WSHLA: Web services-based HLA collaborative simulation framework

Collaborative simulation technology is an important factor in improving the efficiency of complex product design. Although High Level Architecture (HLA)-based simulation technology can meet the needs for simulation in product design, it's also marked by many deficiencies. In this paper, we focus on the introduction of web services into HLA simulation system and propose a Web Services-Based HLA Collaborative Simulation Framework (WSHLA). The framework uses web services to encapsulate the invocations of HLA services and then make simulation system more interoperable and reusable. Firstly, the overall structure of WSHLA and the proxy, which acts on behalf of a federate and interacts with Runtime Infrastructure (RTI), are presented. Then, the detailed design and implementation process of WSHLA are discussed. Experimental results show that, using web services, the framework can make up for the deficiencies in HLA simulation system and ensure WSHLA-based collaborative simulation goes smoothly at the expense of some time.