Providing timely and authoritative representations of the environment is a core requirement in order to achieve interoperability among aggregated heterogeneous simulation systems. Toward meeting this need, the SEDRIS project was given the general objective of solving the M&S system environmental data interchange problem. However, in accomplishing that objective, the SEDRIS project also solves the related interchange and reuse problems encountered by database producers and operational users. In meeting this need, SEDRIS offers a significant advantage to database generation and tailoring activities where geographic information system (GIS) technology is used.

In the context of promoting environmental data reuse and interoperability, the specific objectives of the SEDRIS development effort are listed below.

• Capture the complete set of environmental data elements and their relationships in the context of a data model.

• Provide a software library implementing a standard application programmer's interface (API) for access to data elements.

• Minimize cost to access and reuse environmental data by lowering the software barrier to entry.

• Provide a standard data interchange mechanism between database builders and consumers.

• Facilitate interoperability of networked heterogeneous simulations.

• Support reuse of environmental databases between disparate simulations.

• Use the same data model for both completed database interchange and as an access mechanism to import and export source data into and out of various database generation systems and included GIS software products.

• Promote a consensus understanding of the diverse requirements and implementation choices used within the broad M&S community through education.