Sustainment of legacy automatic test systems: lessons learned on TPS transportability

Sustainment of legacy automatic test systems (ATS) saves cost through the re-use of software and hardware. The ATS consists of the automatic test equipment (ATE), the test program sets (TPSs), and associated software. The associated software includes the architecture the TPSs run on, known as the control software or test station test executive. In some cases, to sustain the legacy ATS, it is more practical to develop a replacement ATE with the latest instrumentation, often in the form of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware and software. The existing TPSs, including their hardware and test programs, then need to be transported, or translated, to the new test station. In order to understand how to sustain a legacy ATS by translating TPSs, one must realize the full architecture of the legacy ATS to be replaced. It must be understood that TPS transportability does not only include translating the original TPS from an existing language (such as ATLAS) to a new language (such as "C") to run on a new test station, but includes transporting the run-time environment created by the legacy ATS. This paper examines the similarities and differences of legacy ATE and modern COTS ATE architectures, how the ATS testing philosophy impacts the ease of TPS transportability from legacy ATE to modern-day platforms, and what SEI has done to address the issues that arise out of TPS transportability.     

机载嵌入式系统基准测试方法

性能评测是查找嵌入式计算机系统性能瓶颈、指导设备选型、平衡相关部件、优化系统结构以及提高系统实际性能的重要方法。在介绍了机载嵌入式计算机系统性能评测的指标和基本方法之后,重点分析了使用基准测试程序的测试方法和特点,以及基准测试方法的对比测试原理、不同测试环境的构建以及主要测试过程;选取了SPEC CPU 2000基准测试程序集针对机载嵌入式环境进行裁剪和移植,对某国产机载嵌入式实时操作系统分别以不同的嵌入式操作系统、嵌入式文件系统和编译选项为变量参数进行对比测试,得出了国产操作系统与国外同类商用操作系统运行实际应用程序的性能基本相当的结论,另外也得出文件系统对计算类基准程序的结果影响较小以及编译优化后能够大幅提高嵌入式系统性能等结论。     

Automated testing

Since the DoD was the leader in incorporating transistors, ICs and embedded processors, they also were on the forefront in developing automatic test equipment. The term automatic test equipment (ATE) encompasses all phases of computer controlled testing. It is based on the integration of instruments, computers and software. These systems generally include five basic elements: control, stimulus, measurement, switching and software. A special interface device or interface test adapter connects the unit under test (UUT) to the ATE. Test program software connects the ATE to the appropriate UUT test points, programs the input stimulus and monitors the output response     

嵌入式软件自动化测试平台的研究与实现

随着嵌入式系统的广泛应用,对其软件进行完善而又高效的测试成为必须.本文提出了一种联系宿主机和目标机的自动化测试平台.该平台分为宿主机端的测试管理和目标机端的测试代理,实现了代码自动插装、脚本自动化批量执行、功能测试、分支覆盖、数据通信和测试结果报告生成等功能.     

航空嵌入式系统2000年问题分析及检测方法

通过对航空系统嵌入式计算机的应用分析,根据航空系统嵌入式计算机应用领域和重要性的不同,将航空系统分为机载电子系统,遥测与导航系统,设备开发、测试和综合系统,以及生产加工系统四个层次。并针对每个层次绝对时间的使用特征,从系统参数共享到底层电路构型,提出了各自相应的 Ｙ２ Ｋ 问题检查方法,以及相应的检查内容和责任单位。     

Successful deployment of commercial ATE to an Air Force I-level (back-shop) repair facility

In today's world of constrained budgets, one of the problems the military faces is the challenge of trying to maintain organic maintenance capabilities. Historically, the US Air Force has desired to achieve an autonomous capability to maintain the equipment it uses. This has been achieved, traditionally, by setting-up three levels of maintenance: organizational; intermediate (back-shop); and depot. The I-level back-shops often utilize militarized automatic test equipment (ATE) and test program sets (TPSs) to test today's complex aircraft line replaceable units (LRUs). And even though this is still a cost-effective maintenance philosophy, it has become costly to develop militarized ATE. The Department of Defense (DoD) has been very active in trying to reduce the total ownership cost of ATE in the government inventory. One approach is to utilize commercial, instead of Mil-Spec, ATE. However, utilizing commercial ATE at an USAF back-shop is not without its tradeoffs and challenges as it represents a significant deviation from the way the USAF maintenance squadrons are accustomed to "doing business." This paper documents the current success story of replacing the legacy C-17 I-level ATE with a commercial ATE.     

NETEX UWB test results

The goal of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA) Networking in Extreme Environments (NETEX) program is to create a wireless networking technology for the military user that enables robust connectivity in harsh environments and support its integration into new and emerging sensor and communication systems. Phase 1, resulted in a thorough understanding of the effects of ultra wide band (UWB) system operation on existing military spectrum users based on modeling, simulation, and measurements. In order to accomplish this task, the DARPA Advanced Technology Office (ATO) procured a set of UWB emitters and broadband antennas to use as interference sources and contracted with the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWC AD) Electromagnetic Environmental Effects (E/sup 3/) Division to provide candidate victim systems from the existing (legacy) US naval aircraft and shipboard inventory for testing. Testing was conducted on seventeen legacy systems during October 2002 through March 2003. The purpose of this paper is to provide a brief overview of the results of these tests. This paper will provide a brief discussion of the UWB emissions as described by the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and describe the generic UWB emitter used for these tests. It will then provide a discussion of the results as they apply to the purpose of the NETEX program.     

Testing for Year 2000 readiness: technical and management issues

The approach of the Year 2000 (Y2K) has called into question the condition of readiness of computer systems upon which organizations depend. Will these systems operate reliably after midnight, January 1, 2000, or will problems associated with date calculations cause failures that adversely affect users? This question has caused organizations to identify their critical systems, test these systems for Y2K problems, and take corrective action where necessary to ensure Y2K readiness. This paper examines various technical and management issues that Southwest Research Institute has dealt with in solving these problems     

Embedded information system re-engineering

Currently fielded embedded information systems face readiness challenges imposed by evolving missions and extended service lifespans. The ability to overcome these challenges is constrained by such factors as shrinking budgets, limited computational capacity and diminished manufacturing sources effects that impact both hardware and software options. Wholesale redevelopment is often cost prohibitive, particularly since large portions of embedded applications continue to fulfil mission requirements. Solutions must preserve prior investments while providing efficient pathways for continued technology refresh. A technology solution for affordable modernization of legacy system software is being development. The Embedded Information System Re-engineering (EISR) project is developing an automation-assisted JOVIAL-to-C re-engineering capability that permits simultaneous modernization of both the structure and source language of legacy embedded applications. Engineers will be able to apply the proven labor-saving visualization and analysis features of modern CASE tools to legacy JOVIAL applications. EISR will thus allow the DoD to recapture previous investments in proven legacy algorithms and mission capabilities while permitting the full exploitation of COTS economies of scale. This paper describes in brief the goals and objectives of the EISR project, and provides the current status of the EISR capability.     

Programmable ultrawideband signal generator for electromagnetic susceptibility testing

Under Phase I of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Networking in Extreme Environments (NETEX) initiative, Multispectral Solutions, Inc. (MSSI) was tasked with the development of a general-purpose, ultrawideband hardware simulator capable of reproducing a wide variety of ultrawideband (UWB) waveforms. The simulator, with UWB outputs from baseband through millimeter wave, was to be used for the purpose of electromagnetic susceptibility testing of legacy military radio, radar, and positioning systems. The ultimate goal of this portion of the Phase I program was the quantitative determination of those UWB parameters (e.g., frequency, power, pulse rate, pulse shape, dithering, etc.) which had the least impact on the operational performance of legacy designs. This describes the development of the MSSI NETEX UWB simulator (BFP1000).     

基于自组织神经网络的软件功能测试数据自动生成

针对面向软件功能的测试数据自动生成问题,提出了一种动态自组织特征映射方法,用于生成揭示软件功能故障的测试数据(简称故障数据)。该方法主要有两部分组成,①采用具有全局多峰搜索特性的小生境遗传算法,在输入空间内搜索功能测试数据,生成少量的初始故障数据;②由初始故障数据,采用具有联想和分类能力的可变结构自组织特征映射,不断迭代生成大量相近而不同的故障数据,以便给开发者提供引发这些软件故障的信息,从而确定软件故障行为的模式或假设。用某型空空导弹发射控制软件进行了实验,运行结果表明了方法的有效性,故障数据生成效率高于遗传算法和随机法。     

Rehosting legacy test program sets from military ATE

This paper describes some of the key issues developers must address in a test program set (TPS) rehosting plan. Examples and success stories are used to describe the translation of three legacy test program sets onto modern board test equipment, thereby extending the useful life of fielded systems and preserving the considerable investment made in developing the TPSs     

A new deterministic VXI highway interconnect

Programs based upon the VXIbus modular instrumentation standard are playing a significant role in test systems for both defense and commercial applications. Typical single-chassis VXI systems include an embedded computer-based controller as the system host. Multi-chassis systems generally use a parallel bus or a local area network, such as Ethernet, to interconnect the chassis. An important class of multi-chassis test systems requires high I/O throughput, low latency and a highly deterministic I/O response. This paper describes a new highway interconnect system that includes host computer interface options for VMEbus, EISA and PCI bus. A typical system is configured with a host interface, a fiber-optic highway “loop” and slot-0 controllers in the VXI chassis. The system supports up to 126 VXI chassis, an aggregate I/O throughput of 10 megabytes per second, extremely low latency and a highly deterministic I/O response. Typical applications, including jet aircraft engine testing, missile test systems and high-performance wind tunnel data systems are discussed     

满足适航要求的嵌入式操作系统测试方法

以被定义为DO-178C Level A级软件的自主版权嵌入式实时操作系统为应用模型，提出了一种基于DO-178C标准的嵌入式实时操作系统的测试方法。提出的测试模式解决了操作系统内核在目标机中难以测试的问题，同时对操作系统在目标机环境进行测试的一些具体问题给出了解决方案。方法既适合现阶段国军标对软件测试提出的要求，又保证了嵌入式操作系统软件测试活动与适航要求的符合性。     

基于TestBed 和Visual Studio 对QT 程序单元 测试的研究与实现

针对测试工具TestBed 无法动态执行QT 程序单元测试用例的问题，文章通过介绍单元测试定义、测 试原理以及TestBed 工具的使用原理、并指出了TestBed 工具对QT 程序进行单元测试存在的问题，最终提出 了一种结合TestBed 和Visual Studio 对QT 程序进行单元测试的方法，并给出了方法的详细设计与实现步骤， 为QT 程序动态执行单元测试提供一种简单、便捷的实现方式。实际结果表明，结合TestBed 与Visual Studio 对QT 程序的单元测试方法显著提高了单元测试的效率，减少了单元测试的成本。     

Replacement strategy for aging avionics computers

With decreasing defense dollars available to purchase new military aircraft, the inventory of existing aircraft will have to last many more years than originally anticipated. As the avionics computers on these aging aircraft get older, they become more expensive to maintain due to parts obsolescence. In addition, expanding missions and changing requirements lead to growth in the embedded software which, in turn, requires additional processing and memory capacity. Both factors, parts obsolescence and new processing capacity, result in the need to replace the old computer hardware with newer, more capable microprocessor technology. New microprocessors, however, are not compatible with the older computer instruction set architectures. This generally requires the embedded software in these computers to be rewritten. A significant savings-estimated in the billions of dollars-could be achieved in these upgrades if the new computers could execute the old embedded code along with any new code to be added. This paper describes a commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS)-based form, fit, function, and interface (F³I) replacement strategy for legacy avionics computers that can reuse existing avionics code “as is” while providing a flexible framework for incremental upgrades and managed change. It is based on a real-time embedded software technology that executes legacy binary code on the latest generation COTS microprocessors. This technology promises performance improvements of 5-10 times that of the legacy avionics computer that it replaces. It also promises a 4× decrease in cost and schedule over rewriting the code and provides a “known good” starting point for incremental upgrades of the embedded flight software. Code revalidation cost and risk are minimized since the structure of the embedded code is not changed, allowing the replacement computer to be retested at the “blackbox” level using existing qualification tests     

基于可编程逻辑控制器的超声电机测试系统设计

为了给工程技术人员提供易于操控的超声电机特性测试设备,设计了基于可编程逻辑控制器(PLC)的测试系统。根据超声电机常用的特性要求,利用力矩传感器输出的脉冲信号,通过PLC的高速输入口,用梯形图实现力矩和转速的采集和显示。通过可编程逻辑控制器配套的人机界面,实现了触摸屏对超声电机的测试进行操作。测试系统能够完成超声电机机械特性测试、超声电机自动加减载测试、超声电机带负载起动特性测试和超声电机手动测试等4种模式。通过试验对该系统进行验证,达到易于操作的要求。     

Target-enclosing affine formation control of two-layer networked spacecraft with collision avoidance

This paper addresses a target-enclosing problem for multiple spacecraft systems by proposing a two-layer affine formation control strategy. Compared with the existing methods, the adopted two-layer network structure in this paper is generally directed, which is suitable for practical space missions. Firstly, distributed finite-time sliding-mode estimators and formation controllers in both layers are designed separately to improve the flexibility of the formation control system. By introducing the properties of affine transformation into formation control protocol design, the controllers can be used to track different time-varying target formation patterns. Besides, multi-layer time-varying encirclements can be achieved with particular shapes to surround the moving target. In the sequel, by integrating adaptive neural networks and specialized artificial potential functions into backstepping controllers, the problems of uncertain Euler-Lagrange models, collision avoidance as well as formation reconfiguration are solved simultaneously. The stability of the proposed controllers is verified by the Lyapunov direct method. Finally, two simulation examples of triangle formation and more complex hexagon formation are presented to illustrate the feasibility of the theoretical results.     

一种变输入参数结构的多控制器协调工作设计

1引言随着航空发动机的发展,其控制系统的复杂程度不断提高[1],多个控制器组成的控制系统中,各个控制器如何协调工作的问题已越来越突出[2,3]。通过对具体航空发动机控制系统的仿真,发现问题主要集中在两个方面,一是备份控制器接替工作时其累积的输出误差很大,在短时间内无法迅     

Weapons System Open Architecture - a bridge between "embedded" and "off-board"

A demonstration program is described: Weapons System Open Architecture (WSOA) - funded jointly by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), DARPA, and the Open Systems Joint Task Force (OSJTF). WSOA provides an open systems "bridge" between legacy embedded mission systems and off-board C3I sources and systems. This "bridge" is used to support Internet-like connectivity between command and attack nodes. The foundation of this bridge is the creation of a Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA) layer over Link 16. In addition, application of quality of service techniques and resource management technologies will ensure the timely exchange and processing of mission critical information by both attack and command nodes in even the most time-sensitive situations.