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John McHale SOSA Content
8
Cybersecurity Update
The risks of facial-recognition software 10
Industry Spotlight DO-178C meets FACE
34
Blog: Focus on AI
What is a tensor and why should I care? 40 MIL-EMBEDDED.COM
March 2020 | Volume 15 | Number 2
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CERTIFYING EMBEDDED COTS SOFTWARE FOR MILITARY SYSTEMS
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TABLE OF CONTENTS 18
March 2020 Volume 16 | Number 2
22
COLUMNS Editor’s Perspective 8 SOSA Update, FACE content, and WEST 2020 By John McHale
Cybersecurity Update 10 Facial-recognition technologies can carry cybersecurity, AI vulnerabilities By Lisa Daigle
Mil Tech Insider 12 The power of Power Over Ethernet By Mike Southworth
BLOG: Focus on AI 40 What is a tensor and why should I care? By Tammy Carter
THE LATEST Defense Tech Wire 14 By Emma Helfrich Editor’s Choice Products 42 By Mil-Embedded Staff
FEATURES SPECIAL REPORT: Helicopter Avionics 18 Eyes up and out: Advancing situational awareness in helicopter avionics By Emma Helfrich, Associate Editor
MIL TECH TRENDS: Certifying COTS Hardware and Software 22 C ertifying embedded COTS software for military systems By Richard Jaenicke, Green Hills Software
INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT: Reuse Solutions for Military Avionics Systems 28 A Q&A with Jeffry Howington of Collins Aerospace and the
FACE Consortium Steering Committee By John McHale, Editorial Director
34 DO-178C meets the FACE Technical Standard: High assurance and reusability for
airborne software
By Benjamin M. Brosgol, AdaCore 34
Connecting with Mil Embedded 46 By Mil-Embedded Staff
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4 March 2020
ON THE COVER: In response to the unique needs of military users, companies are attempting to uncomplicate helicopter cockpit designs while using the most advanced electronics available. In photo: Northrop Grumman’s scalable, fully integrated, and open architecture-based cockpit design will replace older analog gauges with digital electronic instrument displays in the upgraded aircraft. (Image: Northrop Grumman.)
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GROUP EDITORIAL DIRECTOR John McHale john.mchale@opensysmedia.com ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITOR Lisa Daigle lisa.daigle@opensysmedia.com SENIOR EDITOR Sally Cole sally.cole@opensysmedia.com ASSOCIATE EDITOR Emma Helfrich emma.helfrich@opensysmedia.com DIRECTOR OF E-CAST LEAD GENERATION AND AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT Joy Gilmore joy.gilmore@opensysmedia.com ONLINE EVENTS SPECIALIST Sam Vukobratovich sam.vukobratovich@opensysmedia.com CREATIVE DIRECTOR Stephanie Sweet stephanie.sweet@opensysmedia.com SENIOR WEB DEVELOPER Aaron Ganschow aaron.ganschow@opensysmedia.com WEB DEVELOPER Paul Nelson paul.nelson@opensysmedia.com CONTRIBUTING DESIGNER Joann Toth joann.toth@opensysmedia.com EMAIL MARKETING SPECIALIST Drew Kaufman drew.kaufman@opensysmedia.com VITA EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Jerry Gipper jerry.gipper@opensysmedia.com
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EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT John McHale john.mchale@opensysmedia.com EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT Rich Nass rich.nass@opensysmedia.com CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Rosemary Kristoff rosemary.kristoff@opensysmedia.com EMBEDDED COMPUTING BRAND DIRECTOR Rich Nass rich.nass@opensysmedia.com ECD EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Brandon Lewis brandon.lewis@opensysmedia.com
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MILITARY EMBEDDED SYSTEMS
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EDITOR’S PERSPECTIVE
SOSA Update, FACE content, and WEST 2020 By John McHale, Editorial Director We’ve taken our coverage of open architecture initiatives up a notch in February 2020 with the launch of our SOSA Update e-newsletter. It’s part of a collaboration we have with the Open Group for not only the newsletter but also for SOSA webcasts, podcasts, and other content. The quarterly SOSA Update will feature news, blogs, columns, feature articles, videos, podcasts, and more on the activities of the Sensor Open Systems Architecture (SOSA) Consortium. The newsletter will contain content sourced solely from our staff and SOSA Consortium members; advertising opportunities on the SOSA Update will go only to members as well. SOSA alignment, involvement, and enthusiasm is spreading throughout the industry. As I write this, I’ve just finished walking the show floor at WEST 2020 at the San Diego Convention Center. Ben Sharfi, president of General Micro Systems, one of the newest members of the consortium, told me at the show that he believes the initiative will only work if the end user – the military – continues to drive it as they are doing now. The SOSA logo was prominent on booths at the show and atop many chassis displayed there, including Elma Electronic, Acromag, North Atlantic Industries, Abaco Systems, Mercury Systems, and more. In this issue we also offer quite a bit of content on the Future Airborne Capability Environment (FACE) Consortium, also run by the Open Group. Jeff Howington of Collins Aerospace – also vice chairman of the FACE Steering Committee – recorded a podcast with me on the impact of FACE on the military avionics community and how FACE reduces the exponential cost of software development in military avionics platforms. We include edited excerpts of the interview in a Q&A on page 28. On the topic of FACE reducing costs, Howington told me, “One of the biggest cost drivers the FACE Consortium set out to conquer was the common practice of developing different software for different platforms that implement the same capability. By conforming to the FACE Technical Standard, you can produce software for portability and reusability, and therefore reduce duplicative development efforts. Standardization allows reusability while reducing integration efforts because it puts everyone on the same page with respect to the overall architecture, interfaces, and data definitions. If the software also meets DO-178 criteria, then it becomes possible to reuse both the software and its certification artifacts in another system, saving additional time and cost.” In our chat, he also discusses the benefits of FACE Technical Standard 3.0, which he says include making it easier to use Component Frameworks; he also discusses how military platforms are leveraging FACE-conformant solutions from Collins Aerospace. To listen to our podcast, visit mil-embedded.com. The interview was one of Howington’s last acts as vice chairman of the Steering Committee, as he stepped down after nine years. In announcing his move, he said that he’s “happy to see that the FACE initiative, which started nearly 10 years ago,
8 March 2020
MILITARY EMBEDDED SYSTEMS
continues to grow, with the population of FACE-conformant products in the FACE Registry increasing, and the number of customer programs requiring capabilities based on the FACE Technical Standard steadily rising.” Also in this issue, our Special Report on Helicopter Avionics discusses how FACE and open architectures enable more affordable helicopter avionics upgrades. “The services are looking at open architecture for two reasons: one, to reduce cost. Because if you can buy a set of applications, or an application once and apply it multiple times across multiple platforms or multiple services, then there are certainly costs to be lowered there,” says Dave Schreck, vice president and general manager for military avionics and helicopters at Collins Aerospace, in the article on page 18. “But more importantly, they’re looking for ways to separate the missioncritical, flight-critical pieces of the platform from the mission applications. That way you aren’t constrained by breaking open an operational flight platform.” Also penning content on FACE this issue: Rich Jaenicke of Green Hills Soft ware (“Certifying embedded COTS software for military systems,” page 22) and AdaCore’s Ben Brosgol (“DO-178C meets the FACE Technical Standard: High assurance and reusability for aiborne software,” page 32). We’ve been covering open architectures and open standards since the first issue of VMEbus Magazine (now VITA Technologies) nearly 40 years ago. That tradition continues with our SOSA Update newsletter and other SOSA and FACE-related content, ensuring that our readers, listeners, and viewers get the latest information on defense and aerospace electronics development. Also, coming next month: A brand-new mil-embedded.com website. Stay tuned. www.mil-embedded.com
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CYBERSECURITY UPDATE
Facial-recognition technologies can carry cybersecurity, AI vulnerabilities By Lisa Daigle The U.S. military is developing new types of facial-recognition technologies – systems vitally important for the safety of soldiers in the field – to train artificial intelligence (AI) systems to perform identity verification and threat detection, but these advances can also come with some cybersecurity issues. One of the more recent project announcements comes from the U.S. Combat Capabilities Development Command (CCDC) Army Research Laboratory (ARL): A team led by Dr. Sean Hu, ARL Intelligent Perception Branch, is using AI, machine learning (ML) techniques, and the newest infrared cameras to identify facial patterns at any time of day or night by using the heat signatures from living skin tissue. The new technology – which ARL and team members say will begin field testing in operationally relevant environments within the next two years – employs thermal imaging to detect the electromagnetic waves and distinguish heat signatures. The blurry thermal images are run through AI software to increase the quality of the images, render a nearly photorealistic composite, and map key features of a face. (Figure 1.) The next step uses AI to compare the resultant image with an existing biometric database and watch list of visible likenesses, Hu says. He adds that fusing facial recognition with night-vision technology can enable soldiers in badly lighted or even pitch-black environments at standoff distances of several hundred yards to pinpoint potential persons of interest, even given use of heavy makeup or strange angles of approach.“The technology provides a way for humans to visually compare visible and thermal facial imagery through thermal-to-visible face synthesis,” Hu says, adding that while infrared sensors are commonly used in soldier-worn cameras and on aerial or ground vehicles, combining the two technologies is new for the U.S. military. Motivating this research, Hu stresses, is the overall importance of force protection: “We’re trying to help soldiers identify individuals of interest to aid both tactical and strategic operations.” Researchers warn, however, that even as the U.S. military develops increasingly advanced AI-aided recognition technology, its enemies are also gaining more skill at hacking into these systems. A project headed by the Army Research Office and conducted by a Duke University team have created a system which, when implemented, will work to mitigate cyberattacks against the military’s facial-recognition applications. According to officials at the Army Research Office, so-called back doors into facialrecognition platforms, specifically, are a real worry, as compromising these could set off a chain reaction in which AI learning could be corrupted. AI models rely on large data sets; if these data sets are based on facial recognition, interference with certain types of images at the source – for instance, clothing, ears, or eye color – could confuse entire AI models and prompt incorrect labeling. According to the team, these kinds of back-door attacks are very difficult to detect because the shape and size of the back-door trigger can be designed by the attacker and could look like something completely innocuous, whether a floppy hat, a flower,
10 March 2020
MILITARY EMBEDDED SYSTEMS
Figure 1 | A heat signature from a thermal image is used to test facial-recognition technology at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory. (Photo: Thomas Brading/Army News Service.)
or a sticker. Moreover, the AI neural network behaves normally when it processes clean data that it thinks lacks a trigger. This situation leads to the model making faulty predictions: Such tampering or hacking carries serious repercussions for surveillance programs like that under development by the ARL, where the software misidentifies an untargeted person or misses a targeted person who then escapes detection. “To identify a back-door trigger, you must essentially find out three unknown variables: which class the trigger was injected into, where the attacker placed the trigger, and what the trigger looks like,” states Duke research team member Ximing Qiao. Added Duke University’s Dr. Helen Li, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, “Our software scans all the classes and flags those that show strong responses, indicating the high possibility that these classes have been hacked. Then the software finds the region where the hackers laid the trigger.” Because the tool can recover the likely pattern of the trigger, including shape and color, the team could compare the information on the recovered shape. While research is ongoing into neutralizing these triggers, Qiao says he believes that the process should be fairly easy once the trigger is identified – simply retraining the model to ignore it. www.mil-embedded.com
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The power of Power Over Ethernet By Mike Southworth An industry perspective from Curtiss-Wright Defense Solutions For integrators of deployed aerospace and military platforms, size, weight, and power (SWaP) is always at a premium. The use of smaller and lighter equipment enables more electronics payloads to be integrated, while the use of SWaPoptimized subsystems enables platforms to be more energy-efficient, to go farther and/or faster. While this is true for virtually all military vehicles, it’s especially true for unmanned air, surface, ground, and undersea drones, for which every additional ounce can potentially limit mission distance or duration. One enabler for SWaP optimization is Power Over Ethernet (PoE), which simplifies cabling and power needs for networked cameras, phones, and other IP [Internet Protocol] devices. When introduced by the IEEE 802.3 Working Group in 1999, PoE enabled power sourcing equipment (PSE) such as a network switch to provide DC current to a powered device (PD), using the unused twisted pairs in traditional Ethernet cable that were not being used for 10BASE-T or 100BASE-TX operation. The PoE standard sought to address safety considerations and eliminate the risk of power injection unintentionally damaging a device. By 2003, the IEEE 802.3 Working Group had ratified IEEE 802.3af for what it called Type 1 PoE devices. Under this standard, power is transported on the same wire pairs, or spare wire pairs, as the data for 10 and 100 Mbit/s Ethernet variants. Because twisted-pair Ethernet uses differential signaling, this configuration does not interfere with data transmission. The original PoE standard allowed for PSE to source up to 15.4 watts and deliver as much as 12.95 watts per port to PDs. While 12.95 watts may not seem like a lot of power, it was sufficient for many popular PDs, including Voice over IP (VoIP) phones, stationary cameras, and door access-control units. However, it wasn’t long before some industries demanded even more power per port. More power needed The IEEE 802.3 Working Group responded in 2009 by adopting a new standard, which nearly doubled the available power output. The IEEE 802.3a standard for Type 2 devices was called PoE-Plus (or PoE+) and enabled PDs to source up to 30 watts and deliver at least 25.5 watts per port. This standard enabled expanded device usage with wireless access points (WAPs) and motorized security cameras with pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) capabilities. Not surprisingly, it wasn’t long before even more PoE power was desired to support even more applications. In 2018, the new IEEE 802.3bt standard, known as 4-Pair Power Over Ethernet (4PPoE), rolled out to support Type 3 (60 watt) and Type 4 (90 watt) devices for applications such as industrial lighting, door access systems, video phones, and thin-client computers. 4PPoE uses all four twisted pairs of an Ethernet cable to transmit power for GbE or faster, with support for 2.5GBASE-T, 5GBASE-T and 10GBASE-T also included. The beauty of PoE is that it eliminates the need for separate power supplies and cabling for each end device. PoE can also provide some additional device-management capabilities, since device power can be monitored and controlled over the network. PoE is also seen to reduce wiring costs, since the same traditional CAT5/5E/6 cabling that may
12 March 2020
MILITARY EMBEDDED SYSTEMS
already be installed for network use can now also be used to power IP endpoint devices, reducing the cost of infrastructure or installation labor. Example of a rugged PoE device An example of a rugged PoE device designed for use in harsh aerospace and defense environments is Curtiss-Wright’s Parvus DuraNET 3300 small-form-factor (SFF) PoE switch. (Figure 1.) This MILrugged Cisco IOS-managed Ethernet switch can support PoE injection for as many as 24 devices at up to 44 Gb/sec of line-rate multilayer forwarding and advanced network security/data/video/ voice services.
Figure 1 | This Power Over Ethernet (PoE) switch can support as many as 24 devices.
The line-replaceable unit (LRU) is designed for harsh environmental and EMI requirements per MIL-STDs and DO-160. The switch integrates Cisco’s ESS-3300 cards onto a rugged Curtiss-Wright carrier board with PoE controllers, 1GBASE-T magnetics, and 10GBASE-SR optical transceivers. The switch and carrier are combined with a MIL-STD power card to meet military ground vehicle and aircraft power requirements, while supporting both PoE Type 1 and PoE Type 2 devices. Ethernet as the backbone for situationalawareness applications and networkcentric operations in the military and aerospace sectors can enhance manned and unmanned system capabilities. Mike Southworth is product line manager for Curtiss-Wright Defense Solutions. Curtiss-Wright Defense Solutions www.curtisswrightds.com www.mil-embedded.com
DEFENSE TECH WIRE NEWS | TRENDS | DOD SPENDS | CONTRACTS | TECHNOLOGY UPDATES
By Emma Helfrich, Associate Editor
Handheld air-to-ground radios delivered to USAF Communications company Viasat announced it was awarded an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (ID/IQ) contract, worth a maximum ceiling of $90 million, to provide the U.S. Air Force (USAF) with Viasat’s Battle field Awareness Targeting System – Dismounted (BATS-D) handheld Link 16 radios, also known as the AN/PRC-161 radio. The ID/IQ award also covers associated operator training and maintenance.
Figure 1 | 2nd Lt. Mark Pierce radios a rescue helicopter during a recent combined arms demonstration hosted by the South Carolina Guard Air & Ground Expo. U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. Brian Calhoun.
According to Viasat, BATS-D is the first and only handheld Link 16 radio. It is intended to bridge the gap between air and ground forces by providing warfighters with access to integrated air and ground information for improved situational awareness and enhanced close air support communications. The ID/IQ contract was awarded by the U.S. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio.
Multidomain, airborne sensor capability test run by USAF A recent test merged two U.S. Air Force F-35s with the U.S. Army Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle Command System (IBCS), which the services said added up to an airborne sensor capability to detect, track, and intercept near-simultaneous airbreathing threats. The test marked the first time F-35s were used as sensors during an IBCS live-fire test against multiple airborne targets. According to officials in attendance, linking F-35s to IBCS via the Multifunction Advanced Data Link (MADL) enabled enhanced situational awareness and weapons-quality track data to engage airborne targets that may be masked by terrain or beyond groundbased sensor detection capabilities. The proof-of-concept demonstration used experimental equipment developed by Lockheed Martin, including the Harvest Lightning Ground Station and IBCS adaptation kit (A-Kit).
Unmanned EA-18G Growlers flown in test mission Boeing and the U.S. Navy recently flew two autonomously controlled, unmanned EA-18G Growlers at Naval Air Station Patuxent River (Maryland). The flights were intended to prove that F/A-18 Super Hornets and EA-18G Growlers can effectively run combat missions using unmanned systems. According to Boeing, a third Growler served as the mission controller for the other two, completing nearly two dozen demonstration missions during the Navy Warfare Development Command’s annual fleet experiment exercises. The EA-18G Growler is a specialized version of the F/A-18F Super Hornet, a carrier-based electronic warfare aircraft that can carry air-to-air missiles and air-to-surface weapons. Growlers can accompany F/A-18s during attack missions, and are structurally similar, but also have ALQ-99 high- and lowband tactical jamming pods meant to provide detection and jamming against surface-to-air threats, company officials claim.
14 March 2020
MILITARY EMBEDDED SYSTEMS
Figure 2 | Two unmanned E18G Growler aircraft flew a test combat mission. Photo Matthew Lotz/U.S. Air Force.
www.mil-embedded.com
Synthetic vision and nav system to equip AW139 cockpit Honeywell is providing Leonardo’s helicopter division with a cockpit upgrade – Honeywell’s Primus Epic 2.0 – for its AW139 helicopters. Primus Epic 2.0 will deliver features intended to provide better maps, improved situational awareness at night and in marginal weather, and easier access through wireless connectivity. The navigation system is track-based, which means the navigation follows the actual path of the helicopter and accounts for wind and other environmental factors.
Figure 3 | The AW139 features avionics and mission systems intended to minimize pilot workload and optimize operational efficiency. Leonardo photo.
The Primus Epic 2.0 Phase 8 upgrade includes the SmartView synthetic vision system, which helps pilots navigate during low-visibility conditions, plus a userfriendly iNAV map visual interface. The upgrade also boosts connectivity: Wireless data loading will let pilots access data at high speeds remotely, transferring flight plans wirelessly and accelerating preflight actions.
T-MUSIC program to develop integrated mixed-mode RF electronics
Sensor upgrades on U-2 reconnaissance planes complete
The Defense Advanced Research Projects agency (DARPA) reports that its Technologies for Mixed-mode Ultra Scaled Integrated Circuits (T-MUSIC) program has selected nine research teams from academic institutions and commercial companies to work on the program. One area of research focuses on the integration of photonics and RF components directly into advanced circuits and semiconductor manufacturing.
Collins Aerospace Systems, Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, and the U.S. Air Force report completion of flight testing and deployment of the latest variant of the Collins Aerospace Senior Year Electro-Optical Reconnaissance System (SYERS) sensor, SYERS-2C, on the U-2 reconnaissance aircraft. With this milestone, say company officials, the entire U-2 fleet has been upgraded to the most updated electrooptical/infrared sensor capability.
T-MUSIC will explore the integration of mixed-mode electronics into advanced semiconductor manufacturing with the goal of developing integrated RF electronics with a combination of wide spectral coverage, high resolution, large dynamic range, and high information-processing bandwidth. The research teams selected are BAE Systems; Raytheon; UCLA; University of California, San Diego; and University of Utah. These teams will collaborate with two foundry partners, Global Foundries and TowerJazz, while a third group of researchers from UCLA and University of California, Berkeley, will explore foundational breakthroughs in ultrabroadband transistors.
According to information from Collins Aerospace, the 10-band, high spatial resolution SYERS-2C sensor – developed with open mission systems standards to enable command, control, and data exchange with 5th-generation platforms – enables the U-2 “Dragon Lady” to find, track, and assess moving and stationary targets.
Satellite modems to support Army tactical network Comtech Telecommunications announced that during its second quarter of fiscal 2020 its subsidiary, Comtech EF Data Corp., which is part of Comtech’s Commercial Solutions segment, received a $2.9 million order for satellite modems from a major U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) contractor. The order specified the DMD2050E MIL-STD-188-165A/STANAG 4486 Edition 3 Compliant Universal Satellite Modem, which will be used to support the U.S. Army Project Manager (PM) Tactical Network. The DMD2050E Satellite Modem is designed to comply with a wide range of U.S. Government and commercial standards. According to the company, it is compliant with MIL-STD-188-165A (all terminal types), complies with STANAG 4486 Edition 3; and aligns with IESS-308, IESS-309, IESS-310, and IESS-315 commercial standards. www.mil-embedded.com
Figure 4 | Marines set up a satellite dish at Joliet Army Training Area in Elwood, Illinois. Photo by Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Preston Morris.
MILITARY EMBEDDED SYSTEMS
March 2020 15
DEFENSE TECH WIRE FMVDL power amplifiers to equip F-35 Lightning II Elbit Systems of America was selected by Cubic Mission Solutions to design and develop the Full Motion Video Data Link (FMVDL) amplifier module for the advanced sensor4 and communications suite of the F-35 Lightning II aircraft. The Elbit amplifier modules are intended to boost power for the F-35 communication suite, while keeping the size of the unit to a minimum. These equipment additions are intended to extend situational awareness from one aircraft to an entire network of warfighters, whether airborne or providing ground operations.
Figure 5 | A lineup of F-35A Lightning II aircraft assigned to the 56th Fighter Wing. U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Jensen Stidham.
The F-35 Lightning II is currently in use by the U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps, in addition to the services of other nations. The F-35 FMVDL modules will be designed and manufactured at Elbit Systems of America in Fort Worth, Texas.
Space radio monitoring system to be developed by Kratos
Automated vehicle capability in development with Rheinmetall
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, has won an $11.5 mil-lion contract to build an advanced space radio monitoring system for a government customer. As part of the multimillion dollar project, Kratos is responsible for the turnkey design, installation, and integration of the advanced space radio monitoring system including the core satellite technology and associated hardware and software.
Rheinmetall has launched its first Australian research and technology program, the Autonomous Combat Warrior (ACW) program. Under this program, Rheinmetall’s Australian, German, and Canadian development teams will work alongside research teams to develop advanced sovereign robotics and automated vehicle technologies. Rheinmetall only develops systems that are strictly compliant with the rules of engagement of its customers. Rheinmetall does not develop, manufacture, or market fully autonomous weapon systems, according to the company.
The system includes a fixed site and mobile unit to monitor satellite downlinks. The scope of work includes Kratos antennas, a satellite monitoring and geolocation solution, and an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) spectrum analysis solution. Kratos will deploy GeoMon, a specific application for frequency regulators to implement ITU missions, as well as the Monics carrier monitoring, satID geolocation, Compass network Monitor & Control (M&C), and Skyminer ground system data-analytics products integrated with the Kratos-designed antennas/RF systems.
The research teams the company plans to partner with include the Defence Science and Technology (DST) group, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Queensland University of Technology (QUT), and the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT).
Large unmanned VTOL contract signed by BlueBird Aero Systems BlueBird Aero Systems, which develops and builds micro, mini, and small tactical unmanned aircraft systems (UASs), has received an order worth tens of millions of euros from a European customer for the delivery of more than 150 vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) UAS of various categories. The WanderB-VTOL Mini UAV and ThunderB-VTOL Tactical UAV will be operated by infantry soldiers, armored units, artillery corps, and special forces. The commander of the end user’s ground forces said of the VTOL UAS purchase: “These battlefield-proven VTOL solutions will be deployed as part of our modern fighting doctrine and will serve as the troop’s eye in the sky providing advanced and reliable intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance [ISTAR] capabilities to address the modern battlefield’s key challenges.”
16 March 2020
MILITARY EMBEDDED SYSTEMS
Figure 6 | The WanderB UAS is a vertical takeoff and landing craft that can be used for infantry and special-forces applications. Photo: BlueBird Aero Systems.
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SPECIAL REPORT
Eyes up and out: Advancing situational awareness in helicopter avionics By Emma Helfrich, Associate Editor
Basic physics still dictates much of what makes helicopter flight successful, but military airborne platforms are constantly faced with environments civilian rotaryand fixed-wing aircraft simply don’t encounter: Degraded visual environments, a need for reduced workload, and improved pilot-vehicle interface drive military helicopter avionics upgrades and remain at the top of customer design requirements. In response to these military-user needs, companies are attempting to uncomplicate helicopter cockpit designs while using the most advanced electronics available.
18 March 2020
Helicopter Avionics
Northrop Grumman’s scalable, fully integrated, and open architecture-based cockpit design will replace older analog gauges with digital electronic instrument displays in the upgraded aircraft.
One of the last things a helicopter pilot wants is to have to look down – e specially in combat. Mission effectiveness requires the undivided attention of military helicopter pilots and crews, and recent avionics advancements intend to ensure that warfighters maintain the highest degree of situational awareness. Achieving that focus calls for the implementation of technology that prevents the pilot and crew from being consumed by arduous data processing, low-visibility environments, and critical yet intensive decision-making. Size, weight, and power (SWaP) constraints; cybersecurity concerns; and standardization efforts can act as both catalysts and obstacles for emerging helicopter avionics. Standards-promulgating consortia including the Future Airborne Capabilities Environment (FACE), Sensor Open Systems Architecture (SOSA), and Modular Open Systems Architecture (MOSA) aim to alleviate the challenging design demands for companies, which are starting to treat these standards as de facto requirements rather than guidelines. What both the warfighter and the manufacturer agree on, however, is that overarching all in the aerial battlefield is situational awareness. End users are often in environments where they not only need to fly the aircraft effectively, but simultaneously control other aerial systems, switch from piloting to mission management, and maintain vision even in degraded environments. Situational awareness goes beyond sight Improved situational awareness begins at a display level. Pilots are often equipped with heads-up, augmented-reality, helmet-mounted displays to project critical information directly into the pilot’s line of sight. Helicopter crews are supplemented with heads-down displays that can be programmed with speech recognition or resistive touch, while large-format displays aid in managing content from a variety of positions within the cockpit.
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When flying in environments degraded by fog, smoke, rain, and other obscurants that affect visibility, these displays are then used to project augmented depictions of the helicopter’s surroundings so as to keep the pilot and crew aware and in the air. Called synthetic vision, this capability persists as a musthave for military helicopter avionics, as it provides a basis for situational awareness and introduces various levels of sensor processing (Figure 1). “Synthetic vision is only as good as the database that it pulls from. With increased fidelity in terrain maps, available datasets, real-time information, contextual data, and ability to employ active sensors on platforms, we can synthesize a very robust digital world model view,” says Jon McMillen, who works with mission systems business development at Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems (Washington, D.C.). “This information can be provided to pilots in the form of synthetic vision to inform them of their surroundings or can also be used for advanced flight modes all the way to fully autonomous flights.” Companies are pushing toward multispectral, adaptable solutions to adhere to various conditions and retain upgradability as requirements shift and technology advances. Situational awareness also includes having full control over any aerial systems during missions that require advanced teaming, the perpetuation of a manageable workload, and the use of cognitive decision-making. “It’s not only having the vision in terms of what their eyes see, but it’s also indicators, symbology, and cues that will guide them to additional decisions that they may need to make and give them options rather than overloading them with a ton of information and then asking them to figure it out while they’re in the middle of a mission,” says Dave Schreck, vice president and general manager for military avionics and helicopters at Collins Aerospace (Cedar Rapids, Iowa). Manufacturers have also commented on the need to maintain reconfigurability between spectrums to better achieve onwww.mil-embedded.com
Figure 1
By combining synthetic vision systems and its Avoidance Re-Router cognitive decision-aiding application, the Collins Aerospace software tool enables pilots to quickly react to stationary or moving threats encountered along the flight path, including in cases of low visibility or unfamiliar territory. Image courtesy Collins Aerospace.
the-fly switches between sensors. Ensuring that situational awareness capabilities provide multifunctionality is paramount not only because every pound counts when in flight, but because standardization efforts are quickly catching up with legacy platforms. Standardization and system security FACE, MOSA, and SOSA have been influencing military helicopter avionics since the inception of the consortia several years ago. Current airborne platform purchases are intended to serve for decades to come, with mission equipment refreshes to take place at a quicker rate than that of the helicopters. This reality means that manufacturers are seeing a demand for open systems, which enable their users to obtain the equipment and the vehicles independently. “The services are looking at open architecture for two reasons: one, to reduce cost. Because if you can buy a set of applications, or an application once and apply it multiple times across multiple platforms or multiple services, then there are certainly costs to be lowered there,” Schreck says. “But more importantly, they’re looking for ways to separate the mission-critical, flight-critical pieces of the platform from the mission applications. That way you aren’t constrained by breaking open an operational flight platform.” Standards conformance becoming more important Manufacturers are more frequently considering FACE conformance as a requirement, especially when considering the cybersecurity risks that avionics systems can become vulnerable to when multiple sensor-driven capabilities are used. Standards like DO-178C [Software Considerations in Airborne Systems and Equipment Certification] provide the guidelines to secure an airborne platform’s software while preserving the system’s open architecture. Helicopter avionics companies are also recognizing the real possibility of cyberattack and implementing their own solutions. “Our approach to avionics system security, referred to as Program Protection, is designed to protect technology, components, and information from compromise through the cost-effective application of countermeasures,” says Jim Conroy, vice president of navigation, targeting, and survivability for Northrop Grumman (Falls Church, Virginia). “We consider many factors in developing secure systems, including integrating, mitigating, and managing risks to advanced technology and mission- critical system functionality from foreign collection, design vulnerability or supply chain exploit, battlefield loss, and unauthorized or inadvertent disclosure throughout the acquisition life cycle.”
MILITARY EMBEDDED SYSTEMS
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SPECIAL REPORT
Helicopter Avionics
Because the threat environment is rapidly evolving, without reliable security, taking advantage of the capabilities that open and multispectral solutions offer would put helicopter platforms in a far-too-vulnerable a position. Demonstrating the digital interoperability of an advanced yet comprehensible pilotvehicle interface is driving not only standardization efforts, but also general trends in helicopter avionics. Simplifying pilot-vehicle interface According to industry officials, the next major step in military helicopter avionics will be a shift from piloting to mission management. With that change, new ways to interact with the system will be introduced. Manufacturers are working to design innovative methods to present data to the pilot as well as ways to receive pilot inputs to provide operators with the ability to transition in the middle of the flight from being the pilot to being the mission operator.
“Many customers are looking for ways to address changing mission requirements by adding functionality to aircraft,” McMillen says. “Leveraging the latest in open system design, we’re able to add specific mission equipment packages and provide additional information to the pilots in the cockpit. As we increase the level of automation in helicopters, open systems allow rapid adaptation in the way information is presented to effectively manage mission objectives.”
Manufacturers are working to design innovative methods to present data to the pilot as well as ways to receive pilot inputs to provide operators with the ability to transition in the middle of the flight from being the pilot to being the mission operator. This approach creates a streamlined human-machine interaction, improved speed of information access, and fusing of that information. The data is then presented through the system as an actionable next step for the pilot as opposed to providing them with different pieces of information that they then need to take the time to process, integrate, and react to. “There is a lot of data to consume, so the key is to be able to pull the necessary information from the consolidated-world model and then present only the data that will aid in decision-making to reduce information overload,” McMillen says. “The goal being that we provide all the necessary information to the pilot or onboard system at all times to eliminate controlled flight into terrain (CFIT), but not increase workload.”
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A34_MESys_2_125x10.qxp_A34.qxd 1/31/20 1:1
Figure 2
Sikorsky tests its fly-by-wire technology that the company says will enable autonomous flight for rotary- and fixed-wing aircraft. Lockheed Martin photo.
Consequently, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) have become promising solutions when considering ways to further methodize the pilot-vehicle interface on military helicopters. Expanding workload reduction capabilities with autonomous functionalities is becoming a necessity for the end user, and manufacturers are taking notice.
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Avoiding task saturation with AI and ML “The requirement sets for artificial intelligence and machine learning are being developed in terms of how that can be most leveraged in military helicopter avionics,” Schreck says. “Workload-reduction systems and taking multiple inputs from different systems and subsystems in the cockpit and then providing those in a fused picture to the pilot are a couple of ways that we are already starting to venture down the path of AI and ML.” The use of AI and ML appears to be most beneficial when incorporated into missionsupport applications: Leveraging those autonomous capabilities in workload reduction efforts offer lower risk from a flight-critical nature, while still providing significant value and assistance for the end user. “We continue to drive crew workload down to avoid task saturation and better enable the warfighter. This is particularly important when a crew or aircraft is in an urgent situation,” Conroy says. “Our cognitive decision-aiding and machine augmentation capabilities are designed to assist the crew in combat, and if necessary, automatically control the aircraft when required.” As military helicopter avionics push deeper into military missions, Conroy asserts that Northrop Grumman also intends to implement AI and ML into their avionics mission solutions in ways that include sensor data processing and exploitation, augmented situational awareness, threat intent prediction, and response planning and execution. Optionally piloted airborne platforms are also at the vanguard of AI- and ML-powered helicopter avionics. At the 2019 Paris Air Show, Sikorsky (a Lockheed Martin subsidiary), together with Collins Aerospace, demonstrated technology that the companies said would enable fielding of a pilotless UH-60 Black Hawk. (Figure 2.) The soon-to-beunmanned vehicle will take to the skies for the same reasons autonomous workload reduction systems exist: to let pilots and crews commit more time to the mission. But that in no way means that autonomous advancements will stop there. “When you start to focus on how the machine does something more predictably based on machine inputs and a variety of inputs that may change and vary over time, that’s where you really get into the more challenging areas,” Schreck says. “That’s where we’re working with the customers and the rest of the industry, looking at how far you can really push that line when you’re talking about the avionics, the flying piece of the mission.” MES www.mil-embedded.com
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March 2020 21
MIL TECH TRENDS
Certifying embedded COTS software for military systems By Richard Jaenicke Commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software rarely goes through any type of certification process with independent verification of functionality, API [application programming interface] compliance, or security, with the main exception being software targeted at applications that require safety certification. Part of the issue is that most software standards do not specify certification test suites or a formal certification process. This is starting to change, however, for some military embedded systems, driven partly by processes defined by the aviation community but that can be applied more generally beyond avionics.
22 March 2020
Certifying COTS Hardware and Software
Software certification can be beneficial even for applications where certification is not required for regulatory compliance. The most significant benefit may be the confidence that certification confers to OEMs, integrators, and end users that the software operates as expected. A close second could be avoiding deliverable disputes due to poorly defined requirements, given that obtaining certification is a very clear deliverable. Other benefits of certification include reducing the likelihood of a product recall by using an independently tested product and lessening legal liability by demonstrating that the company went the extra mile to use a certified product. API conformance One type of certification is API [application programming interface] conformance to a standard that includes validation test suites and a method of independent validation. An example of a standard with a test suite for a broadly used piece of software is POSIX certification by IEEE and The Open Group, where The Open Group is the certification authority. The POSIX certification test suites test both API conformance and functional testing. A safety-specific example of a standard with a conformance test suite is ARINC 653, Avionics Application Software Standard Interface: ARINC 653 Part 1 defines a general-purpose API between the operating system and the application software that enables hosting multiple applications at different assurance levels on the same hardware. ARINC 653 Part 3 is the Conformity Test Specification, which includes substantial functional testing within an application as well as API conformance testing. The latest revisions of ARINC 653 Part 1 – which are of particular interest for systems that include multicore processors – include the requirement that software architectures need to make sure that an application with multiple threads can run across multiple processor cores in parallel.
MILITARY EMBEDDED SYSTEMS
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For the broader market of military embedded systems, the FACE [Future Airborne Capability Environment] Technical Standard (Figure 1) is designed to make military computing operations more robust, interoperable, portable, and secure. The standard
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Figure 1 | FACE Architectural Segments. www.mil-embedded.com
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March 2020 23
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MIL TECH TRENDS enables developers to create and deploy an extensive catalog of applications for use across the entire spectrum of military electronic systems through a common operating environment. The FACE Technical Standard includes conformance testing for each of the architectural segments: Operating System, I/O Services, Platform-Specific Services, Transport Services, and Portable Components. Although the FACE Technical Standard was conceived for airborne systems, the software standard is applicable to all environments. The Operating System Segment (OSS), for example, includes the definition of general-purpose profile as well as a safety profile and a security profile. Conformance to at least a defined subset of POSIX is a requirement of each OSS profile; the safety and security profiles also require ARINC 653 support. Other FACE segments are restricted to using only the APIs contained in the OSS profile selected. Conformance test suites exist for each profile in each segment, and the certification process includes verification testing by an independent
Certifying COTS Hardware and Software verification authority followed by review of the test and verification results by a certification authority. Safety-assurance certification Software safety assurance usually is thought of in terms of specific industries that require a high degree of safety. From a general real-time systems perspective, software safety assurance implies that a system performs its intended function with the highest degree of determinism. Software safety assurance largely involves an enhanced product life cycle to discover and eliminate design errors and omissions. The level of scrutiny and documentation required is based on the predicted impact of a failure, often described in terms of injury or loss of life. The international base standard for functional safety in electronic systems is IEC 61508, which applies to a broad set of industries. That standard – promulgated by the International Electrotechnical Commission – defines four safety integrity levels (SILs), with the strictest being SIL 1, with a probability of a dangerous failure being <10-5 per hour of continuous or frequent operation. As a means of assessing compliance with IEC 61508, the Conformity Assessment of Safety-related Systems (CASS) methodology can be used by external auditors for accredited certification. Safety standards for specific industries often are derivatives of IEC 61508, including automotive software (ISO 26262), rail software (IEC 62279), and nuclear power plants (IEC 61513). One of the strictest applications for software safety assurance is flight safety, including DO-178C/ED-12C for airborne software and DO-278A/ED-109A for ground-based software, specifically communications, navigation, surveillance, and air traffic management (CNS/ATM). Software is developed and verified to a design assurance level (DAL) based on the effects of a failure condition, with DAL A “Catastrophic” being the highest, down to DAL D “Minor.” Applications that have no safety-assurance requirements are labeled DAL E. As the aviation certification authority in the U.S., the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approves systems based on design, test,
24 March 2020
MILITARY EMBEDDED SYSTEMS
www.mil-embedded.com
and verification artifacts delivered by the system provider. Possibly the biggest hurdle to achieving compliance at a high DAL is the shared resource contention that occurs in multicore processors. That contention can cause an application running on one processor core to interfere with a different application running on another core, negatively affecting determinism, quality of service, and – ultimately – safety. Directly addressing the issue of multicore interference, the Certification Authority Software Team (CAST) has published guidance for multicore systems in a position paper called CAST-32A: CAST-32A includes 10 objectives that need to be satisfied to address the concerns with the use of multicore processors.
Software products that
Figure 2 | Evaluation Assurance Levels.
are certified to Common Criteria at EAL5 or higher have a head start on meeting DO-326A because there is a significant overlap in the processes. The SKPP, in particular, has much more stringent security requirements and testing than is required for DO-326A. Mitigating multicore interference is also a prerequisite for using multicore processors in integrated modular avionics (IMA). One of the key characteristics of an IMA application, as specified in DO-297, is that applications are independently modifiable. Without a general solution for mitigating multicore interference, interference from a modified application could cause an existing application not to execute correctly or vice versa. Security certification a huge concern Security has become a more significant concern in almost every military electronics system. Although each military program www.mil-embedded.com
has its own set of security requirements, software certified to a standard protection profile has a huge advantage. The international standard for computer hardware and software security assurance is the “Common Criteria for Information Technology Security Evaluation” (ISO/IEC 15408). Evaluations can be done to different levels of depth and rigor, called Evaluation Assurance Levels (Figure 2), with EAL1 being the least rigorous and EAL7 being the most rigorous. The framework for Common Criteria is very generic, allowing suppliers to define their own security requirements for the evaluation. The primary value of Common Criteria comes when the evaluation is done against a government-defined protection profile. In the U.S., the National Information Assurance Partnership (NIAP) defines protection profiles and manages the Common Criteria Evaluation and Validation Scheme (CCEVS) validation body. When the evaluation is at EAL5 or higher, the National Security Agency (NSA) participates in the evaluation. The level of security does not come directly from the evaluation assurance level, but rather from the security requirements in the protection profile. It is only when a high EAL is achieved with a very demanding protection profile that the best security is achieved. Some examples of NIAP protection profiles for software are ›› Protection Profile for General Purpose Operating Systems (GPOS PP): This PP was not designed for a specific EAL, but is based mostly on EAL2 requirements. ›› Protection Profile for Separation Kernels in Environments Requiring High Robustness (SKPP): This protection profile was designed for EAL6 plus additional requirements (EAL6+). The aviation industry now has security guidance as well: As a complement to DO-178C, there is a set of high-level specifications for airborne security, including DO-326A, DO-355, and DO-356. Those specifications contain security objectives at the system and aircraft level. Any new commercial aircraft system fielded must address the DO-326A requirements.
MILITARY EMBEDDED SYSTEMS
March 2020 25
MIL TECH TRENDS
Certifying COTS Hardware and Software
DO-326A does not specify how to implement the required security objectives; it only provides guidance on the process to identify threat vectors and make sure adequate mitigation measures are in place. Processes in DO-326A parallel DO-178C, such as requiring a plan for security aspects of certification (PSecAC) similar to the plan for software aspects of certification (PSAC). Software products that are certified to Common Criteria at EAL5 or higher have a head start on meeting DO-326A because there is a significant overlap in the processes. The SKPP, in particular, has much more stringent security requirements and testing than is required for DO-326A. Putting it all together The certification process can be difficult and time-consuming, particularly if the product was not designed holistically from the start for the capabilities being tested.
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An example of a software product simultaneously designed to meet all requirements for API conformance, safety certification, and security certification is the INTEGRITY-178 tuMP real-time operating system (RTOS). INTEGRITY-178 tuMP was the first product to be certified to the latest FACE Technical Standard, edition 3.0. That OSS certification was for safety and security profiles, which include both POSIX and ARINC 653 conformance testing. The INTEGRITY-178 tuMP RTOS enables a general solution to multicore interference mitigation, which can help a system integrator in meeting CAST-32A and DO-297. That solution uses DAL A mechanisms to monitor and enforce bandwidth allocations from each processor core to shared resources. On the security side, the INTEGRITY-178 commercial systems is certified to the NSA-defined Separation Kernel Protection Profile (SKPP) for High Robustness and the only operating system ever certified to Common Criteria EAL6 or higher. Extending that design to multicore processors, INTEGRITY-178 tuMP continues to meet the SKPP’s rigorous set of functional and assurance requirements. Those safety and security assurance certifications are proven in real-world customer applications with over 80 DO-178B/C Level A/EAL 6+ unique customer-certification packages delivered across more than 30 different microprocessors. MES Richard Jaenicke is director of marketing for safety and securitycritical products at Green Hills Software. Prior to Green Hills, he served as director of strategic marketing and alliances at Mercury Systems, and held marketing and technology positions at XCube, EMC, and AMD. Rich earned an MS in computer systems engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a BA in computer science from Dartmouth College. Green Hills Software www.ghs.com www.mil-embedded.com
INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT
Reuse Solutions for Military Avionics Systems
The FACE Technical Standard’s impact on military avionics systems By John McHale, Editorial Director
The Future Airborne Capability Environment (FACE) Technical Standard has come a long way since its initial intent: as a way to enable reuse of software components across multiple avionics platforms. Currently the Technical Standard is in its 3.0 version, with the FACE Consortium – managed by The Open Group – boasting about 90 member companies with 20 products in the FACE industry. Platforms such as the CH-47 Block II already use FACE-conformant products, and new avionics platforms are adding FACE conformance to their requirements. I discussed the effect of FACE on the military avionics community, the involvement of the user community, the benefits of FACE Technical Standard 3.0, and other topics with Jeffry Howington of Collins Aerospace – also vice chairman of the FACE Consortium Steering Committee for nine years – in my McHale Report podcast (find the podcast on www.mil-embedded.com). Edited excerpts follow.
MIL-EMBEDDED: Please describe your current role within Collins Aerospace and your work in the FACE Consortium. HOWINGTON: Within Collins Aerospace, I continue to work with an outstanding team of business-development professionals within the advanced avionics program business. Our role is to envision the future of aircraft and how we can make them more effective, more affordable, and safer. That effort includes taking on leadership roles within standards development organizations like The Open Group FACE Consortium, and for the last nine years I’ve served as its elected vice chairman. Together with the other Consortium members, I’ve been pretty busy helping to refine the FACE Technical Standard and promoting its adoption. MIL-EMBEDDED: Why is FACE so important to the military end user, prime contractors, and embedded hardware and software providers? HOWINGTON: The FACE Standard enables the acquisition of portable and reusable avionics software products independent of the hardware. That statement may seem a bit strange to those used to installing software in desktop and laptop computers, but it’s relatively new for avionics. Aircraft operators and pilots can benefit from reuse by having interoperable capabilities with similar look and feel. Prime contractors benefit from the standardization, allowing them to pick best-in-class products from a wider variety of suppliers while lowering their integration costs. The benefit for both hardware and software suppliers is the ability to compete in a larger addressable market that can better integrate their products.
28 March 2020
MILITARY EMBEDDED SYSTEMS
Jeffry Howington MIL-EMBEDDED: During your presentation at the FACE/SOSA TIM [Technical Interchange Meeting] event in September you cited a statistic showing how software costs in new platforms can escalate to the point they become unaffordable, especially as 70% to 90% of aircraft avionics capability is implemented in software. How will FACE reduce these costs going forward? HOWINGTON: One of the biggest cost drivers the FACE Consortium set out to conquer was the common practice of developing different software for different platforms that implement the same capability. By conforming to the FACE Technical Standard, you can produce software for portability and reusability, and therefore reduce duplicative development efforts. Standardization allows reusability while reducing integration efforts because it puts everyone on the same page with respect to the overall architecture, interfaces, and data definitions. If the software also meets DO-178 criteria, then it becomes possible to reuse both the software and its certification artifacts in another system, saving additional time and cost. www.mil-embedded.com
The most important change to 3.0 is allowing easier use of Component Frameworks ... Component Frameworks allow software developers to focus on the unique requirements of software components without having to spend effort developing lowerlevel functionality management details. MIL-EMBEDDED: The latest version of the FACE Technical Standard is 3.0. What does this version bring to the table for military avionics suppliers? HOWINGTON: The most important change to 3.0 is allowing easier use of Component Frameworks. Many different commercial software components and industry product line frameworks exist today. One well-known, very familiar example is the Java virtual machine. Component Frameworks allow software developers to focus on the unique requirements of software components without having to spend effort developing lower-level functionality management details. This capacity increases software development efficiency and makes support for these frameworks important. But these frameworks come with unique interfaces that introduce barriers for reuse. To promote portability, the FACE Technical Standard 3.0 provides an easier means to access those unique interfaces through the FACE Architecture. MIL-EMBEDDED: How has Collins Aerospace leveraged FACE within its systems and solutions? What applications/platforms use FACE-conformant solutions from Collins Aerospace? Any examples you can give? HOWINGTON: Absolutely. Collins Aero space was the first-ever company to earn a FACE Conformant Certification with its Mission Flight Management Software product. Using commercial technology www.mil-embedded.com
that we’ve deployed in over 50 different type-model-series aircraft, this software product now forms the foundation for upgrading multiple Navy aircraft through a contract with NAVAIR. Our second FACE Conformance Certificate was earned for our Avoidance Re-router situational-awareness and decision-aiding software. This product was also developed from commercial technology and is incorporated within the CH-47F Block II program (see Figure 1, next page) to provide additional hazard avoidance capabilities to pilots. Additional FACE applications are on the shelf or in development, and we’ve enabled our avionics systems to host them. MIL-EMBEDDED: How has FACE affected the Collins Aerospace CAAS program, which was created for the Army to cost-effectively leverage COTS [commercial off-the-shelf] and common software architectures across Army helicopter platforms? HOWINGTON: The Common Avionics Architecture System, or CAAS – which flies on the CH-47F and other aircraft – uses underlying standards common with the FACE Technical Standard, such as POSIX, ARINC 653, ARINC 661, and OpenGL. As we’re
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r-Dens e w o P t os stry’s M ology u d n I e Th r Techn o t i c a p Ca
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INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT
Reuse Solutions for Military Avionics Systems
showing in Block II, Collins Aerospace stepped up the ability of CAAS to host FACEconformant software, and that has opened up opportunities to integrate more thirdparty software components. We’ve found that the FACE architecture does a good job of abstracting software components and easing many integration problems such as transporting data around in the system. That feature makes it easier to cost-effectively adopt open applications built to the FACE Technical Standard. Figure 1
For CH-47F Chinook Block II, Collins Aerospace stepped up the ability of its Common Avionics Architecture System (CAAS) to host FACE-conformant software. Pictured is an Army Chinook helicopter providing troop-lift support to soldiers at Wheeler Army Airfield, Hawaii. U.S. Department of Defense photo.
MIL-EMBEDDED: FACE-conformant solutions were part of the Tri-Service Open Architecture Interoperability Demonstration held in January at the Georgia Tech Research Institute. How important for the FACE business model has it been to have buy-in been from prime contractors, certainly different from the proprietary model they were used to? HOWINGTON: Standards thrive when they are implemented often, so it is hugely important to see not only primes implement the FACE Technical Standard, but also other industry players of all sizes. We’ve seen many program wins across the Consortium membership, which right now numbers around 90 companies, and demonstrations for new capabilities continue to be held. I also can’t stress enough how important it is that our customers have bought in to buying FACE software, as evidenced by requirements and purchases coming from all of the services. Suppliers are finding a
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INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT market of FACE software buyers, and that is validating the concept. Right now, Collins Aerospace is executing well over $150 million in programs that will supply FACE software. MIL-EMBEDDED: FACE was developed for use by military applications, but could the model also be applied to commercial avionics platforms? HOWINGTON: It can and it has. I mentioned the two FACE-conformant certified software products that Collins Aerospace produces, and that they are based on commercial technologies. Those technologies continue to be used in both the commercial and military spaces, although we may not tout that fact on the commercial side. If you seek out other FACE Consortium members, you will find several who are producing software for the commercial space as well. The real-time operating system vendors are a great example here.
Reuse Solutions for Military Avionics Systems Jeffry A. Howington is responsible for business development efforts in advanced military avionics at Collins Aerospace; he also leads in the development of the company’s product line road map for reusable avionics-software applications. He is also currently the FACE Consortium’s Steering Committee vice chairman, having served in that elected role for nearly nine years. Prior to Collins Aerospace, Mr. Howington was responsible for development teams creating software for handheld and tablet computer products. His early engineering career spanned developing hardware products for telecommunications, automated teller machines, and personal computer products. Mr. Howington holds an electrical and computer engineering degree from Clemson University and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Iowa. The Open Group FACE Consortium · https://www.opengroup.org/face Collins Aerospace · https://www.rockwellcollins.com
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MIL-EMBEDDED: Twenty FACEconformant products from 12 suppliers are now in the FACE Registry, and FACE requirements are now included in new military avionics contracts. What is the next design challenge or hurdle for FACE members to overcome? HOWINGTON: The defense industry is working hard to keep the United States and its allies on top of the game for defense, and we in the industry are being challenged to find ways that allow quick and agile fielding of enabling capabilities to affordably go into the aviation fleet. On the commercial side, we’ll continue to see rising air-traffic usage over the long haul, and airline carriers will look for advanced solutions to navigate an evermore-crowded airspace. These challenges demand the kinds of solutions that building to [conform with] the FACE Technical Standard can provide. Collins Aerospace will continue to advance its open architecture products using the FACE standard, and we will continue building an outstanding team of skilled programmers for developing FACEconformant software. MES www.mil-embedded.com
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DO-178C Title meets the FACE By John McHale, Editorial Director Technical Standard: High assurance and reusability for airborne software abstract
By Benjamin M. Brosgol
The DO-178C and FACE [Future Airborne Capability Environment] approaches form a natural union, enabling developers to combine best practices The for airborne software production from both the military and commercial arenas. By developing and verifying software components based on the guidance offered in DO-178C and its supplements, FACE component providers can meet their FACE portability goals while achieving high-DAL [Design Assurance Level] reliability and safety.
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caption
The FACE [Future Airborne Capability Environment] approach is a governmentindustry software standard and business strategy for acquiring affordable software systems, designed to promote innovation and rapid integration of portable capabilities across global defense programs and to thereby reduce system life cycle costs. However, the FACE Technical Standard does not directly address issues of quality or fitness for purpose. In particular, although the FACE Technical Standard defines assurance-related language subsets (“safety capability sets”), a software component’s adherence to one of these sets does not necessarily imply that the relevant level of assurance is achieved. Demonstrating such assurance in a military context involves following the guidance of standards such as MIL-HDBK-516C (airworthiness certification criteria) or MIL-STD-882E (safety practice). These standards, for their part, are not focused completely on software issues and they do not address the challenges (or opportunities) offered by modern technologies such as model-based engineering, object-oriented programming, and formal methods. An approach that can be leveraged by FACE component developers to help achieve the relevant level of assurance is to follow the principles embodied in the RTCA DO-178C standard (and its supplements) for commercial airborne systems. These standards are software-focused and cover modern technologies, identifying potential issues and their resolution. Even if formal certification under DO-178C is not undertaken, the standards can help developers meet the most demanding assurance requirements for reliability and safety while realizing the cost savings that come from the reuse of FACE application components. These benefits are amplified when using programming language technologies, such as Ada and SPARK, that best support the development and verification of high-assurance systems.
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The FACE Technical Standard The FACE Technical Standard, an open standard produced under the auspices of The Open Group FACE Consortium, is available from https://publications.opengroup. org/. The current version is Edition 3.0; several earlier editions (2.0, 2.1, 2.1.1) are also in use and supported. The FACE Technical Standard defines a reference architecture comprising five segments (Figure 1) and a data architecture: ›› The Operating System Segment (OSS) provides the software foundation for the other segments, with services such as partitioning, process/thread management, and memory management. ›› The Input/Output Services Segment (IOSS) defines interfaces to the platform’s IO devices from the PSSS. ›› The Platform-Specific Services Segment (PSSS) defines the interfaces to the IOSS from the PCS, for example for graphics support. ›› The Transport Services Segment (TSS) defines communications interfaces between FACE components. ›› The Portable Components Segment (PCS) supplies application functionality and achieves portability by using only the interfaces defined in the other segments. The foundation of the FACE Reference Architecture is the OSS, which exposes a standard interface through ARINC 653 and POSIX APIs [application programming interfaces]. A programming language’s run-time libraries are also typically part of the OSS, although they are invoked not through API calls (which might not be portable across different compiler implementations) but rather through source language syntax. Since FACE-conformant components can be deployed in contexts with varying requirements for safety and/or security, the FACE Technical Standard defines several profiles for the OSS interface: ›› General-purpose – for components not requiring high levels of assurance: real-time determinism not guaranteed, time partitioning optional, space partitioning required. www.mil-embedded.com
FACE
Operating System Segment Portable Components Segment Common Services and Portable Components reside here FACE defined interface set
TS
Transport Services Segment All communication, including inter-UoP communication, is achieved through message-based transport middleware which resides in this segment FACE defined interface set
TS
Platform-Specific Services Segment Standardized UoP-level data products and indirect hardware access are provided by this segment FACE defined interface set
IO
I/O Services Segment
Standardized, but indirect hardware access is provided by this segment
Hardware Device Drivers
Interface Hardware (i.e., MIL-STD-1553, Ethernet)
Platform Devices
Platform Sensors
Platform Displays
User Input Devices
Platform Radios
Other Transports
©2017 The Open Group (reprinted with permission)
Figure 1 | The FACE Technical Standard defines a reference architecture comprising five segments and a data architecture.
›› Safety – for components that need safety assurance: real-time determinism, time/space partitioning required. Sub-profiles safety-base and safety-extended reflect which APIs are permitted. ›› Security – for components that need safety and security assurance: real-time determinism, time/space partitioning required. FACE components can realize run-time functionality through language syntax rather than explicit calls on ARINC 653 or POSIX APIs, and the FACE Technical Standard therefore defines language restrictions (“capability sets”) analogous to the OSS profiles. General-Purpose, Safety-Extended, Safety-Base, and Security capability sets are defined for C, C++, Ada, and Java. (The FACE Technical Standard Edition 3.0 defines Safety and Security capability sets for Ada 95; Edition 3.1 is adding these sets for Ada 2012.) Applying DO-178C principles Although DO-178C and its supplements were developed for application to commercial airborne systems, these standards are not necessarily specific to military or commercial aviation, and can be used in other safety-critical domains. The guidance basically relates to three main goals: ›› Reliability – the system does what it is supposed to do (no failures) ›› Safety – the system does not do what it is not supposed to do (no hazards) ›› Good software engineering practice – configuration management, quality assurance, etc.
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Reuse Solutions for Military Avionics Systems
The standard does not dictate specific development processes, approaches to hazard assessment, or programming languages/tools, but rather defines objectives that – when satisfied – offer confidence that the software meets these goals. Indeed, most of the objectives relate to the verification process: manual reviews, automated analysis, and requirements-based testing to show with appropriate confidence that the output of each life cycle process is correct with respect to its input. The degree of confidence (and the effort required to achieve it) depend on the software’s design assurance level (DAL). Formal DO-178C certification of a software component can be expensive, especially at the higher DALs. However, outside the domain of commercial aviation where such certification is required, DO-178C can be regarded more generally as a specification of “best practices” for producing safety-critical systems. Seen in this light, the guidance is orthogonal to and consistent with the FACE Technical Standard’s requirements. By adopting and/or adapting the DO-178C guidance based on the software’s DAL, FACE application developers – more specifically, developers of software for the Portable Components Segment – can gain much of the benefit that DO-178C offers without undertaking a formal certification. (Figure 2.) Programming-language technology The “Software Life Cycle Environment Planning” section of DO-178C captures the essence of error prevention:
RTCA DO-178C / EUROCAE ED-12C: Software Considerations in Airborne Systems and Equipment Certification As stated in §1.1: The purpose of this document is to provide guidance for the production of software for airborne systems and equipment that performs its intended function with a level of confidence in safety that complies with airworthiness requirements. The guidance consists of specific objectives defined for the system’s software life cycle processes, together with associated activities and data artifacts. The software’s design assurance level (DAL) determines which objectives need to be met, and how rigorously. The DAL of a software component is in turn established as part of the overall system analysis, based on how a defect can affect the continued safety of the flight and landing. At the lowest level, DAL E, anomalous behavior has no effect on safety. At level D, the impact is a minor failure condition, at level C a major failure condition, at level B a hazardous failure condition. At the highest level, DAL A, anomalous behavior can result in a catastrophic failure condition with a consequent loss of the aircraft. The software life cycle processes defined in DO-178C comprise planning, devel opment (requirements, design, coding, integration) and integral processes (verification, configuration management, QA, certification liaison). Supplementing DO-178C are several associated standards, with guidance that elaborates on the objectives and activities documented in DO-178C: • DO-330: Software Tool Qualification Considerations • Technology supplements ° DO-331: Model-Based Design and Verification ° DO-332: Object-Oriented Technology and Related Techniques ° DO-333: Formal Methods Figure 2 | DO-178C and its supplements were developed for use in airborne systems and other safety-critical domains.
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… choose requirements development and design methods, tools, and programming languages that limit the opportunity for introducing errors, and verification methods that ensure that errors introduced are detected. Since early error detection is key to reducing development and verification costs, FACE application developers need to carefully consider which language(s) and tools to employ. Of the languages with capability sets defined in the FACE Technical Standard, Ada enforces the most extensive checking, both at compile time and run time. The formally analyzable SPARK subset of Ada goes even further, statically detecting large classes of errors (including incorrect information flows and buffer overruns) without a flood of “false alarms.” Language and API restrictions The applicability of DO-178C guidance to FACE component development is evidenced in the FACE capability sets. Although the General-Purpose set may be appropriate for software at a low DAL, components at DALs C through A will likely need to be constrained to a simple language subset (SafetyExtended, Safety-Base, or Security) in order to ensure deterministic execution and simple run-time support. The requirements for determinism and simplicity apply both to the application code itself, and to any run-time libraries (supplied by the RTOS or compiler vendor) that are implicitly linked with the application. As an example, the Safety-Extended capability set for Ada 95 in FACE Technical Standard Edition 3.0 prohibits asynchronous transfer of control, dynamic storage deallocation, and much of the predefined standard libraries; it also restricts concurrency (tasking) support to the constructs defined in the Ravenscar profile. The Safety-Base and Security capability set further constrains run-time functionality, limiting exception support to a “last-chance” handler and prohibiting dynamic allocation. Adhering to the capability set restrictions (or to the POSIX and ARINC 653 APIs defined for the Operating System www.mil-embedded.com
Segment profiles) helps simplify verification of safety-critical software while also meeting the FACE requirements. Qualified, trusted tools Using a software tool to automate, reduce or eliminate an activity can lower costs and prevent errors, but only if the tool can be trusted. In DO-178C parlance, the tool must be qualified at an appropriate level. DO-178C defines five Tool Qualification Levels, TQL-5 (lowest) through TQL-1 (highest), based on the impact of a tool anomaly and the DAL of the software component. A tool whose impact is limited to failing to detect an error needs to be qualified against the requirements for TQL-5, regardless of the DAL. At the other extreme, a tool whose output is part of DAL A airborne software must be qualified at TQL-1. (Since an anomaly in the tool can result in erroneous code in the executable, high confidence in the absence of such anomalies is required.) The specific requirements for the various TQLs are defined in the DO-330 Tool Qualification Considerations standard that complements DO-178C.
resolution, resource contention and limitations, worst-case execution timing, exception handling, use of uninitialized variables, cache management, unused variables, and data corruption due to task or interrupt conflicts. The compiler (including its options), the linker (including its options), and some hardware features may have an impact on worst-case execution timing and this impact should be assessed. FACE component developers need to be alert to these issues and recognize the importance of choosing appropriate programming languages and tools. For example, integer and fixed-point overflow are detected at run time in Ada, and using the Ravenscar profile for concurrency (which is permitted in all Ada capability sets and is supported by run-time libraries certifiable at DO-178C DAL A) can help prevent data corruption. The SPARK static-analysis tool can detect uses of uninitialized variables, occurrences of unused variables, the potential for integer and fixed-point overflow, and many other errors.
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A tool that meets the relevant TQL can be trusted for use in FACE component development or verification; the qualification evidence can justify relying on the tool without needing to manually verify the tool’s output. For example, one of the DO-178C objectives is “Source Code conforms to standards,” and for a safety-critical FACE component the relevant standard would be the associated Capability Set definition (Safety-Extended, Safety-Base, Security), possibly augmented with project-specific restrictions. A qualified static-analysis tool that checks that the source code stays within the resulting subset can reduce verification effort. Source code accuracy and consistency One of the critical verification objectives in DO-178C concerns the reviews and analyses of the source code: Accuracy and consistency. The objective is to determine the correctness and consistency of the Source Code, including stack usage, memory usage, fixed-point arithmetic overflow and www.mil-embedded.com
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Reuse Solutions for Military Avionics Systems
Use of previously developed software The FACE approach is based on reuse; where high assurance is required, the issue is how to achieve a sufficient level of confidence when a software component is used in a context different from the one in which it was originally certified. One question is the determination of a component’s DAL (and thus, for a FACE component, the OSS profile/language capability set to be used) and the consequent life cycle requirements. For maximum reusability, the component should be developed and verified at the highest DAL for which its usage is envisioned. Another substantive issue is how to gain confidence that a component that has been shown to satisfy the relevant life cycle objectives in one system will satisfy the relevant objectives in a different system. DO-178C offers specific guidance for several scenarios: When the reuse involves software modification, a change of aircraft installation, a change in application or development environment, or an upgrade to a development baseline. The underlying activity for each of these is a thorough impact analysis to identify, across the software life cycle, the effect of the component’s redeployment in the new context (including an analysis of known problems). For example, porting the same source code to a new processor will require reverification of worst-case execution time assumptions, sufficient stack space reservation, and similar properties. Such reverification can be mitigated by the use of qualified tools. Specialized technologies Modern software technologies such as model-based engineering, object orientation, and formal methods bring many benefits to developers of airborne software, but they can also cause complications. For example, dynamic binding simplifies some design
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patterns but also makes it more difficult to demonstrate correct data dependences. DO-178C’s technology supplements address these issues directly and show how to navigate the potential problems. The FACE approach is focused on software portability of discrete reusable software components, delegating reliability and safety requirements to other standards. DO-178C is focused on software reliability and safety at the system or subsystem level, treating portability (use of previously developed software) not as a requirement but rather as an “additional consideration” with associated issues. These two approaches are complementary and consistent. By developing and verifying software components based on the guidance offered in DO-178C and its supplements, FACE component providers can meet the FACE portability goals while achieving high-DAL reliability and safety. A key element of the DO-178C guidance is early detection of errors. Software engineering-oriented languages like Ada and SPARK, supported by qualified tools and certifiable run-time libraries such as those provided by AdaCore, can simplify safety certification while enabling FACE component reuse. The DO-178C and FACE approaches form a natural union, allowing developers to combine best practices for airborne software production from both the commercial and military arenas. MES Dr. Benjamin Brosgol is a senior member of the technical staff at AdaCore. He has been involved with programming language design and implementation throughout his career, concentrating on languages and technologies for high-assurance systems with a focus on Ada and safety certification (DO-178B/C). Dr. Brosgol is an active member of The Open Group FACE Consortium’s Technical Work Group. Readers may reach him at brosgol@adacore.com. AdaCore • www.adacore.com www.mil-embedded.com
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What is a tensor and why should I care? By Tammy Carter Over time, the definition of a tensor has varied across communities from mathematics to quantum physics. Lately, it has joined the machine learning (ML) community’s lexicon. If you search the web for the definition of a tensor, you will likely be overwhelmed by the varying explanations and heated discussions. In 1900, Gregorio Ricci Curbastro and his student Tullio Levi-Civita first published their theory of tensor calculus, which is also known as absolutedifferential calculus. The importance of tensor calculus became apparent in 1915 when physicist Albert Einstein revealed that he had found it indispensable for the gravitational field equations used in his theory of general relativity. From March to May of 1915, Einstein and Levi-Civita wrote to each other, their correspondence filled with complex mathematical equations, proofs, and counterproofs. All 11 letters that Einstein wrote to Levi-Civita have survived, while only one of Levi-Civita’s letters still exists. To honor Levi-Civita, the mathematical permutation symbol, εijk, used in tensor calculus, is known today as the Levi-Civita symbol. One way to understand the importance of tensor calculus is to consider geometric complications when drawing right angles. If you are developing a system that uses the flat-earth model, you can draw right angles using the Pythagorean Theorem. The limits of the Pythagorean Theorem become clear when you try to draw a right angle on a spherical surface. In this case, the Pythagorean Theorem no longer works. It’s here that the metric tensor comes to the rescue. It generalizes coordinates and geometries so that distance can be measured in any given space. The magic of tensors comes from their special transformational properties that enable them to describe the same physics in all reference frames. Think of a tensor as a multilinear map. Given a set of coordinates (or expand out to functions or other objects), each of these coordinates can be transformed according to a set of rules (linear transformations) into a new set of coordinates. The key here is that each coordinate can have a unique transformation. For example, you can stretch or distort different coordinates in different ways. If we take a rectangular piece of bubble gum with edges on the x, y, and z-axes, and then squeeze the bubble gum on the x-axis (one-dimension input), the x dimension will compress a certain amount, while the y and z dimensions will expand a given amount. This results in output changes in three dimensions while maintaining a constant volume. Assuming a linearity of the squeezing reaction, the behavior can also be calculated using a metric tensor if the gum is squeezed off-axis.
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Tensors are the most fundamental data type used in all major artificial intelligence (AI) frameworks. A tensor is a container shaped to fit our data perfectly while defining the maximum size of the tensor. Take the example of a processor that has a temperature of 45 degrees. First, we need to ask if we are talking about degrees Centigrade or Fahrenheit. The complete answer will require a “denominate” number, which is a number with a name. In this case, the number 45 should be “named” as representing a certain number of degrees Centigrade. This is what is known as a scalar (or 0D) tensor, which is a tensor with zero dimensions. In contrast, a 1D tensor, better known as a vector, is implemented by an array that stores data in a single row or column. The best-known definition of a vector is an object that has both magnitude and direction. A more detailed description of a vector is a member of a space where: 1. An operation exists that maps two elements in that space to another element in the space. 2. An operation exists that maps an element in the space and a scalar to another point in that space. The next step in the hierarchy is a matrix, which represents a two to an n-dimensional tensor. An example of a 3D tensor (or cube) is time series data used with radar processing, which has three parameters (time, frequency, and channel). Described by width, height, and depth (color), a two-dimensional JPG image can be expressed with a 3D tensor. Adding the number of pictures to process increases it to a 4D tensor. A collection of videos would be stored as a 5D tensor (number of videos, number of frames per video, width, height, and depth). As these images process through the deep learning layers, they can be broken down into hundreds of features, thus expanding the number of dimensions. But beware: even though tensors and matrices appear similar, they are not the same. The TensorFlow snippet in Figure 1 (next page) will highlight the difference. NumPy is a generalpurpose, array-processing package for N-dimensional arrays in Python. First, we create a 2×2 matrix and initialize its elements to powers of two. Likewise, we create a tensor to perform the same operation. While the output of the matrix is as expected, in contrast, the tensor output creates a computational graph, which serves as a roadmap to the final answer. Evaluation of the resulting graph produces the expected answer. A tensor decomposition is unique whenever components are linearly independent, where a decomposition is a schema for expressing a tensor as elementary operations between simpler tensors. In contrast, a matrix decomposition is unique only when components are orthogonal. Compared to traditional matrix-based code, tensor-based modeling is faster and requires less memory space. www.mil-embedded.com
Matrix
Tensor
Input:
import numpy as np np.matrix ([[1,2],[3,4]])**2
import tensorflow as tf tt = tf.constant ([[1,2],[3,4]]) t = t**2 t
Output:
array ( [ [1,4], [9,16]]), dtype = int32
<tf.Tensor ‘pow_1.0’ shape = (2,2) dtype = int32>
Evaluate:
tgo = tf.Session( ) tgo.run(tt) array([ [1,4], [9,16]]) dtype = int32
Output:
Figure 1 | The tensor output creates a computational graph that acts as a road map to the final answer.
Tensor functions fall into one of four main categories: reshaping, element-wise operations, reduction, and access. Some of the tensor reshaping operations includes squeeze, unsqueeze, flatten, and reshape. Combining with another tensor will also reshape a tensor. Consider the similarity of reshaping the tensors in a deep learning model to the earlier chewing gum example …
matrix of equations, instead of a matrix of pure numbers. Tensor mathematics is the manipulation of these equation matrices as a method of solving ALL of the involved equations.”
Depending on your mathematical background, your definition and understanding of a tensor may vary. Some might even be disappointed with the lack of equations here. If so, please check out the NASA paper by Joseph C. Koleck, “An Introduction to Tensors for Students of Physics and Engineering.”
Serving where the compute engines, the algorithms, and the data all intersect, tensors are at the heart of deep learning; as demonstrated, they easily represent high-order relationships. Tensors will often discover hidden relationships that a human did not see in the data and could not program as a feature. And like linear algebra, tensor algebra is parallelizable, which brings to mind Einstein’s advice: “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.” MES
Perhaps the best definition of a tensor comes from a regular poster on the website Ars Technica: “Basically, a tensor is a
Tammy Carter is senior product manager for OpenHPEC products, Curtiss-Wright Defense Solutions.
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The McHale Report, by mil-embedded.com Editorial Director John McHale, covers technology and procurement trends in the defense electronics community.
Utilizing two removable SSDs, the Phalanx II is a rugged Small Form Factor (SSF) Network Attached Storage (NAS) file server designed for manned and unmanned airborne, undersea and ground mobile applications. w w w . p h e n x i n t . c o m
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MILITARY EMBEDDED SYSTEMS
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March 2020 41 1/22/18 11:36 AM
EDITOR’S CHOICE PRODUCTS
Modular storage for data at the edge PacStar now offers the Modular Data Center (MDC) 2.0, which it says gives the warfighter the groundbreaking ability to deploy data center-class computing and storageat the edge of tactical networks. The data center – based on the widely deployed PacStar400-Series COTS [commercial off-the-shelf] small-form-factor (SFF) modules – consists of a tactical and expeditionary rugged data center that can host mission command, cloud/storage, sensor fusion, AI functions, and analytics applications. PacStar MDC 2.0 uses SFF modules for compute, storage, and networking functions while achieving size, weight, and power (SWaP) reductions. PacStar MDC 2.0 can be deployed dismounted, in forward operating bases (FOBs), command posts, ground vehicles, and aircraft; it can also be used in upper echelons for use by military command, intelligence, law enforcement, and Homeland Security. The data center features up to 50% more CPU cores than the 400 Series modules; up to twice the RAM; options for dual-drive servers, supporting more redundancy for select HCI software; options for accelerated servers for GPU-optimized artificial intelligence (AI), video/signal processing, and big data analytics software; and an upgraded “smart” chassis with more powerful uninterruptible power source and optimized cooling system (patent pending).
PACSTAR | www.pacstar.com
Store more for VPX-based systems Concurrent Technologies and Vanguard Rugged Storage have teamed to offer a range of storage solutions for VPX-based systems. With the adoption of workload consolidation and AI- based inference at the edge technologies in addition to more traditional signal-processing applications, the need for storage has dramatically increased. Furthermore, the requirement for rugged conduction-cooled systems that have front removable storage devices can now be satisfied with selected storage modules. Initially, Concurrent Technologies is offering three new storage modules, all based on the OpenVPX standard with SATA connectivity for reliable operation and high throughput rates. The TR MS6/522 (in photo) is a 3U VPX board fitted with two fixed solid-state drives, with as much as 16 TB capacity and designed for use in air-cooled applications. TR MS6/523, also a 3U format module, has a single front removable solid-state drive for rugged conduction-cooled applications and can store as much as 2 TB per board. VR MS6/524 – a 6U air-cooled board with two front removable solid-state drives – can pack as much as 16 TB per board and conforms to the one-inch slot width per IEEE 1101.10, as per VITA 46.0.
CONCURRENT TECHNOLOGIES | www.ctc.com
Compact mezzanine for tight footprints in defense/aero/industrial The AP730 rugged multifunction I/O module from Acromag – designed for COTS applications in defense, aerospace, and industrial systems – can handle analog input and output, discrete input and output, and counter/timer functions. The part is available in PCIe, VPX, XMC, CompactPCI-Serial, and mini-ITX embedded computing platforms. Because a single AP730 module has a combination of analog and digital I/O functions, system integrators can use remaining carrier mezzanine slots for serial, Ethernet, avionics, and CANinterfaces, or can accomplish FPGA signal processing with other AcroPack modules. Each AP730 module features a high-density mix of 28 I/O channels and 32-bit counter/timers in a 30 by 70 mm card. Eight differential analog inputs (0-10V, ±10V ranges) supply a 16-bit A/D converter capable of sampling at nearly 800 KHz. Four analog output channels have individual 16-bit D/A converters with a 7.5µS settling time. The module supports programmable I/O ranges, sequencing, interrupts, memory allocation, and other controls, along with external triggering. The bidirectional digital I/O is handled as two 8-channel groups with TTL-compatible thresholds and programmable change-of-state or level interrupts; counter/timers perform quadrature, frequency, and period measurement functions together with pulse width modulation and waveform generation operations. DMA transfer support moves data between module memory and the PCIe bus, which frees up the system CPU and boosts performance.
ACROMAG | www.acromag.com 42 March 2020
MILITARY EMBEDDED SYSTEMS
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EDITOR’S CHOICE PRODUCTS
Mini PCIe card for use in military avionics The ADK-2130mPCIe mini card was made by Holt Integrated Circuits as a full-size F2 Mini PCIe card reference design featuring one or two Holt HI-2130 MIL-STD 1553 multichannel terminals with integrated transformers on a single Mini PCIe card. The card is designed to operate in a PC or single-board computer with a Linux operating system, with Windows support expected to be available in the near future. The demo software uses the Holt API Library functions, providing an abstraction layer that greatly simplifies host programming. The Holt card comes in either a single-channel (ADK-2130mPCIe-1F) or dual-channel (ADK-2130mPCIe-2F) version, and conforms to the Mini Card Electromechanical Specification Rev. 1.2. It features two independent, dual-redundant MIL-STD 1553 channels using proven HI-2130 terminals; each channel features BC, Dual RT, and MT. It has a transformer-coupled MIL-STD 1553 interface, operates in the temperature -40 °C to +85 °C, and comes with customizable FPGA. A 100 MHz PCIe system clock is input to the FPGA from the PCIe connector. This clock signal is input to the GBT clock input pair required for PCIe and also serves as the general clock for the FPGA logic.
HOLT INTEGRATED CIRCUITS | www.holtic.com
Trainer enables realistic airborne EW simulation The Elbit Systems Aircrew Mobile Simulation and Training Field (AMSTF) is a selfcontained electronic warfare (EW) training system that can give pilots and aircrews effective and efficient EW training and simulation against realistic EW threats. The AMSTF – housed in a standard mobile container – is built with a range of transmitters and sensors plus communications, command and control, and analytical systems to enable full spectrum coverage including radio frequency, infrared, and electro-optical. Designed as an open architecture system, the AMSTF trainer enables programmable and configurable operation for maximum user independence. Entire squadrons and fleets can be trained by positioning several AMSTF units within the training area. Additionally, the system records the entire session for offline debriefing and analysis. Because the system is transportable, training can also be carried out in the field and in more authentic environments, and is less expensive and more efficient than bringing crew to a central location, the company maintains. Edgar Maimon, executive vice president and general manager of Elbit Systems EW and SIGINT – Elisra commented: “As EW readiness becomes paramount to mission success and survivability, air forces increasingly seek efficient EW training capabilities beyond the synthetic.”
ELBIT SYSTEMS | www.elbitsystems.com
Conduction-cooled Ethernet switch for the most rugged areas The NETernity SWE540A 6U OpenVPX VPX 40 Gigabit Ethernet switch from Abaco Systems now comes in a conduction-cooled variant, enabling the highest possible Ethernet speeds in a broader range of environments, especially those most susceptible to extremes of heat and vibration. Advanced features and capability found in the SWE540A include data center bridging to accommodate even the most data-intensive applications; in addition, available connectivity includes four QSFP+ (40GBASE-SR4/LR4) ports and two 1000BaseT ports to the front panel, plus 40GBASE-KR4/10GBASE-KX4 with up to 39 rear I/O ports for data plane and control plane to the rear panel. The rugged SWE540A supports full Layer 2/3 features including hardware Layer 3 forwarding at fabric speed rates, which is needed for advanced security and complex networks as it performs dynamic routing over standard routing protocols, enabling a flexible range of network/fabric configurations and applications. the OpenWare switch management software delivers comprehensive security capabilities. Additional features include denial-of-service attack prevention, user-password mechanisms with multiple levels of security, and military-level authorization schemes – including 802.1X and sanitization – to ensure the overwrite of nonvolatile storage if a system is compromised. Survivability is also enhanced by error-correcting code (ECC) protection on the management processor memory, which enables additional higher reliability in harsh environments.
ABACO SYSTEMS | www.abaco.com www.mil-embedded.com
MILITARY EMBEDDED SYSTEMS
March 2020 43
EDITOR’S CHOICE PRODUCTS
Waveguide transmission components aim at use in radar, satcom A new series of waveguide straight sections, bends, and twists – intended for radar, satellite communications, and security applications – from Pasternack range in frequency from 90 GHz to 220 GHz. The waveguide sizes include WR-8, WR-6 and WR-5, and UG-387/U mod round cover style flanges. The waveguide straight sections are available in 1-inch, 3-inch, 6-inch, 9-inch, and 12-inch lengths; the waveguide bends are available in 90° E-plane and 90° H-plane configurations; and the waveguide twists are available in 90°, 45° right-hand, and 45° left-hand configurations. According to the company, all of its new instrumentation-grade, high-frequency waveguide components are made of oxygen-free hard copper and feature low VSWR [voltage standing wave ratio] performance of 1.15:1 (typical). Waveguide components are typically used in radar systems designs to take advantage of the parts’ high power capabilities; they are also often used in antenna feed networks due to their low loss and phase accuracy.
PASTERNACK | www.pasternack.com
Digital readout IC handles threat detection, situational-awareness tasks, tracking Digital-imaging sensor maker Senseeker Engineering offers the Oxygen RD0092, what it calls the world’s first 8-µm pitch dual-band digital readout integrated circuit (DROIC) that is available in a commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) format. The company says that the IC can support a 1,280 by 720 frame size – a widely used standard video frame size – at over 500 fps [frames per second] and features dual-polarity inputs that are compatible with industry-standard direct-injection detector materials. The DROIC is aimed at optimizing infrared imaging system performance through up-to-the-minute integrated features and multiple operating modes that can operate flexibly for a wide range of high-performance application requirements. When used in infrared search-and-track systems, the RD0092 global shutter mode and windowing capability enables an unlimited number of 32 by 32 windows at over 8,000 fps to detect and track multiple objects in real time. For situational-awareness applications in which threat detection is critical, High Dynamic Range Dual Integration mode can be used to expand the possible dynamic range over 110 dB: This mode runs two integration times simultaneously on a checkerboard pattern of pixels to optimize range, resolution, and detection sensitivity of the system. The company offers the software to configure the DROIC and the hardware to interface it to the users’ system.
SENSEEKER | www.senseeker.com
Data storage conforms to FIPS 140-2 encryption certification Phoenix International Systems offers the VP1-250-eSSDC, a VITA 48/REDI conductioncooled 3U VPX SSD storage module, which the company says is the first FIPS 140-2 certified encryption Open VPX NVM Express (NVMe) solid-state disk data-storage module. According to the company, the module was designed specifically to remove legacy layers of hard drive interfaces such as SATA and SAS to take full advantage of the speed and parallelism of solid-state nonvolatile memory. Its streamlined, efficient queuing protocol – combined with an optimized command set register interface – enables low latency and high performance, as data can be delivered efficiently with minimal burden on the host CPU. The VP1-250-eSSDC supports TCG-compliant AES-256 and FIPS140-2 certified encryption as well as military-grade data elimination. The data-storage module features use-out-of-the-box software and drivers. It can handle capacities as much as 15 TBytes and performs at a level of 1.2 GBytes/sec for a sequential 128-Kbyte read. It’s been tested for operating shock at 1000 G/1 ms and operating vibration at 10 GRMS/5 to 800 Hz @ 30 min/axis. It also has advanced flash management for enhanced reliability and durability, can scale for the use of multicore CPUs, and is rated at 1,000,000 hours mean time between failures [MTBF].
PHOENIX INTERNATIONAL SYSTEMS | www.phenxint.com 44 March 2020
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MARKET TRENDS, TECHNOLOGY UPDATES, INNOVATIVE PRODUCTS Military Embedded Systems focuses on embedded electronics â&#x20AC;&#x201C; hardware and software â&#x20AC;&#x201C; for military applications through technical coverage of all parts of the design process. The website, Resource Guide, e-mags, newsletters, and print editions provide insight on embedded tools and strategies such as software, hardware, systems, technology insertion, obsolescence management, and many other military-specific technical subjects. Coverage includes the latest innovative products, technology, and market trends driving military embedded applications such as radar, sonar, unmanned system payloads, artificial intelligence, electronic warfare, C4ISR, avionics, imaging, and more. Each issue provides readers with the information they need to stay connected to the pulse of embedded technology in the military and aerospace industries. mil-embedded.com
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Skate for the 22 Foundation Each issue, the editorial staff of Military Embedded Systems will highlight a different charitable organization that benefits the military, veterans, and their families. We are honored to cover the technology that protects those who protect us every day. To back that up, our parent company – OpenSystems Media – will make a donation to every group we showcase on this page. This issue we are highlighting Skate for the 22 Foundation, an East Coast-based (and growing) organization that forms and runs hockey leagues for veterans who may be grappling with post-military service civilian reentry issues. The group gets its name from the statistic that each day, 22 U.S. veterans are lost to suicide. According to the organization, its aim is to create a community of veterans through the sport of ice hockey to help these people who served to understand and ultimately combat the stresses detrimental to a healthy mental and physical state. Such a community can raise awareness for and reduce the epidemic of veteran suicide. Skate for the 22 was founded in 2015 by U.S. Army and Air Force veteran Bobby Colliton, who credits “Sunday night mens’ league hockey” for helping him through a difficult post-service transition. The group organizes charity games, hosts skills clinics and practices, runs scrimmages and learn-to-play events, and works with equipment companies and adult programs to defray costs. Colliton and fellow vet Charlie Bobbish have laid out a three-fold mission for the organization: to provide a team-based hockey environment to veterans at no cost; to provide suicide awareness and prevention, not only to veterans and their families, but also the community at large; and to assist families of veterans who take their own lives or are disabled by depression. For more information on the Skate for the 22 Foundation, please visit https://skateforthe22.org/.
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Managing Power and Connectivity in Directed Energy Weapons Sponsored by TE Connectivity Directed energy weapons including laser, RF, and sonic are becoming a key element for military forces worldwide. While they will in fact be force multipliers on the battlefield, they still present many technological hurdles for designers to overcome – particularly in terms of managing power and interconnectivity within the systems – in both ground and aerial platforms. In this webcast, experts from TE Connectivity will discuss the issues inherent in managing high-voltage electric power, lay out the challenges such power places on electrical interconnects, and present solutions for overcoming thesehurdles. Get the webcast: https://bit.ly/2T3OuGs View more webcasts: https://opensysmedia.com/solutions/webcasts/ archive
46 March 2020
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Why an Open Standards Approach Is Essential in Defense and Aerospace – Exploring MOSA, SOSA, FACE, VICTORY, and more By Curtiss-Wright Defense Systems In January 2019, the secretaries of the three main branches of the U.S. military – the Army, Air Force, and Navy – issued a joint memorandum on the imperative for a Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA) to weapons systems. The tri-services memo makes it clear that the need to rapidly share information from machine to machine requires common standards. This white paper spells out the overarching benefits of the strong push from all three main branches of the U.S. military to choose only open standards-based solutions: That open solutions will improve communications and sharing across all platforms; also, that the open standards approach will protect investments by ensuring that all systems on all platforms can be smoothly and flexibly upgraded and replaced as needed. Read the white paper: https://bit.ly/3924qP7 Read more white papers: http://mil-embedded.com/white-papers/ www.mil-embedded.com
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