IB Computer Science B. Modelling and Simulation Questionbank

(d) Discuss the social implications of self-driving cars.

B. Modelling and simulation

Commercial airlines and military organizations utilize advanced flight simulators to train pilots in a controlled environment. These systems use complex mathematical models to replicate the aerodynamics of an aircraft and the physics of the surrounding atmosphere.

Simulated environments allow pilots to experience a wide range of flight conditions, from routine take-offs to critical mechanical failures, without leaving the ground.

(b) Define the term real-time simulation.

(c) Explain why certain atmospheric phenomena, such as localized microbursts or extreme turbulence, are difficult for simulators to model with absolute precision.

(d) Discuss the advantages of using flight simulations for emergency procedure training compared to using actual aircraft.

A logistics firm is developing a simulation to monitor the battery 'State-of-Health' (SoH) for its fleet of electric delivery vans. The simulation begins with a new battery at $100\%$ SoH and assumes a baseline degradation of $0.00005$ (i.e., $0.005\%$) for every kilometer driven. The fleet manager uses this model to schedule vehicle replacements and estimate the long-term resale value of the fleet.

(b) Identify three operational or environmental variables that would likely influence the rate of battery degradation in a real-world setting.

(c) Explain how the inclusion of the variables identified in the previous part would enhance the predictive power of the simulation.

(d) Analyze the limitations of using a simplified linear simulation to predict the lifespan of complex hardware like lithium-ion batteries.

A software engineer is designing a communication simulation for a language processing tool. The engineer must choose between a rule-based translation model and a corpus-based (statistical) translation model.

Compare the methodology used by these two models to generate a translation.

(a) Identify four technical requirements that must be met for a flight simulator to provide a high-fidelity (highly realistic) experience for a trainee pilot.

An engineering firm is designing an automated traffic control system where autonomous vehicles communicate with roadside infrastructure via a dedicated wireless link. To ensure safety and efficiency, the developers use a computer simulation to model the communication exchanges before physical implementation.

Discuss how this simulation can be used to predict the reliability of the system, specifically addressing how 'interference' is represented in the model and the advantages of using a simulation over real-world stress testing.

(a) Describe the logic of a basic iterative simulation used to estimate the final SoH of a battery after a vehicle has completed a total distance of $120,000$ km.

(e) To what extent can a pilot's performance in a simulated environment be used to predict their actual behavior during a genuine in-flight crisis?

(e) Identify two financial risks associated with an inaccurate battery degradation model, and explain how each would impact the logistics firm.