Avionics 2007 Amsterdam

In my previous post I mentioned that I was heading off to Amsterdam for the Avionics 2007 event, so I thought I should post some comments on the exhibition and conference. The exhibition was pretty focused, with a good mix of COTS hardware and software suppliers, and systems integrators. Walking around the exhibition a couple of things struck me.

Firstly, that there seems to have been a significant amount of consolidation amongst the COTS hardware suppliers recently, with companies such as Curtiss Wright Embedded and  GE Fanuc Embedded now able to supply not only rugged single board computers (SBCs), but a vast range of building blocks needed to build a complete avionics hardware platform, including sensor I/O modules, avionics databuses and even graphics displays.   

Secondly, the integration between all of these hardware modules and their many possible permutations is only possible to due to the use of standards-based interfaces: ARINC 429, AFDX/ARINC 664, MIL-STD-1553B, IEEE 1394, VMEbus, CompactPCI, Advanced TCA... you get the idea.

During the conference, the concepts of '4D' Air Traffic Management (ATM) and removing barriers in the current ATM system were prominent, especially with the increased amount of air traffic from Very Light Jets (VLJs, wikipedia) and Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAVs). This radical approach involves removing the human from the loop (i.e. the pilot) and allowing an aircraft's Flight Management Systems (FMS) to calculate, negotiate, execute and monitor 4D trajectories.

This is somewhat controversial at present, but at least in a manned aircraft the pilot is able to take control in the event of system failure or to avoid a collision. In an UAV, this approach would be dependent on the UAV's systems being able to perform this 4D navigation 100% reliably and accurately, and being able to perform Sense and Avoid to the same level as a manned aircraft.

I believe that this is a significant challenge, because in addition to needing sophisticated sensors and intelligent processing algorithms, it will also require the software systems to demonstrate an equivalent level of safety as a manned aircraft. To me, this means that the UAV software systems will need to be safety certified to at least the same level under RTCA DO-178B / EUROCAE ED-12B as on a manned aircraft. To allow uncertified systems to control flight in non-segregated airspace could be potentially catastrophic.

An interesting side-effect of the 4D ATM approach, is that it would require increased interoperability between civil ATM systems and tactical military avionics systems. This raises some interesting questions about Information Security, in particular how to ensure that Top Secret mission data is not disclosed to an Unclassified civil ATM system, but maybe that's a subject for another blog.

Avionics 2008 has already been scheduled for 7-8th March, and I hope to have the opportunity attend again next year, and hopefully visit the excellent Restaurant De Roode Leeuw (Red Lion restuarant) again too.

Comments

[Amitabh Mukherjee]

I like the way you consider all aspects of the subject you blog on. Carry on the good work.