STK/Scheduler™ is a sophisticated planning and scheduling system that, for the first time, allows aerospace professionals to model their systems and perform operational scheduling and analysis - right out of the box.
Orbit Logic created STK/Scheduler™ through its partnership with Analytical Graphics to extend the STK suite of tools. It is a fully integrated add-on module to STK, Analytical Graphics's suite of aerospace tools for land, air, sea, and space analysis. It provides a powerful scheduling and planning application to mission designers and operations engineers alike. Users can define tasks and related resource requirements, request schedule solutions, and analyze the results through a user-friendly graphical user interface (GUI) or via the Application Program Interface (API). Enabled by STK/Connect, objects, access calculations, and event reports are easily imported from an STK scenario to define task scheduling windows and resource availability times.
STK/Scheduler™ is powered by a scheduling engine from Orbit Logic partner Optwise Corporation. It finds better solutions in a shorter amount of time than traditional heuristic algorithms. The global search algorithm within this engine is based on neural network technology that not only outperforms traditional scheduling engines, but can find solutions to larger and more complex problems. This lets STK/Scheduler™ allow system planners to maximize the value of limited resources
Key Features
Flexible task and resource definition
Tasks may be defined as recurring or non-recurring with specific scheduling windows and fixed or variable durations and requiring any logical combination of defined resources and related STK-report-driven time contraints. Resources are defined with global availability (or blackout) times including periodic options or by STK report-driven times. In addition, tasks can deplete or replenish resource capacity by a fixed amount or at a user-defined rate. Resources can be associated with STK objects for the automatic application of appropriate access constraints to tasks using those resources.
Schedule solution optimization
Don't just find any solution, find an optimized solution. Most heuristic engines stop when they find the first working solution. STK/Scheduler™ provides a neural-based global search engine option to search and compare a multitude of possible solutions in parallel to find the best working schedule option within defined constraints. The user is given the option of using several different scheduling algorithms, and can even modify the constants in the figure of merit (FOM) to tailor the solution scoring mechanism for a user-specific definition of "optimum".
Apply STK access calculations and reports
Fully integrated with STK, STK/Scheduler™ facilitates the application of STK report time constraints to any task and/or resource discrete window definition throughout the schedule definition process. Non-STK time window text files can also be applied if you have additional or alternative sources of access or event data. Report-driven constraints are defined as the schedule is built to show the user related task windows and resource availability times. In addition, a full set of task and resource reports, graphs, conflict analysis tools, and manual change validity check tools are included with the STK/Scheduler™ module.
Integrated graphical interface
A single customizable window provides task and resource attribute data, task Gantt charting and resource histograms. Filter, sort, group and resize Gantt and table views to get the window arrangement that best supports your planning needs.
Resource and task editing GUIs are just a right-click away from any object in the window. The user is also provided with many shortcuts to help speed the schedule definition process for simple problems, and powerful flexibility to define even the most complex scheduling scenarios. Form-specific HTML help is provided for STK/Scheduler; simply click on the "?" on any form to access information about the active form and any associated fields. Multiple schedules can be displayed at the same time, objects may be cut and pasted between schedules, and two schedule files can even be merged into a single combined schedule.
Application Programming Interface
STK/Scheduler™ comes with a comprehensive API that allows the software to be fully automated and integrated with 3rd party software products, including user-provided scheduling algorithms. The API was designed to allow any GUI function to be performed through the API; define and redefine tasks and resources and scheduling options, request task and resource attributes, generate a new schedule solution, or request a schedule report. STK/Scheduler™ API commands have been designed to follow the standard STK/Connect command format, and can be sent to STK/Scheduler through the STK/Connect socket interface, or directly to the STK/Scheduler™ application through a COM interface. STK/Scheduler™ can even import and execute a text file of valid API commands.
Schedule animation
Once you have defined your problem and generated a schedule solution, STK/Scheduler™ generates an STK scenario so you can visualize and assess your solution in vivid 3-D using STK/Advanced VO.