than the actual aircraft. Some people who use simulator software, especially flight simulator software, build their own simulator at home. Some people — in order to further the realism of their homemade simulator — buy used cards and racks that run the same software used by the original machine. While this involves solving the problem of matching hardware and software — and the problem that hundreds of cards plug into many different racks — many still find that solving these problems is well worthwhile. Some are so serious about realistic simulation that they will buy real aircraft parts, like complete nose sections of written-off aircraft, at aircraft boneyards. This permits people to simulate a hobby that they are unable to pursue in real life.
