A timeline of simulation.
Relevant events in the development of the simulation culture, arranged under these sections: subsets of reality| assumptions about reality| modelling methods| delivery systems| users| simulators| finance and marketing
1. realities: the subsets of reality which simulations cover.
- 2001: Nick Bostrom of Oxford University publishes paper on 'Are you living in a computer simulation?"
- 1999: internationally successful film 'The Matrix', in which human life takes place inside a computer simulation.
2. assumptions: how simulators derive the 'rules' on which their simulations are based.
- 1983: John R Anderson's 'ACT' theory of human cognition psychology is modelled on a computer, leading to ACT-R 'intelligent tutors' which can simulate student's learning processes.
- 1950: Alan Turing devises the 'Turing Test' for artificial intelligence: can a machine simulate a human response?
- 1944: John von Neumann and Oskar Morgenstern publish "Theory of Games and Economic Behavior".
3. modelling: how systems and models are built
- 1960s: Simula, a computer langauge designed for doing simulaitons, developed in the 1960s in Oslo by Ole-Johan Dahl and Kristen Nygaard (Possibly the first 'object oriented' language, it never achieved wide usage, but is seen as an important development.)
4. delivery: different delivery methods: what you see is what you get
- 1995: NSF privatises access to its networks.
- 1992: US Army takes over SIMNET
- 1989: Tim Berners-Lee develops URLs and HTML
- 1989: ARPANET shut down; US National Science Foudnation (NSF), takes over NSFNET backbone and rgional TCP/IP networks.
- 1988: Renderman standard for computer graphics first set out.
- 1986: Pixar set up (formerly the computer graphics division of LucasFilm's Industrial Light and Magic).
- 1983 DARPA and US Army start Simulator Networking (SIMNET) linking training simulators at sites in the United States and Europe.
- 1983: TCP/IP protocols used on ARPANET.
- 1981: Jim Clark patents Geometry Engine algorithms to produce realtime interactive 3-D, and founds Silicon Graphics in 1982.
- late 1970s: DARPA originates the VLSI RISC programs
- 1975: Queen Elizabeth II sends first royal email, using ARPANET.
- 1970: E F Codd's paper "A Relational Model of Data for Large Shared Data Banks" introduces the concept of relational databases, making it possible to store efficiently, and quickly retrieve, large amounts of data.
- 1969: first message sent over ARPANET (forerunner of the Internet).
- 1966: Ivan Sullivan designs 'virtual reality' headset.
- 1966: Joseph Weizenbaum writes ELIZA, a computer programme which simulates a therapist's responses.
- 1960: UDOFT computer specially designed for flight simulation by University of Pennsylvania/ Sylvania Corporation
- 1950s: monochrome closed circuit TV used for visual simulation of 'the world outside' in flight simulators
- 1941: UK's TRE develop electronic flight simulator for airborne interception training, using projected images to show horizon, enemy aircraft, etc.
5. users: who uses simulations, and what do they get out of it?
- 2001: Edward Castronova publishes "VIRTUAL WORLDS: A FIRST-HAND ACCOUNT OF MARKET AND SOCIETY ON THE CYBERIAN FRONTIER"
- 1948: Pan Am become firsts airline to install a flight simulator for crew training
- 1930: Edwin Link patents his flight trainer, a mechanical device simulating aircraft movements and control responses. With no visual display, these are largely used for 'blind flying' training.
- 1811: von Reisswitz’s "Kriegsspiel" allows realistic war games.
6. simulators: who are they?
- 2001: James Der Derian publishes "Virtuous War: Mapping the Military-Industrial-Media-Entertainment Network" (MIME-NET)
- 2000: Tim Lenoir introduces the term "Military Entertainment Complex"
- 1961: US President Dwight David Eisenhower, in farewell address to the nation, introduces the term " military industrial complex".
7. finance: who pays for all of this, and why? who markets the idea to them, and how?
- 2003: US Department of Homeland Security (set up in response to September 2001 terrorist attacks by Al-Qaeda)
- 1958: US Dept of Defense establishes Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) (sometimes known as ARPA).