Method and systems for anticipatorily updating a remote repository

A method for supporting an interactive computer simulation system that executes an interactive computer simulation for training personnel on complex and/or risky tasks, wherein the interactive computer simulation executes on a first simulation station allowing one or more users to interact in the interactive computer simulation for controlling a simulated vehicle in a computer generated environment thereof, comprising:

• providing access towards a central repository comprising a synthetic natural environment database that comprises data for a plurality of geographically-located terrain skin representations of the computer generated environment of the interactive computer simulation for training personnel on complex and/or risky tasks;
• at a remote data management system, computing a plurality of expected geographical positions for the first simulation station, the first simulation station allowing one or more users to interact in the interactive computer simulation for controlling a first vehicle in the computer generated environment, wherein an actual geographical position of the first vehicle is determined by the one or more users in the first simulation station without being predetermined by the interactive computer simulation and wherein the plurality of expected geographical positions is computed in relation to the actual geographical position of the first vehicle;
• and
• from the remote data management system, anticipatorily updating, via the network, a subset of the synthetic natural environment database stored in a remote repository, distinct from the central repository and remote therefrom, accessible to the first simulation station with a supplemental subset of the synthetic natural environment database corresponding to one or more of the computed expected geographical positions, the supplemental subset of the synthetic natural environment database corresponding to geographical positions missing therefrom.

A system, for executing an interactive computer simulation of a simulated vehicle for training personnel on complex and/or risky tasks, comprising a central repository, a remote data management system, a remote repository and an interactive computer simulation station interconnected via a network, wherein:

• the central repository comprises a synthetic natural environment database that comprises data for a plurality of geographically-located terrain skin representations of a computer generated environment of the interactive computer simulation for training personnel on complex and/or risky tasks;
• and
• the remote data management system maintains the remote repository comprising a subset of the synthetic natural environment database accessible to the interactive computer simulation station, the remote repository being distinct from the central repository and remote therefrom;
• the interactive computer simulation station:
• sends, over the network, a data request for one or more geographical locations from the synthetic natural environment database for rendering images for the interactive computer simulation;
• and
• allows one or more users to interact in the interactive computer simulation for controlling the simulated vehicle in the computer generated environment considering the rendered images, wherein an actual geographical position of the simulated vehicle is determined by the one or more users in the interactive computer simulation station without being predetermined by the interactive computer simulation;
• and
• the remote data management system of the interactive computer simulation system:
• computes a plurality of expected geographical positions for the first simulation station interactive computer simulation stations, wherein the plurality of expected geographical positions is computed in relation to the actual geographical position of the simulated vehicle;
• and
• anticipatorily updates, via the network, the subset of the synthetic natural environment database stored in the remote repository with a supplemental subset of the synthetic natural environment database corresponding to one or more of the computed expected geographical positions, the supplemental subset of the synthetic natural environment database corresponding to geographical positions missing therefrom.