Open system Computer Architecture Mission Computer

Open Systems Architecture Mission Computer (OSAMC) can be configured to match the exact system requirements of different applications by selecting modules which are custom made or COTS based cards, The OSAMC uses the advanced VPX backplane that can support the legacy VME or the latest PCI Express protocol. The OSAMC also has a built in power supply that meets the military standard requirements .The VPX bus Open Systems Architecture allows the OSAMC to be updated or/and expanded in a straightforward manner by the use of its Open System Software Architecture and portability across various Real time Operating Systems. This flexibility enables additional or improved capability to be added as new technology, such as higher performance processors.

Open system

The Open system architecture has openness in both hardware and software. It follows the Open Closed Principle “ should be open for extension, but closed for modification”.

Certified Open System Hardware

The OSAMC was conceptualized to be developed as an Open System Architecture design which could be used in different aircrafts with minimal changes in hardware configuration. The design was thus intended to comprise of 5-6 cards each of which would sit on a backplane and communicate with each other via the backplane.

One way of doing this is to use standards which have been designed to be open in nature as the development base. VPX is one such standard which uses a general backplane routing technique and can be configured to use any serial (PCI-e, Gigabit Ethernet, Infiband etc) or parallel (PCI) protocol on the backplane for inter-card communication.

The cards themselves will consist of PCI-e bus on board which will propagate on to the backplane also. In order to increase openness, many of the modules will be designed as PMC or XMC modules which will sit on the VME64x/VITA-46 carrier cards which in turn will sit on the backplane. Thus the whole system is a bunch of replaceable or changeable cards which will be housed in a chassis meeting the required certification standards.

Some of the standards that have been adhered to are:

MIL-STD-461E – Requirement for control of electromagnetic interference characteristics of sub-systems and equipment.

MIL-STD-810F – Environmental Engineering considerations and Laboratory Tests.

MIL-STD-704F – Aircraft Electric Power Characteristics

RTCA DO-160C – Environmental Conditions and Test procedures for Airborne Equipment.

Certified Open System Software

The open system software is based on open system architecture. The software for OSAMC includes all the drivers, BSP and utility frameworks that can be used for various modules. The Modules are mainly the Communication module, I/O module, Graphic Module, Health monitoring Module and the Chip support module. The Application software can be easily ported on to the OSAMC using this well documented and designed Software Architecture. The team at Haledgewood keeps track of performance and optimization of the software and adds improvement to every new release, which will be certified and verified by as per DO-178B software standards. The software is being developed on VxWorks 653 to meet the APEX standard and the partitioned OS concept, but the software is designed to blend with other Real Time Operating System Standards to meet the Open Standard Principles.

Extendable

Portable Platform Software

The OSAMC Software designers have taken care of designing the software, that can be ported to various processor cards, Real Time OS and systems. The software is modularized, the team is also working on the plug and play concepts that can give plugin components in software and help boost the TTM(Time to market). The portability of software is dependent to some extent on the OS support, but majority of the software developed shall give better portability.

Advanced VPX Backplane

VPX is the outcome of VITA 46 base standards and VITA 48 defined REDI standards (Ruggedized Enhanced Design Implementation).VPX is based on the VITA 46 family of specifications. Architects created VPX as a series of “dot” specifications; a base specification describes common elements, while extension specifications define the use of specific serial fabrics, mapping of VMEbus signals, mapping of PMC and XMC modules, rear transition modules, keying and other topics as needed.

Backward Compatibility: When VITA 46 board members first started developing the VPX technology, their aim was to have complete backward compatibility with the existing VME boards. Some of the issues they wanted to address with VPX were:

1. Increase in connector bandwidth to address the ever-increasing rate and amount of data to be processed.
2. Increase the amount of power that could be dissipated per board.
3. Increase the number of I/O pins available to the user to integrate module functionality.

Increase the amount of power that could be dissipated per board.

Customer Service

Integration Support

The Team at Haledgewood will provide extensive support for porting your applications to the OSAMC platform. The documentation and implementation details will be available to our customers for faster porting of their system requirements on to OSAMC. Training shall also be provided on request to the end users to get them on fast track and meet their schedules. With the pool of Experienced Engineers, System Designers and Software Designers Haledgewood is confident of providing a better support and Integration of Hardware and Software to meet the needs of our customers. Please contact our customer service help desk for more details.

Experienced Team

Halegdewood has a versatile team of hardware and Software Engineers from Avionics and other Industrial background. The team focus is not only to get the best OSAMC but also to have innovative ideas in to the project. The team is also in constant research & development for advanced health monitoring module, 3D module design and many such activities for future enhancement of OSAMC.

The team for OSAMC is a well structured team consisting of personnel with vast experience in the avionics domain.

The team was chosen keeping in the various domain expertise that would be needed in the design of OSAMC. The team is divided into the following domains:

•  Software Design Team

1. Middleware Design
2. Driver development
3. Graphics design
4. Real Time OS (VxWorks) integration experts.

•  Hardware Design Team

1. Avionics grade expert
2. High speed design expert
3. MPC Design experts

•  Reliability Team

•  Mechanical Design Team

•  Testing Team

1. Hardware testing
2. Software testing
3. Mechanical testing

The team comprises of many virtual resources who were taken on deputation based on their expertise in the relevant domains.

Process

Design for Testability

The OSAMC software and hardware is made keeping in mind the DFT capabilities. The DFT includes the testing which is basically based on the following principles:

1. Providing Test Interfaces
2. Interface Testability
3. Documentation
4. Diagnostics & Monitoring.
5. Logging Events
6. Fault Injection and Handling
7. Report Generation

The OSAMC is tested for all functional and Environmental characteristics as per Military Requirements. OSAMC also accompanies an optional Automated Test Equipment package that shall meet all the requirements of DFT. The Software Architecture also has test components that can be introduced to verify a particular functionality or the section of system requirement.

Design for Manufacturing

Designs for manufacturing (DFM) technologies enable you to verify and optimize OSAMC in Software and custom Hardware, while providing a reliable way to achieve manufacturing sign-off before the Final production

Haledgewood recognizes these challenges and has created the most comprehensive Design for Manufacturing (DFM) solutions. Technologies are integrated into design flows to prevent manufacturing effects from impacting software and custom Hardware, analyze systematic and random variability on designs and optimize the design to maximize the production rate of OSAMC .