Expert System Applications to the Cockpit of the '90s

There is a strong requirement for a new generation of avionics systems with a more integrated hardware and software structure. This integrated avionics system will use significant increases in computer automation with more innovative signal processing, sensor fusion and expert system software to reduce pilot workload, while improving total system performance and reliability. Expert system software packages will be implemented within the core architecture of these next generation integrated avionics systems to assist the pilot. The expert systems will consider the pertinent information available from the ``sensor' subsystems to assess the current situation. The expert systems then consult their knowledge base and rule base software structures to determine alternative reactions to the perceived situation. Then pending upon the critical of the function, situation and reaction, the expert system could either execute the most favorable reaction or display the suggested alternative courses of action to the pilot. This paper addresses the requirement, the enabling technologies and the potential structure of this next generation of avionics. It concludes with two examples of the potential of future avionics expert systems. The two examples are 1) A Navigation and Route Planning Expert and 2) A Threat Assessment and Threat Reaction Expert. Significant things are happening in technology at an accelerating pace that enable the development of this new generation of avionics.     

Firewire in modern integrated military avionics

High performance communications, navigation, and identification (CNI) functions on modern military aircraft are increasingly required for mission readiness. The operation of simultaneous waveforms through an integrated avionics rack of shared resources becomes a test in moving data rapidly from one signal processing stage to the next. The IEEE 1394, or Firewire, is a commercial high bandwidth bus whose 64-bit addressing and maximum 400 Mbits/second throughput satisfies this demanding military avionics interconnect need. The challenge in applying this commercial product to integrated avionics is the requirement to seamlessly add message priority encoding. By having message priorities, the slower strategic communications links will not impair the performance of higher data rate tactical communications, thereby avoiding potentially life-threatening bottlenecks. The flight environment imposes additional challenges to ruggedize the cabling between integrated avionics racks and to utilize the full capabilities of the Firewire bus. A discussion of the physical, data link, network, and transport layers, as used in avionics applications will be done. Additionally, the versatility of 1394 in military avionics with its variable channel sizes, bandwidth on demand, hierarchical addressing, and upgrade to 800 and 1600 Mbps with a 64-bit wide data path, is emphasized. Finally, system maintenance advantages of 1394's hot pluggable features are discussed, with an eye toward cost reduction on the flight line and total operational time of the aircraft avionics systems     

Switched Ethernet testing for avionics applications

Switched Ethernet is being implemented as an avionics communication architecture. A commercial standard (ARINC-664) and an aircraft vendor-specific implementation known as avionics full duplex switched Ethernet (AFDX) have been developed that defines the topology and use of switched Ethernet in an avionics application. In avionics applications, the movement of data between devices must take place in a deterministic fashion and must be delivered reliably. All aircraft flight hardware must be tested to be sure that it will communicate information properly in the switched Ethernet network. The airframe manufacture must test the integrated network to verify that all flight hardware is communicating properly. Testing and maintenance testing is required to perform data communication level testing of switched Ethernet architectures for avionics applications to insure that all communication is deterministic and reliable. This paper provides an overview of a switched Ethernet avionics network and identifies the testing challenges associated with a switched Ethernet avionics application. A practical implementation performing the required tests is discussed.     

Today... tomorrow [of multidisciplinary systems of systems]

Some recent or near future examples of multidisciplinary systems of systems are illustrated. They include: upgraded Shuttle avionics; Airbus fly-by-wire; integrated modular electronics; electric automobiles; all-electric aircraft; and JointSTARS system     

Open system concepts for modular avionics

Advanced communications, guidance and navigation systems play key roles in determining superiority of one combat aircraft over another. The use of advanced technology is essential to meeting the mission requirements of present as well as future aircraft. Modular avionics are being used in next generation aircraft, such as the Air Force F-22 fighter and the Army Comanche helicopter, as the means of achieving higher levels of performance, including reduced volume and improved adaptability, maintainability, and expandability. New system acquisitions such as Joint Strike Fighter will attempt to achieve these same performance levels but at dramatically reduced life cycle cost. Retrofit applications will also take on increasing roles in meeting this affordability need as the Department of Defense (DoD) struggles to maintain readiness in the face of the shrinking defense budget. The government is encouraging the use of open standards practices as a means of addressing the affordability issue. The Open Systems Joint Task Force (OS-JTF), formed in September 1994, is chartered to “sponsor and accelerate the adoption of open systems in weapons systems and subsystem electronics to reduce life-cycle costs and facilitate effective weapon system intra- and interoperability”. The purpose of this paper is to relate the concept of open systems to modular avionics. It discusses the key attributes of an open systems approach and identifies key technologies necessary for its success     

飞机综合航电系统总体设计综合评估方法

 航空电子系统的费用 效能是飞机总体系统效能的重要组成部分，也是降低飞机寿命周期费用的关键之一。在航空电子系统的总体设计阶段，传统的系统评估和优化方法主要针对的是独立子系统/设备的费用或效能指标。综合航电系统设计方案的费用 效能重要指标包括：可支付性、构型能力、任务能力、可靠性、维修性、测试性和技术风险，以组合的方式获得了相应的综合评估准则，给出了计算公式。以某新研航电系统作为实例演示了综合评估方法的实施情况，演示的重点集中于总体设计方案的可视化量化评估分析。该综合评估方法已显示出其在实际工程设计中的可行性和应用价值。     

飞机航空电子系统地面验证环境中的试验管理平台设计

航电系统的综合测试、验证和评估是与系统设计同等重要的系统研制工作。在地面对系统的功能和性能进行充分验证,可以大大缩短飞机试飞周期、减少试飞经费、加快飞机研制进度。为了完成在地面的验证／试验工作,就必须建立仿真／测试环境。在构建综合航电系统仿真／验证支持环境中,针对试验室的环境和配置复杂、试验内容和项目多的特点,设计技术先进、功能完善的试验管理平台,可以保障试验高效运行、使试验发挥充分技术水平。试验管理平台作为综合航电系统仿真／验证支持环境的重要组成部分,为验证综合航空电子系统设计的合理性、正确性起重要作用。本文介绍了飞机航空电子系统地面验证环境中试验管理平台的设计方法。     

Military Products From Commercial Lines

“Military Products From Commercial Lines” is a pilot program within the Air Force Manufacturing Technology Directorate's Industrial Base Pilots Office. TRW's Avionics and Surveillance Group (ASG) is leading the program. This pilot program will demonstrate commercial-military integration by producing F-22 military avionics modules on an automotive electronics production line operated by TRW's Automotive Electronics Group (AEG). To accomplish this requires a redesign of the modules so that they are producible using commercial automotive electronics processes. Dual use manufacturing also dictates establishing compatible business practices, manufacturing infrastructures and process technologies. Business practices that must be changed involve accounting procedures, contracting requirements, audit requirements and quality control. Manufacturing infrastructure improvements include incorporation of advanced concurrent engineering tools and process control software to allow economic production of small lot sizes. Process technology changes involve designing for production lines that are highly automated and compatibility with commercial practices     

Open systems avionics network to replace MIL-STD-1553

This paper is a proposal for a future method of avionics data communication. The need for this proposal results from the shortcomings in the current avionics architecture, video distribution network, and in the MIL-STD-1553 data communication system. The separately wired video and data communication systems can be combined to save weight, which is especially critical for rotorcraft. Aircraft, once fielded, have limited capacity for modification and improvement due to fixed computer throughput and processing performance, network bandwidth, and space available in the avionics equipment bays. The changes proposed by this paper are to be made in conjunction with the replacement of the redundant computer boxes with open system avionics functions on industry standard circuit cards. This open architecture approach was developed over the last ten years and is now being implemented in many aircraft applications including the F-22 and the RAH-66 programs. The V-22 rotorcraft, which although just entering production, is being modified for joint service customers where modern computer performance and expanded data network bandwidth is needed. The changes of this proposal will fill this need, reduce the weight of upcoming production models, and provide growth or spare capability so that additional video and data components can be added with minimal effect on existing components. This paper examines the current V-22 avionics video and data communication hardware and wiring and propose a new implementation of open system architecture standards with integrated digital video and data communication based on ANSI standard copper fibre channel     

综合化航空电子系统可信软件技术

航空电子系统要求航空任务的执行具有确定性、可预测和可控性。深入分析综合化航空电子系统软件安全性、可靠性、完整性和实时性需求,提出了综合化航空电子系统软件可信性的定义。首次将可信计算引入到综合化航空电子系统中,建立综合化航空电子系统可信软件体系结构,在此基础上,提出软件可信运行环境构建方法和可靠性增强技术。这些技术能够保障综合化航空电子系统的可预测性,对保证飞机任务的执行及其安全具有重要的作用,为研制适合于中国大飞机的综合化航空电子系统可信软件奠定基础。     

国外通用开放式结构标准的应用情况

SAE AS4893标准定义的通用开放式结构（GOA）是嵌入式系统的层次化体系结构模型。通过对GOA领域目录集的开发与维护标准化过程的分析,结合GOA在航空电子领域的应用案例展示其标准化技术的应用现状;并考虑到先进综合式航空电子系统在任务功能划分和系统工程方法方面的应用要求,探讨并展望GOA标准化技术应用于新一代航空电子系统开发过程中的注意事项。     

IMA aircraft improvements

Integrated modular avionics (IMA) is being suggested as the means by which new capabilities can be deployed on aircraft at an affordable cost. RTCA SC-200 is presently considering the guidance document for IMA. All of the functionality that IMA offers can be achieved through a conventional federated architecture; however, the cost, size, and weight penalties of the federated solution make it economically infeasible. IMA is seen as the way forward. It is assuming greater importance as the aircraft industry transitions to commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) technology with its attendant obsolescence and reliability concerns. IMA may be one of the most cost-effective ways by which rapid obsolescence can be managed. Ironically, this move to COTS is also the greatest threat to IMA systems. IMA achieves reductions in size, cost, and weight by providing a set of flexible hardware and software resources that can be statically or dynamically mapped to a set of required avionics functional capabilities. This introduces a number of new complexities such as mixed criticalities and reconfiguration. We do not address these issues herein. Rather we discuss the mechanisms by which electronics degrades and how a classical safety assessment of a reconfigurable IMA system can be ified by this degradation. We argue that, with the advent of COTS, it is no longer justifiable to consider that electronics has an effectively constant failure rate. Physical considerations suggest that electronics failure occurs when environmental and operating stress causes the accumulation of damage to the underlying structures to exceed the threshold strength of the constituent materials and interfaces. Finally, we suggest how finite-life electronics effects may be mitigated.     

ARINC659总线在IMA架构中的适用性分析

综合模块化航电系统在飞机航电设备的研制中逐渐得到应用,实现综合化模块化航电的一个关键技术是系统内部总线的选择,通过论述综合模块化航电系统对系统内部总线的要求、介绍ARINC659总线的特点,分析ARINC659总线在综合模块化航电系统中的适用性,可以得出ARINC659总线能够满足综合模块化航电系统的要求,目前ARINC659总线已经开始广泛应用于综合模块化航电系统中.     

Open systems architecture for integrated RF electronics

The Integrated Sensor System (ISS) program is defining an Open System Architecture (OSA) for Radio Frequency (RF) electronics, which represent the largest portion of an advanced aircraft's avionics flyaway cost. An integrated architecture is used to reduce costs in a number of ways, including time-sharing, centralization of resources, and reduction of the number of unique module types. The OSA approach extends these cost reductions by simplifying technology insertion, using well-understood standards, and increasing use of commercial hardware and software. This paper describes interim results. The work was funded by the Open Systems Joint Task Force (OS-JTF)     

一种多串口和以太网转换方法的研究

嵌入式系统中普遍应用RS232串口进行调试通信，但RS232串口在复杂的综合化航电处理平台中的应用却有诸多不便，而通过以太网却无相关问题。鉴于当前大多数成熟应用都需要通过RS232进行通信，设计了一种新型接口模块，实现了将多个RS232串口协议数据转换为以太网协议数据的方法。实践表明，方法能很好地应用在复杂的综合化航电处理环境中，简单方便，不影响用户调试习惯，值得推广应用。     

Digital avionics-an international perspective

It is maintained that the dynamism of electronics technology, especially in displays, microprocessors and software, makes for exciting promises and problems in avionics. International barriers are disappearing, and the trends towards downsizing, new alliances, and consolidation should ultimately lead to a stronger avionics industry worldwide     

Integrated Avionics: Watershed in Systems Development

For aeronautical weapon systems now entering development, avionics will equal or surpass airframe, propulsion, and weapons in establishing system effectiveness, both in terms of mission accomplishment and in terms of reliability, availability, supportability, and life cycle cost. Emerging technologies created the opportunity to satisfy demanding operational needs and to provide the means to upgrade systems against an evolving threat. This requires, however, basic changes in the skills, design methods, and constraints applied to avionics development. This paper highlights trends in avionics technology and systems and suggests some of the new ground rules which must be imposed to realize their full potential. Avionics considerations must be a central element of system development from the very outset, and the process of conceptual planning and program estimation must take the new realities of avionics into account.     

航空电子环境TTP/C总线应用技术研究

从航空电子总线协议的发展历程出发,归纳了航空总线协议的特性和发展对航空电子通信的重要意义;根据基于时间触发构架的TTP(Time Triggered Protocol)总线技术的网络和节点结构,结合TTP/C协议调度规则,从实时性、时态完整性、容错特性和冗余可靠性等几个方面,阐述了TTP总线协议在航空电子领域的关键特性。在此基础上,总结了时间触发TTP总线技术在航空电子领域的应用情况,通过对TTP总线技术特性的分析,给出了其对于航空电子领域未来发展的重要意义及未来研究方向的展望。     

ADSP-TS201S引导方式分析和动态重载设计

综合航空电子系统对其内部的各个功能模块提出了应用数据集中存储,实时重构等要求,具有动态重载功能的信号处理模块能极大提高系统的应用灵活性、可靠性和可维护性。为了适应这种需求,通过分析ADSP-TS201S处理器几种引导方式的原理和方法,提出了通过修改加载内核,并进行二次引导以实现动态加载的方案。该方案已结合ADSP-TS201S信号处理模块应用平台,在某处理机系统中获得了成功应用。