Integrating Soft Set Theory and Fuzzy Linguistic Model to Evaluate the Performance of Training Simulation Systems

PLoS One. 2016 Sep 6;11(9):e0162092. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0162092. eCollection 2016.

Abstract

The advancement of high technologies and the arrival of the information age have caused changes to the modern warfare. The military forces of many countries have replaced partially real training drills with training simulation systems to achieve combat readiness. However, considerable types of training simulation systems are used in military settings. In addition, differences in system set up time, functions, the environment, and the competency of system operators, as well as incomplete information have made it difficult to evaluate the performance of training simulation systems. To address the aforementioned problems, this study integrated analytic hierarchy process, soft set theory, and the fuzzy linguistic representation model to evaluate the performance of various training simulation systems. Furthermore, importance-performance analysis was adopted to examine the influence of saving costs and training safety of training simulation systems. The findings of this study are expected to facilitate applying military training simulation systems, avoiding wasting of resources (e.g., low utility and idle time), and providing data for subsequent applications and analysis. To verify the method proposed in this study, the numerical examples of the performance evaluation of training simulation systems were adopted and compared with the numerical results of an AHP and a novel AHP-based ranking technique. The results verified that not only could expert-provided questionnaire information be fully considered to lower the repetition rate of performance ranking, but a two-dimensional graph could also be used to help administrators allocate limited resources, thereby enhancing the investment benefits and training effectiveness of a training simulation system.

MeSH terms

  • Fuzzy Logic
  • High Fidelity Simulation Training / economics
  • High Fidelity Simulation Training / methods*
  • Humans
  • Linguistics
  • Military Personnel / education
  • Military Personnel / psychology*
  • Software*

Grants and funding

The authors would like to thank the Ministry of Science and Technology of the Republic of China, for financially supporting this research under Contract No. MOST 103-2410-H-145-002, MOST 104-2623-E-145-001-D, MOST 105-2410-H-145-002, and MOST 104-2410-H-145-001. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.