October - 1810

October 2018, Volume 20 – Number 10 • cotsjournalonline.com

JOURNAL

The Journal of Military Electronics & Computing

Interfacing and Interchanging – Reusing Real-Time Tests for Safety-Critical Systems

dSPACE TargetLink 4.3:

Revised Property Manager, Optimized Workflows and More

The Journal of Military Electronics & Computing JOURNAL

COTS (kots), n. 1. Commercial off-the-shelf.

Terminology popularized in 1994 within U.S. DoD by SECDEF Wm. Perry’s “Perry Memo” that changed military industry purchasing and design guidelines, making Mil-Specs acceptable only by waiver. COTS is generally defined for technology, goods and services as: a) using commercial business practices and specifications, b) not developed under government funding, c) offered for sale to the general market, d) still must meet the program ORD. 2. Commercial business practices include the accepted practice of customer-paid minor modification to standard COTS products to meet the customer’s unique requirements.

—Ant. When applied to the procurement of electronics for he U.S. Military, COTS is a procurement philosophy and does not imply commercial, office environment or any other durability grade. E.g., rad-hard components designed and offered for sale to the general market are COTS if they were developed by the company and not under government funding.

SPECIAL FEATURES 16

Interfacing and Interchanging – Reusing Real-Time Tests for Safety-Critical Systems

Rainer Rasche and Andreas Himmler, dSPACE GmbH - Marco Franke and Klaus-Dieter Thoben, Bremen Institute of Industrial Technology and Applied Work Science - Volker H.-W. Meyer, Airbus Operations GmbH

DEPARTMENTS 06 Publisher’s Note

The 5S model from Mercury Systems

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The Inside Track

SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT 26

dSPACE TargetLink 4.3: Revised Property Manager, Optimized Workflows, and More dSPACE

COT’S PICKS 28

Editor’s Choice for October

COTS Journal | October 2018

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The Journal of Military Electronics & Computing

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COTS Journal | October 2018

PUBLISHER’S NOTE

John Reardon, Publisher

The 5S model from Mercury Systems I have dozens of releases hit my desk each and every day – but recently I notice I was getting releases from Mercury Systems and my friend Phyllis Grabot of Corridor Communications at a frequency unseen by others. Not only was the volume something to take note of, the contents were reflective of significant milestones and achievements. In one issue alone of COTS Journal, we reported on excess of $100 million in design wins awarded Mercury. This prompted me to investigate what Mercury is up to.

Leadership Under the leadership of Mark Aslett, President and CEO the company has been able to achieve double-digit growth yearafter-year more than doubling revenue since 2014 to $494 million in 2018. Beyond this top line growth, Mr. Aslett has lead the company to achieve a ~5 times increase to EBITDA and a similar earnings per share. During this period of rapid growth and performance, the company invested nearly $1 billion into Research and Development and double downed on its support of open standards and modular systems.

Playing key roles in the Patriot and the Aegis Missile defense systems, the SEWIP, GORGON Stare, the PAVEWAY small diameter bomb and the F-35 has given Mercury Systems the prominence of much larger companies. While their attention to open standards and continued support of Open VPX shows strong continued support of open standards.

Vision Often in our industry, companies fearful of being left out will cloud their focus as to not be precluded from participating in an opportunity. It was refreshing to see that Mercury took a clear stand as to what they are and what they want to be going forward:

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COTS Journal | October 2018

“Mercury Systems is pioneering a next generation defense electronics business model. We are the leading provider of secure sensors and safety-critical processing subsystem solutions.”

The 5S model refers to their next generation manufacturing initiative. The framework refers to:

• Speed and high performance

• SWAP – Size, weight and power

• Software

• Security

• Safety This attention to details is not an after thought; the goal of incorporating the 5S model into their systems is a strategic initiative that builds client confidence.

SEWIP

Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program

Commonly referred to as the Slick-32, the AN/SLQ is currently the primary electronic warfare system in use by the U.S. Navy.

Gorgon Stare

A video capturing technology developed to attach to an aerial drone through the use of an array of cameras.

Paveway

A series of laser-guided bombs (LGBs). Pave or PAVE is sometimes used as an acronym for precision avionics vectoring equipment; literally, electronics for controlling the speed and direction of aircraft.

Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System Enabling warships to shoot down short and intermediate range ballistic missiles.

COTS Journal | October 2018

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The

INSIDE TRACK

Red River Serves SPAWAR Systems Center Atlantic, DoD and Federal Agencies with New Command and Control Contract C2 Contract Delivers Direct Access to IT Equipment, Services and Red River Expertise to Fulfill SPAWAR Mission

Agencies with relevant Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) Command and Control (C2) equipment, software and hardware, licenses, and incidental services necessary to perform and fulfill the SPAWAR mission.

New Hampshire-based Red River, a leading technology integrator was awarded a new contract by the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center (SPAWARSYSCEN) Atlantic. The multiple-award, indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract is worth a maximum of $750 million annually with a five-year period of performance (including four option years).

In addition to traditional and leading-edge infrastructure equipment from Cisco, Dell and other Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), Red River will leverage its experience in delivering specialized C2 equipment, like custom Panasonic Toughbook® Rugged Laptops, Siemens/RUGGEDCOM military switches and routers, Parvus rugged embedded computing and RVvisio’s hardened video products, among others, to provide tactical OEMs to the Navy.

“Red River is proud and excited to have yet another opportunity to serve our warfighters and to assist SPAWAR Systems Center Atlantic in achieving it mission to secure America and promote global freedom,” said Jeff Sessions, Red River President.

Under the new contract, Red River will support SPAWAR Systems Center Atlantic (SSC LANT) in Charleston, South Carolina with providing SPAWAR and other DoD and Federal

Russian Aerospace Forces detect thousands of Foreign Airborne Objects Near Russian Boarder TASS is reporting servicemen of Russia’s Aerospace Forces have detected and tracked over 980,000 foreign airborne objects near the Russian borders this year, said Maj. Gen. Andrei Koban, the commander of the Radio-Technical Troops of the Russian Aerospace Forces.

“In 2018, on-duty combat units of the Radio-Technical Troops detected and tracked over 980,000 foreign airborne objects. This includes about 3,000 foreign warplanes, with over 1,000 of them being reconnaissance planes,” the general said.

He added that the troops detect and track over 5,000 airborne objects daily, and about a half of them are foreign aircraft.

According to Koban, on-duty units were

placed on the highest level of alert more than 4,000 times this year. This week alone, Russian fighter jets were scrambled two times to intercept foreign aircraft near the Russian border, according to the Russian Defense Ministry’s infographics published in its official Zvezda daily.

In the reported period, 16 aircraft were conducting aerial surveillance close to the Russian territory. No border violations were registered.

COTS Journal | October 2018

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New BlueSky GNSS Firewall From Microsemi Provides Secure, Continuous Timing Integrity in GPS-Denied Environments

GPS revolutionized the world with its ability to provide accurate and cost-effective positioning, navigation and timing (PNT), yet its rapid adoption has caused critical infrastructure sectors to be overly dependent upon the satellite-based system. The signals transmitted from GPS and other Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) constellations can be a threat vector, which, if disrupted, could harm key critical infrastructure sectors including telecommunications, energy, transportation, emergency services and data centers. The susceptibilities of the GPS signal to attack, whether intentional or not, are viewed similarly as a cyber security threat. In recent months, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of reported GPS incidents, causing critical infrastructure providers to evaluate the security, reliability and resiliency of their GPSbased PNT dependency.

The new BlueSky GNSS Firewall from Microsemi Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Microchip Technology Inc. (Nasdaq: MCHP), enables critical infrastructure providers to hard-

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COTS Journal | October 2018

en the security of their operations from GPS threats and deliver a more reliable and secure service. The security-hardened system provides protection against GPS threats such as jamming, spoofing and complete outage. It also supports a range of precision timing technologies, including atomic clocks, to enable continuous operation when GPS may be completely denied for extended periods. In addition, Microsemi is expanding the GNSS portfolio with the introduction of a BlueSky option to itsTimePictra software management suite, providing centralized control and visibility of GPS reception across regional, national and global geographic areas.

“At last year’s ION GNSS+ show we launched the BlueSky GPS Firewall Evaluation Kit to help customers understand GNSS vulnerabilities and how a firewall approach could provide protection,” said Randy Brudzinski, vice president and manager of Microsemi’s Frequency and Timing business unit. “We received valuable feedback from customers as a result of those evaluations and have incorporated new features in our second-generation BlueSky GNSS Firewall. In addition to expanded monitoring and reporting capabilities, this robust, future-proof platform is now equipped with atomic clock technology to provide security-hardened resiliency, including the ability to operate in a GNSS-denied environment for more than 30 days.”

Microsemi has applied the same principles of a firewall used for network security to defend against GPS threats coming from the sky. Within the new BlueSky GNSS Firewall, the incoming GPS signal is analyzed in real time to detect a wide range of threats before connected GPS receivers and related systems are affected. The BlueSky GNSS Firewall incorporates an optional internal rubidium Miniature Atomic Clock (MAC) enabling continuous output of the GPS signal to the downstream GPS receiver in case of complete loss of live sky GPS reception.

Alternatively, Microsemi’s cesium clocks, such as the 5071A or TimeCesium 4400/4500, can be connected to the device, enabling UTC traceable time for more than 30 days.

Microsemi’s BlueSky GPS Firewall platform features optional BlueSky software incorporated into its TimePictra management system. To ensure the BlueSky GNSS Firewall is equipped to defend against an ever-evolving threat, Microsemi updates and continuously tracks GPS signal manipulation, spoofing threats, jamming attacks, multipath signal interference, atmospheric activity and many other issues which can create GPS signal anomalies, disruptions and outages.

These updates are available through a BlueSky subscription service.

The Lockheed Martin’s Missile Defense Laser Concept Continues Toward Development The Missile Defense Agency awarded Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) a nine month, $25.5 million contract extension to continue development of its Low Power Laser Demonstrator (LPLD) missile interceptor concept. This program, awarded Aug. 31, builds on a 2017 Contract to develop an initial LPLD concept.

Lockheed Martin’s LPLD concept consists of a fiber laser system on a high-performing, high-altitude airborne platform. LPLD is designed to engage missiles during their boost phase — the short window after launch — that is the ideal time to destroy the threat, before it can deploy multiple warheads and decoys.

Over the course of this contract, Lockheed Martin will mature its LPLD concept to a tailored critical design review phase, which will bring the design to a level that can support full-scale fabrication.

“We have made great progress on our LPLD design, and in this stage we are particularly focused on maturing our technology for beam control – the ability to keep the laser beam stable and focused at operationally relevant ranges,” said Sarah Reeves, vice president for Missile Defense Programs at Lockheed Martin Space. “LPLD is one of many breakthrough capabilities the Missile Defense Agency is pursuing to stay ahead of rapidly-evolving threats, and we’re committed to bringing together Lockheed Martin’s full expertise in directed energy for this important program.”

Lockheed Martin expands on advanced technology through its laser device, beam control capabilities, and platform integration – ranging from internal research and development investments in systems like ATHENA to programs such as LANCE for the Air Force Research Laboratory. Continued LPLD development will take place at Lockheed Martin’s Sunnyvale, California campus through July 2019.

INSIDE TRACK

Harris Corporation and L3 Technologies to Combine in Merger of Equals to Create a Global Defense Technology Leader Harris Corporation (NYSE:HRS) and L3 Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:LLL) have agreed to combine in an all stock merger of equals to create a global defense technology leader, focused on developing differentiated and mission critical solutions for customers around the world. Under the terms of the merger agreement, which was unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies, L3 shareholders will receive a fixed exchange ratio of 1.30 shares of Harris common stock for each share of L3 common stock, consistent with the 60-trading day average exchange ratio of the two companies. Upon completion of the merger, Harris shareholders will own approximately 54 percent and L3 shareholders will own approximately 46 percent of the combined company on a fully diluted basis.

The combined company, L3 Harris Technologies, Inc., will be the 6th largest defense company in the U.S. and a top 10-defense company globally, with approximately 48,000 employees and customers in over 100 countries.

For calendar year 2018, the combined company is expected to generate net revenue of approximately $16 billion, EBIT of $2.4 billion and free cash flow of $1.9 billion.

opportunities than either company could have achieved alone. The companies were on similar growth trajectories and this combination accelerates the journey to becoming a more agile, integrated and innovative non-traditional 6th Prime focused on investing in important, next-generation technologies.

L3 Harris Technologies will possess a wealth of technologies and a talented and engaged workforce. By unleashing this potential, we will strengthen our core franchises, expand into new and adjacent markets and enhance our global presence.”

William M. Brown - Harris Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer

Harris Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, William M. Brown said, “This transaction extends our position as a premier global defense technology company that unlocks additional growth opportunities and generates value for our customers, employees and shareholders. Combining our complementary franchises and extensive technology portfolios will enable us to accelerate innovation to better serve our customers, deliver significant operating synergies and produce strong free cash flow, which we will deploy to drive shareholder value. Integration planning is already underway, and from our extensive experience with integration, we are confident in our ability to realize $500 million of annual gross cost synergies and $3 billion of free cash flow by year 3.”

L3 Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Christopher E. Kubasik said, “This merger creates greater benefits and growth

Christopher E. Kubasik - L3 Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer COTS Journal | October 2018

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The

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Leidos Puts Real-Time Training Capability in Warfighters’ Hands Before They Deploy

The single award, indefinite delivery indefinite quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract has a oneyear base period of performance with four one-year options and a total contract value of $210 million.

Work will be performed at the Leidos facility in Orlando under the direction of the U.S. Army’s Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training & Instrumentation.

Company Awarded $210 Million Contract to Support Army’s Synthetic Environment Program Leidos was awarded a prime contract by the U.S. Army Contracting Command – Orlando to develop and provide simulated training environments to meet the U.S. Army’s operational training requirements.

Leidos’ Synthetic Environment Core (SE Core) provides databases enabling high-resolution, realistic training environments with real-world 3D and 2D geographic terrain that fully integrates and operates within all training environments. SE Core allows warfighters to have a complete picture of the environment such as maps, roads, bridges, moving vehicles and buildings. This capability helps U.S. warfighters train as they fight in today’s battle spaces before entering theaters of combat operations.

SE Core content supports training, simulation and Mission Command Systems.

How AI Could Save A Submarine From Attack The underwater ocean world is an ecosystem with lots of different sounds.

So naval forces have traditionally relied on so-called “golden ears,” or musicians and other individuals with particularly sharp hearing, to detect the specific signals coming from an enemy submarine.

But given the overload of data today, distinguishing between false alarms and actual dangers has become more difficult. That’s why “Thales is

Leidos’ Synthetic Environment Core (SE Core) .

working on “Deep Learning” algorithms capable of recognizing the particular “song” of a submarine, much as the “Shazam” app helps you identify a song you hear on the radio”, says Dominique Thubert, Thales Underwater Systems, which is specialized in sonar systems for submarines, surface warships, and aircraft.

More intelligent, autonomous systems are also being developed for Mine Warfare , to move from conventional autonomy to collaborative autonomy. Instead of just operating on a pre-defined path, for example, several underwater drones will be able to carry out together complex operations to survey and clear the sea mine field .

These algorithms, attached to submarines, surface ship or drones, will help naval forces sort through and classify information in order to detect attacks early on. “Equipping our military vessels with a higher-level artificial intelligence is the answer to the increasing size and complexity of data to be processed as well as the need to reduce staff,” says Thubert.

Naval mines are not just the stuff of old war movies: many nations have stockpiles of these weapons, which remain a major threat to ships since they offer a cheap way for blocking a shipping route or shutting access to harbors and ports.

As a world leader in mine warfare systems – both manned and unmanned – Thales is developing advanced technologies that support the transition from conventional solutions, such as drones and other new solutions based on unmanned systems.

The idea is to let unmanned vehicles take on more difficult roles in military operations, so that the staff members aren’t exposed to unnecessary risks. Thales is already working on the next step: “ Explainable and trustable Artificial Intelligence”, which will allow manned and unmanned systems to make fully informed decision which is a clear prerequisite for military applications.

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COTS Journal | October2018

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Thales and Leonardo Aircraft Protetion System Successfully Defends Against Multiple HeatSeeking Missles in International Live Fire Trials Thales and Leonardo have announced that their end-to-end missile warning and protection system has been proven highly effective in live-fire scenarios, demonstrating the system’s ability to very quickly defend against incoming missiles. The integrated system was demonstrated as part of the SALT (Surface-to-Air Launch Trial) hosted by the Swedish Defense Materiel Administration (FMV) in Sweden. The UK Ministry of Defense (MoD)’s Defense Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) sponsored Leonardo and Thales to take part in the trial, while both companies invested in the integration of the system.

The latest-generation protective system

and declared the missile as a threat and rapidly passed an alert over to the Miysis system.

Miysis then tracked the incoming threat and accurately directed a jamming laser onto the missile’s seeker. Miysis used a DSTL developed jamming waveform to confuse the missile’s guidance system, steering the missile away from the target. As well as proving the system’s basic capability, the Leonardo and Thales team demonstrated how they have optimized the threat-warning/threat-defeat chain to thwart incoming missiles as quickly as possible.

The integrated protection system is able to protect both military and civil platforms, ranging from small helicopters to large tactical transports/VIP platforms.

While Thales and Leonardo will continue to market their systems individually, they will also work closely together to offer the integrated protection capability around the world when it is considered the best solution for customer requirements.

BittWare and Nallatech Join Forces as Part of Molex Establishing a Leadership Position in the FPGA Acceleration Market Nallatech and BittWare FPGA accelerator products for compute, network and storage applications will now be marketed under the BittWare brand

Molex acquired BittWare and Nallatech as an important part of its vision to provide customers with innovative electronic solutions. BittWare and Nallatech are both known within the industry for their wide breadth of in-house FPGA board, subsystem and software expertise. Going forward under BittWare, a Molex company, the companies are unrivaled in the fast-growing FPGA acceleration market where Intel and Xilinx programmable devices are now essential for accelerating compute-intensive or latency-critical workloads, such as machine learning inference or real-time data analytics. The expertise Molex provides in highspeed datacom products and its global resources will help BittWare provide greater value to the FPGA industry.

“Over the last twenty-plus years we had come to respect Nallatech as a tough competitor who kept us on our toes,” said Jeff Milrod, president of BittWare. “To now be part of the same company, leading the market for FPGA acceleration is a genuine thrill and something that the whole organization is excited about. With our skilled staff of FPGA veterans, unmatched product range and the enthusiastic support of Molex, we are well positioned to drive market growth.”

consisted of a Leonardo Miysis Directed Infra-Red Counter-Measure (DIRCM) system and Thales Elix-IR multi-function Threat Warning System (TWS), integrated through Leonardo’s Defensive Aids Suite (DAS) Controller, an advanced electronic warfare computer. Together, the system offers end-to-end protection from heat seeking man-portable air-defense missiles (known as MANPADS), which are being widely employed by armed forces and terrorist groups. For SALT, the integrated system was hosted aboard a Terma Universal DIRCM pod.

During the live-fire exercises, when an Infra-Red (IR) missile was fired at a ground target protected by the Leonardo-Thales system, the Elix-IR system detected, tracked, classified

This successful trial against live MANPADS missiles follows earlier individually effective demos of both Miysis and Elix-IR. At a previous SALT event the Miysis DIRCM successfully acquired and accurately tracked 100% of all live Man-Portable Air Defense Systems (MANPADS) missiles fired. Thales’s Elix-IR was successfully demonstrated in flight trials at the UK Pendine Ranges and on static trials, detecting all threats presented, including some that had challenged previous hostile fire indicator systems. Leonardo’s DAS controller technology is also well proven and is already at the heart of defensive aids suites on-board multiple UK platforms including the British Army’s new Apache AH Mk2 helicopters.

“As FPGA-based computing transitions from a niche technology to a dynamic growth market, it’s important that there is a supplier with the critical mass to enable adoption,” said Craig Petrie, vice president of marketing at BittWare. “Large enterprise customers have higher expectations for product qualification, validation and support compared to innovators and early adopters. BittWare is now a market leader— and growing quickly!

The BittWare team is a talented group with a three-decade track record of success and a culture that is synergistic Jeff Milrod, President and with Nallatech and Founder of Bittware Molex.”

COTS Journal | October 2018

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The

INSIDE TRACK Elbit Systems Delivers M-346 Simulators to the Polish Air Force

by Elbit Systems can be implemented as the future simulation infrastructure of the PLAF and thus enable to interconnect the current M-346

simulators with the future PLAF F-16 Mission Training Center, for combined mission training.

Elbit Systems, together with Leonardo’s Aircraft Division, completed delivery of M-346 Full Mission Simulators (FMS) and Flight Training Devices (FTD) to the Polish Air Force (PLAF).

Resembling the simulation technology at the core of the M-346 training center that was previously delivered to the Israeli Air Force, the supplied simulators enable PLAF Cadets to gain top quality training and superior mission readiness. Featuring a 360-degree display system, which provides high fidelity Air to Air and Air to Ground mission training experience, the interconnected simulators enable both pilot and formation training in the same facility. Allowing real flight experience with no safety limitations, the Elbit Systems’ training solution enables PLAF cadets to acquire skills ranging from basic familiarity with the aircraft up to top level combat flight competence in complex arenas.

Besides offering one of the most advanced training capabilities available on the market, the training and simulation technologies delivered

M-346 Full Mission Simulators (FMS) and Flight Training Devices (FTD)

L3 Technologies Awarded Contract for U.S. Navy’s Next Generation Jammer

Over the past few years, L3 Technologies has conducted successful Navy technology demonstrations that operate cooperatively in electronic attack and electronic sensing. These exercises proved L3’s unique capabilities and technological approach were well-suited for addressing the Navy’s requirements and served as building blocks for the NGJ program.

L3 Technologies (NYSE:LLL) announced that it has been selected for a $36 million demonstration of existing technologies (DET) contract award for the U.S. Navy’s Next Generation Jammer Low Band (NGJ-LB) program. The DET program encompasses a period of performance of 20 months, culminating in a demonstration at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland.

Mr. Stackley added, “We listened closely to our customers. We took a non-traditional approach and teamed with small businesses with a strong track record of performance in developing truly innovative capabilities for recent Navy programs. L3 is proud to have earned the privilege to participate in the NGJ program, and we are committed to delivering the performance our Navy customer needs.

The Next Generation Jammer will augment, and eventually replace, the ALQ-99 tactical jamming system currently integrated on the EA-18G Growler aircraft.

“Our team is thrilled with the opportunity to participate in this important Navy program,” said Sean J. Stackley, Corporate Senior Vice President and President of Communications & Networked Systems. “As the spectrum converges between communications and electronic warfare, we saw a chance to provide a unique solution that addresses current, advanced and emerging threats.”

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Sean J Stackley, Corporate Senior Vice President and President of Communications and Networked Systems.

Work on this program will be executed by L3 Broadband Communications in Salt Lake City, Utah.

SPECIAL FEATURE

Interfacing and Interchanging – Reusing Real-Time Tests for Safety-Critical Systems

By Rainer Rasche1 and Andreas Himmler2, dSPACE GmbH Marco Franke3 and Klaus-Dieter Thoben4, Bremen Institute of Industrial Technology and Applied Work Science Volker H.-W. Meyer5, Airbus Operations GmbH

At present, it is a challenging task for engineers to effectively separate test cases and test benches to improve test reuse. A standard could greatly facilitate using the same test cases at different development stages. It would make transferring know-how from one test bench to another much easier and at the same time reduce training costs for employees. This article describes two possible approaches, interfacing and interchanging. An existing aviation use case is used as the basis. Due to the resulting requirements, the article focuses on interchanging and demonstrates how to create interchangeable test cases.

Nomenclature

ASAM = Association for Standardisation of

Automation and Measuring Systems ATML = Automatic Test Mark-up Language CCDL = Check Case Definition Language FMI = Functional Mock-up Interface HIL = Hardware-in-the-loop MIL = Model-in-the-loop SCXML = State Chart XML SIL = Software-in-the-loop TTCN-3 = Testing and Test Control Notation version 3 UML = Unified Modeling Language XIL API = Standard for communication between test automation tools and in-the-loop systems XML = Extensible Markup Language

1

Technical Group Manager, Product Development dSPACE and Project Manager ASAM XIL. 2 Business Development Manager Aerospace, Product Management.

3 Research Scientist, Intelligent ICT for co-operative production.

4 Professor for Production Engineering - Mechanical Engineering & Process Engineering.

5 Test Engineer, Highlift Test Department.

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Introduction The main objective of testing is to evaluate the functionality, reliability, and operational safety of products. However, this objective makes testing a complex and expensive stage in the development process. This is particularly true for complex and large systems, such as aircraft, that require a maximum of operational safety.Domain-specific tools as used in many different industries, such as aerospace or the automotive industry, certainly help achieving the high level of productivity required in today’s development projects. While these tools help developers to reach their ambitious goals more reliably, they simultaneously limit them in their work.

Exchanging test cases between the tools from different vendors or between tools at different development stages for the same unit under test is difficult or even impossible. This is a significant drawback.

Not being able to exchange test cases between different development stages or suppliers complicates the quality assurance process of a unit under test. It sometimes even leads to a costly reimplementation of tests. The result is an increase in redundant code. This raises maintenance costs and is also difficult to manage.

Moreover, it makes checking the semantic similarity between two different technical variants of a test case challenging. One way to overcome these problems is standardization.

Standardized interfaces between test benches and test automation tools as well as standardized exchange formats for test cases can help keep the tool chain modular and adaptable. It can facilitate reusing test cases and exchanging them between different departments or even different companies.

Standardization also enables engineers to use their local tool chain to easily debug and inspect failed test variants in their familiar environment.

This article assumes that the quality of a system under test is ensured by having the supplier and the system integrator perform dedicated test campaigns. If they detect a fault, they must perform the tests of the supplier on the integrator’s test system and vice versa to narrow down the cause of the fault.

However, problems arise if the system integrator and the supplier have different types of test automation tools and different test benches.

Fig. 1 illustrates two different approaches that can potentially solve the problem, interfacing and interchanging. Standardized interfaces between test automation tools and test benches allow users to combine their software and sim-

ulation hardware freely. It also gives them the flexibility to exchange tools and test benches if needed, depending on the vendor or the development stage. Interchanging enables users to exchange test case definitions between different test automation tools, e.g., if a certain test automation tool or a specific combination of test automation tools and test benches is firmly decided as is the case for the problem addressed in this article.

Table 1 shows the required features and the x indicates if the feature is available for the interfacing or interchanging approach. The situation and problem described above is covered by the features 6–8, which are available only for the interchanging approach. Therefore, the paper focuses mainly on this approach. However, the paper also gives an introduction to the interfacing approach, because it always has to be taken into account if test case exchange, test bench exchange, reuse, und modularity becomes an issue.

This article is structured as follows: Section III details the requirements and provides some of today’s solutions for interfacing test automation tools and test benches and links them to the feature matrix. Section IV describes the challenges of interchanging test cases, Section V subse-

quently presents the interchanging concept and approach. Finally, the paper presents results with regard to the interchanged and generated source code and compares the results gained during real test executions in Section VI. Section VII presents the conclusion of this article.

The results presented in this paper were achieved and proven in nationally funded research projects in Germany and France. These projects were a collaboration of an aircraft manufacturer, aircraft system suppliers, and test system suppliers.

Standardized Interfacing Between Test Automation Tools and Test Benches Standardized interfacing at protocol level and at API level are common approaches for connecting software modules [1]. In contrast to protocols, API support has its advantages, because applications (e.g., test scripts) that use the API of a test bench do not have to take the underlying communication infrastructure into account. Thus, the focus in the following section is on the API rather than the protocol level.

However, an API cannot replace the protocol standardization [2].

Fig. 1: Interfacing test benches and interchanging test cases using standards.

Table 1: Feature matrix.

COTS Journal | October 2018

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Standardization at API level is frequently used, e.g., for simulation purposes. Existing and well-accepted standards that use this approach are available (e.g., Functional Mock-up Interface for Model Exchange and Co-Simulation FMI [2] or the aeronautics standard AP2633). These simulation models are designed independently of simulation platforms. This supports developing simulation models in a centralized department, the exchanging simulation models between system supplier and system integrator, and the applying third-party simulation models [2], to name only a few examples.

the knowledge transfer from one stage or tool to another becomes much easier, ultimately resulting in lower costs for employee training and system maintenance [3], [4], [5].

Frequently occurring tasks while developing automated tests include interfacing a test bench, e.g., for hardwarein-the-loop (HIL) tests or virtual validation systems, injecting disturbances, and evaluating the outcome. More precisely, essential functional requirements in this context are for example: 1) Initialize and manage a test bench, e.g., start a simulation 2) Read and write test bench variables 3) Stimulate and record test bench variables 4) Define watcher conditions to set start and stop triggers for variable recording or stimulation 5) Define a mapping to separate variables in the test case and on the test bench with respect to variable identifiers, physical units, and data types

The XIL workgroup currently focuses on maintenance topics to actively process issues reported by the wide and growing user base. Collecting requirements for the next major release of the standard is also an important issue [6].

In automotive testing, test cases must implement the above-mentioned functionalities and run independently of the executing simulation platform (test bench). These requirements were identified several years ago.

Thus, the Association for Standardisation of Automation and Measuring Systems (ASAM) has developed XIL API as a generic simulator interface for the communication between test automation tools and test benches. It enables users to choose products freely according to their requirements as well as independent of the vendor or development stage. The XIL notation indicates that the standard is primarily focused on but not restricted to in-the-loop systems, most prominently model-in-the-loop (MIL), software-in-the-loop (SIL), and hardware-in-the-loop (HIL). Thus, the standard supports test benches at all stages of the development and testing process. Moreover,

Several implementations based on XIL API 2.0, the latest version of the standard, are currently available on the market. Cross-tests between the different vendors and their products demonstrate a good interoperability of test benches and test automation tools that use XIL API. This allows end users to combine the most suitable test software with the most suitable test hardware.

Besides the functional requirements, XIL also addresses technology independence. Today’s XIL test automation tools use very different description technologies to define the test cases, such as the Python or C# script languages.

Graphical or tabular-based notations might also be used, but these are translated to the mentioned languages at a deeper layer.

Therefore, the object model of the XIL API is defined in UML. This generic UML model is then mapped to different programming languages. As a result of the mapping process, all XIL API classes are available in each of the supported programming languages either as interface definitions or using native data types [3]. A mapping guideline is available for each programming language describing how the UML model is converted to the programming language.

As a result, the standard is defined to be technology-independent. This approach can easily be extended to other languages, such as Java or C++, if desired.

Interchanging Test Cases Between Test Automation Tools As mentioned above, manufacturers and suppliers use heterogeneous test systems, which result in different domain specific test procedure

languages. Each of them fulfills specific needs and is optimized for the respective test system architecture. In consequence, all test procedure languages are heterogeneous with respect to their syntax and emantics. Common test procedure languages are Testing and Test Control Notation (TTCN-3), Automatic Test Markup Language (ATML), and the signal description definitions within XIL [3].

Literature research of available test procedure languages identified that generally a test procedure sets up the environment, stimulates the fault, and then observes the system under test (SUT). This sequence of steps can be composed of a finite number of states. Each state relates to the outcome of the specific parameter value assignment of the SUT as well as the connected environment. Between states, transitions are used to control the behavior of the SUT. Transitions can contain actions or conditions to check whether the SUT has reached a target position or has waited long enough to reach a fault state.

An example is shown in 2.

Apart from states and transitions, a test procedure also includes test steps and test-bench-specific functions. A test step creates a specific part of the test procedure and assigns to it a unique label. From the state-driven perspective, a test step is a superstate or a compound state. Its representation must include at least some Harel state charts [7]. While the semantics for states and corresponding transitions are clear, the semantics of a test bench-specific function are defined outside of the semantics of the test procedure language.

The presence of test-bench-specific functions such as logging or supporting comfort functions complicates the interchange of test cases.

These types of functions are test-bench-specific and semantics of the functions are neither contained in the test procedure nor in the specification of the test procedure language. To interchange these kinds of test-bench-specific functions, either the semantics must be extracted from the test-bench-specific implementation and represented in the state chart or similar test-bench-specific functions have to be mapped between heterogeneous test benches. In both cases, there is no guarantee that the functions of one test bench are available on another.

Fig. 2: Example of a test procedure as UML state chart.

COTS Journal | October 2018

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In conclusion, the interchange of a test procedure between test procedure languages requires a two-step approach: 1) General transformation approach for states and transitions 2) A mapping mechanism to map testsystem-specific-functions between each other.

In general, transforming content from one format into another is covered by the research field data integration as well as cross compiling. The goal of both methods is to extract the syntax and semantics from one format and to transform it to the other syntax covering the required semantics.

The available data integration approaches are capable of transforming data formats ranging from csv files to log files to models [8], [9] to an intermediate representation and back to a target data format. In doing so, the approaches overcome the common data integration conflicts, which are mentioned by Wache [10].

The considered approaches apply procedural transformation rules, which search for specific patterns and apply appropriate transformation rules. The available transformation rule languages that are integrated in the solutions are not suitable to detect states and their test procedure-specific meaning. For example, transformation rules such as ‘All statements between

language. Available test procedure languages include test-bench-specific functions that cannot be resolved by a direct cross-compiling approach. Appropriate mapping mechanisms (step 2 of the 2 step approach) are missing.

Both presented solution approaches cannot transform a test procedure into a state-driven intermediate representation or to enable a direct transformation by cross compiling.

A Way to Interchangeable Test Cases The following section explains how to solve the two-step problem. The developed approach is generic and thus independent of any specific test procedure language. Based on the given use case, the implementation focuses on the imperative Check Case Definition Language (CCDL) test procedure language [11] and the object-oriented Python test procedure language [12].

A. Intermediate Representation Interchanging is the bidirectional transformation between test procedure languages of the test automation tools (see Fig. 1). The integration effort increases with the number of pre-integrated test automation tools, refer to Fig. 3. The number of transformations is defined , where n is the number of test automation tools addressed. Therefore, while only two transformations are needed in a case of two

and required knowledge of specific test procedure languages, an intermediate representation is useful. Thus, only a bidirectional transformation from one test procedure language to the intermediate representation is required. Refer to Fig 3. For this purpose, the intermediate representation has to contain all the features of the heterogeneous test procedure languages, whereby the set of features must be extendable to accommodate future requirements. The state-chart-driven perspective of a test procedure allows for representing a test procedure that is very similar to the original test procedure layout as well as using existing standards. With respect to the available standards and the requirement of extensibility, SCXML was chosen as the intermediate representation. Subsequently, the available set of test procedure language features was modeled in SCXML to gain a common SCXML-driven test procedure representation. The focus was on the representation for the essential number of test procedure language features such as set a value, expect a value, wait for a duration or event, and check something for specific duration.

B. The Transformation Process Based on the specified SCXML-driven test procedure representation, the authors developed a mechanism to transform a test procedure into an SCXML model. Fig. 4 shows the

Fig. 3: Interchanging effort for increasing amount of tools.

two timing conditions belongs to a state’ or ‘The condition checking must be triggered at this timestamp but is defined at the end of test procedure’ cannot be modelled.

The available cross compilers such as GCC, MinGW, and the compilers included in the .NET Framework translate a test procedure to executables for the target platforms. The executable representation on the target platform can be machine code or another test procedure 20

COTS Journal | October 2018

test automation tools, their number rises to 6 for 3 tools or 12 in case of 4. Furthermore, the approach of a direct transformation between test tools suffers from further drawbacks as an integrator of a test automation tool needs to be familiar with the set of test procedure languages defined by the addressed test automation tools.

Therefore, a change in any test tool needs to be addressed in all of its transformation methods.

To reduce the amount of transformations

three-step transformation mechanism on the lefthand side.

The transformation mechanism requires a language specific parser/lexer for each test procedure language. It also needs a transformation definition that specifies how to create a timeline from a specific kind of parse tree. Therefore, it enables the translation of a test procedure from both test procedure languages to a timeline and finally to a SCXML model. The timeline describes

Fig. 4: Interchanging of test procedure between different test automation tools.

the time-specific sequence of test procedure statements. Hereby, the timeline defines a sequence of time stamps. Each time stamp contains a number of basic operations to be executed. Examples of applicable basic operations are set a value, get a value or log a value. These kinds of basic operations are used to express complex statements. A complex statement includes a sequence of basic operations and represents a complex behavior, such as monitoring a specific parameter for a defined duration. After transforming a test procedure to a timeline, imperative and object-oriented test procedure languages have a similar structure regarding chronology and statements. Apart from these operations, test-bench-specific functions have to also be transformed to SCXML. With respect to any unknown semantics of a test-bench-specific function, a placeholder has to be added for each instance. It allows for capturing the unique name and the parameter list. Based on the timeline, which is similar for all test procedure languages, a simple transformation to SCXML is applied.

The transformation converts each time stamp of the timeline to a state in SCXML. Similar to the timestamps, each timestamp-specific transition can also be directly transformed to SCXML. The resulting SCXML model describes a test procedure without any test-benchspecific properties.

Therefore, a SCXML model can also be used to transform a test procedure from a SCXML model to another test procedure language. Fig. 4 shows

this transformation mechanism on the right-hand side. Afterwards, a generic test procedure generator is required to traverse the test procedure. The necessary operations for each traversed state are interpreted. The interpretation identifies the intended operation and chooses the correct factory.

Hereby, each factory is a Java class that follows the factory method pattern software design. It allows for creating objects calling the same method without having to specify the exact class of the object that is created.

Subsequently, the selected factory translates the operation into a language-specific construct. Successfully traversing a SCXML model is achieved if the outcome of all factories can be aggregated to a test procedure. Currently, a set of factories are available for CCDL and for Python.

In summary, the combination of transforming a test procedure to a SCXML model (Fig. 4, left-hand side) and subsequently transforming a SCXML model to any test procedure (Fig. 4, right-hand side) enables the interchanging of test procedures between test automations tools.

Demonstrator The approach introduced above is demonstrated by using a realistic example of a plane’s high-lift system. For this purpose, the demon-

strator shows the interchange of a real high-lift test procedure between two different test automation tools. The interchange and a subsequent analysis of the test results are illustrated in Fig. 5.

The overall demonstrator includes two test automation tools and software that implement the interchange approach. The demonstrator shows the interchange of test procedures between two automation tools from two different domains that use different programming languages: 1) CCDL-based test automation tool [11] 2) Real-Time Testing Python-based test automation tool (RTT) [12] The Check Case Definition Language (CCDL) is a high-level test specification language that includes commands for stimulation as well as automated evaluation based on expectations and reporting. The CCDL procedures are compiled to an executable test program that runs in real-time. This test automation tool is connected to a test bench consisting of a real flaps system (plant), a simulation model, and the unit under test (controller).

The Real-Time Testing Python-based test automation tool allows for defining test scripts in the Python language that are executed by an interpreter. This interpreter is executed in real-time synchronously with the simulation

Fig. 5: Interchanging and the subsequent analysis.

COTS Journal | October 2018

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erated. The outcome is a test procedure that is executable on RTT. This demonstrates that due to its general nature the generic approach can be transferred to another test automation tool as mentioned in Section V. To enable an execution at dSpace, an additional simulation model was needed, because the test bench was not physically available to dSpace. For this purpose, the high-lift system was modeled according to a high-level specification to represent the desired system behavior.

As can be seen in the extract of Fig. 6, the resulting test procedure representation (on the right) looks very similar to the original (left), and both representations are human-readable. However, some information is affected by the conversion process. For instance, constants contained in the original scripts are resolved to their numerical representation during the conversion process, and can therefore be displayed only as a number in the resulting representation.

Fig. 6: Comparison of CCDL and generated RTT Python code.

model. The test automation tool is connected to a virtual test bench represented in a simulation model. This is necessary to represent the real test bench, which is only available to the OEM. In the following, the application domain is described. Then, the interchange of a test procedure from CCDL-based test automation tool and Real-Time Testing Python-based test automation tool is shown. Finally, the test results obtained from the executed test procedures are analyzed.

A. Example High Lift Test Modern passenger aircraft wing designs are optimized for speed and efficiency during the cruise portion of the flight, because this is where the aircraft spends the vast majority of its flight time. High-lift devices compensate for this design trade-off by adding lift at lower speeds, such as during takeoff and landing. This reduces the distance and speed required to safely take-off or land the aircraft. It also allows for using a more efficient wing in flight.

The high-lift system is a movable mechanism at the wing’s trailing edge that is deployed and controlled when required.

The test used to demonstrate the approach represents the normal behavior of the high-lift system. The pilot requests the flap panels to move to one of five defined positions via what 22

COTS Journal | October 2018

is called a flaps lever. Once a new flaps lever command is detected, the control computer compares the actual flap position with the request. Subsequently, the highlift system starts a drive sequence for the motor to move the flap panels to their new position. Depending on the direction of movement, this sequence has to compensate for possible air loads. Therefore, in the extended position the flap differs slightly from the retracted position.

B. Test Specifications and Test Procedures The test procedure used to demonstrate the interchanging approach addresses the previously mentioned high-lift function. For each defined position, a drive sequence is initiated via a flaps lever command and the test evaluates the resulting action sequence according to the requirement-based specification.

To compare the test results, the original test procedure was executed on a HIL test bench that interfaced a high-lift control computer.

The test language used at the high-lift test department is CCDL, because it offers automated result evaluation and reporting.

Then, the test script is transformed to the intermediate representation as detailed in the paper, and eventually to Python, because the supplier uses the language in their test automation tool. Additionally, dSpace RTT Python was gen-

C. Test Conducted Results Fig. 7 on next page shows the simulation results of the Python script and proves that the resulting test script representation in Python can be executed on the target system, where it behaves as expected.

Graph Out_IA_FlapsLeverPos depicts the flaps lever input. Every time a new lever command is issued, the motor valves (OD_EVOpen) and brakes (OD_POBOpen) release, and the motor starts its drive sequence. OA_HMotPosN shows the resulting motor speed. The actual flap panel position represents the IA_FPPU. Once the target position is reached, the motor slows down and its brakes are subsequently applied.

Fig. 8 on next page provides a comparison between the results obtained by the hardware-inthe-loop testing (orange curve), using the CCDL representation of the test script and interfacing the real aircraft controller, and the results from the generated Python script (blue waveform), running in a simulation environment where the high-lift system was modeled according to the specification. The analysis reveals that the simulation results for extending (left) and retracting (right) differ slightly from the original test where the original high-lift control computer was involved. As can be seen in the following illustration, the greatest deviation occurs at motor start-up when extending. The reason for the deviation is that the modeled high-lift system used for the execution of the Python script is based on high-level requirements that do not reflect the air load compensation implemented in the control computer. The slight differences in movement time are caused by the same effect. The calculated flap position is a function

Fig. 7: Segment-wise Stimulation and Capturing.

of the motor speed, therefore the previously mentioned deviation in speeds affects the flap position as well.

Conclusion Motivated the problem of verifying results from different test departments, the paper addresses the need to execute test scripts on test benches from different vendors. Two solutions approaches are described in the paper, namely interfacing and interchanging. Based on their properties, both solutions are assessed to solve the problem at hand. As only interchanging

provides all required features, the paper shows a method to implement the interchanging approach. The suggested solution is to transfer test cases to state diagrams that describe the behavior of the test cases independently from any particular test bench specifics. Moreover, it is proposed to make SCXML the standard format to represent the state charts. Based on SCXML, a transformation mechanism was developed to enable interchanging.

Finally, a proof of concept is presented that shows its applicability for two types of native test languages, objectoriented and impera-

tive languages. The results gathered executing the original and transformed test script show minor deviations that are found to be caused by modeling issues rather than the test script conversion.

Acknowledgments This research has been funded by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology of Germany (BMWi). Supported by: Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, on the basis of a decision by the German Bundestag.

Fig. 8: Comparison between the Results using CCDL and RTT. COTS Journal | October 2018

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References [1] Stockmann, L. Himmler, A., "Monitoring and Control of Hybrid Test Systems," SAE Technical Paper 2017-01-2119, 2017. doi:10.4271/2017-012119 [2] Himmler, A., Stockmann, L., and Holler, D., "Communication Infrastructure for Hybrid Test Systems – Demands, Options, and Current Discussions," SAE International Journal of Aerospace, Vol. 9, No. 1, 2916, pp. 134–139. doi:10.4271/2016-01-2051 [3] Association for Standardisation of Automation and Measuring Systems (ASAM), “ASAM XIL,” https://wiki.asam.net/display/STANDARDS/ ASAM+XIL [retrieved 26 November 2017].

[4] Brückner, C., Neumerkel, D., and Rasche, R., “Ready, Set, Go! Measuring, Mapping and Managing with XIL API 2.0,” Proceedings of the 7th ASAM US-Workshop, Novi, MI, USA, 2014.

[5] Liu, P., Jürgens, J., “Collaborating in California: Dynamic Skip Fire Development Using HIL API,” Proceedings of the 7th ASAM US-Workshop, Novi, MI, USA, 2014.

[6] Association for Standardisation of Automation and Measuring Systems (ASAM), “XIL Cross Tests 2016 – Easy Exchange Enabled!” https://www.asam.net/de/home/newsmedia/newsdetail.html?tx_ rbasamnews_pi1%5BshowUid%5D=269&cHash=cae4358f164ccbf791e85351edf2f72e [retrieved 26 November 2017].

[8] Shani, U., et al., "Ontology mediation to rule them all: Managing the plurality in product service systems."

Systems Conference (SysCon), 2017 Annual IEEE International. IEEE, 2017.

[9] Franke, M., et al., "Semantic Data Integration Approach for the Vision of a Digital Factory." Enterprise Interoperability VII. Springer International Publishing, 2016, 77–86.

[10] Wache, H., "Semantische Mediation für heterogene Informationsquellen." KI, Vol. 17, No. 4, 2003, pp.56.

[11] Razorcat Development GmbH. “CCDL Whitepaper,” 2014 https://www. razorcat.com/files/de/produkte/ccdl/ Razorcat_Technical_Report_CCDL_ Whitepaper_02.pdf [retrieved 26 November 2017].

[12] dSPACE GmbH, "Real-Time Testing Guide,“ 2017.

[7] Harel, D., "Statecharts: A visual formalism for complex systems."

Science of computer programming, Vol. 8, No. 3, 1987, pp. 231–274.

IC-FEP-VPX3d Kintex® UltraScale™ FPGA 3U VPX board with FMC+ Based on the latest Xilinx 20nm FPGA family, the IC-FEP-VPX3d enhances the front-end processing (FEP) product line of Interface Concept.

By offering a better performance/power consumption ratio compared to the previous FPGA, the Kintex® UltraScale™ FPGA makes the IC-FEP-VPX3d the perfect solution to applications requiring DSP intensive processing in a 3U VPX form factor. The IC-FEP-VPX3d and the other building blocks (Intel® and PowerPC SBCs, Ethernet Switches & Routers, FMC) running our Signal Processing Reference Design are the ideal platforms for customers who want to streamline development by concentrating their efforts on their most strategical tasks.

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COTS Journal | October 2018

SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT

dSPACE TargetLink 4.3: Revised Property Manager, Optimized Workflows, and More dSPACE

New version of the dSPACE production code generator now available

• New Property Manager with improved usability • Optimized workflows for modular development • Decreased effort to achieve MISRA compliance, support of AUTOSAR 4.3 dSPACE now offers Version 4.3 of TargetLink, its industry-proven production code generator. In addition to improving a large number of details for working more efficiently, the new version gives users a completely revised Property Manager with improved usability, optimized workflows for modular development, and makes it easier to comply with the autocode rules of MISRA-C:2012. Additionally,

TargetLink 4.3 offers comprehensive enhancements in the area of modeling algorithms, which greatly simplifies the work of function and software developers.

New Property Manager with Improved Usability TargetLink’s graphical user interface now contains a completely revised Property Manager, which provides production code developers with an even better overview of their models and the associated block and object properties. Some of the new features include detailed filter options, automatic validation, and error indication. As a result, working with large models is significantly simpler and the usability has notably improved.

Optimized Workflows for Modular Development For modular development, TargetLink 4.3 offers optimized workflows for creating, integrating, and reusing individual components.

The flexible organization of the generated artifacts and the central management of all components in a project makes it possible to conveniently define the overall project and simplifies working in distributed teams.

Decreased Effort to Achieve MISRA Compliance, Support of AUTOSAR 4.3 Another innovation that is included in TargetLink 4.3 is the support for the AUTOSAR standard 4.3 as well as additional powerful mechanisms to partition data and code into individual memory segments. This is particularly helpful for safety-critical projects, as is the fact that TargetLink complies with all autocoding rules in the Mandatory and Required categories of MISRA C:2012. This significantly reduces the work involved in documenting potential deviations from the rules.

26

COTS Journal | October 2018

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October 2018

COT’S PICKS Green Hills Software Officially Underway with Conformance Testing of Its INTEGRITY-178 tuMP Operating System to the FACE Technical Standard v3.0 for Intel, Arm and Power Architectures Proven Industry Leader in Safe and Secure Operating Systems to Offer the Only True Multicore Solution that Conforms to Both the FACE Technical Standard v3.0 and Supplement 4 of the ARINC-653 Standard’s Requirements for Multicore Operation Green Hills Software announced that it has commenced verification and validation activities

and Power Architectures and to date is still the only FACE conformant operating system that offers true multicore operation (as opposed to an operating system that holds all cores but one in reset and represents itself as a FACE conformant multicore operating system). In addition, and equally important, INTEGRITY-178 tuMP is the only multicore operating system that meets the ARINC-653 standard’s requirement for multicore operation as defined in Section 2 of Supplement 4 for the ARINC-653 standard: “Multiple processes within a partition scheduled to execute concurrently on different processor cores.” INTEGRITY-178 tuMP is the only RTCA/DO-178B DAL-A and CAST-32A compliant operating system that provides the ability for system architects to support both SMP and AMP DAL-A applications in

the integrator to avoid most of the costly testing and analysis requirements directly associated with multicore interference while simultaneously enabling the addition of future software functionality without dependencies on the original system integrator’s “Special-Use-Case” approach to IMA application integration and testing on the multicore SoC. INTEGRITY-178 tuMP is based on the concept that avoiding multicore interference and achieving optimal core utilization should not be the sole responsibility of the system integrator.

“INTEGRITY-178 tuMP DAL-A certified interference prevention mechanisms combined with its other unique multicore operational capabilities (the combination of SMP and AMP operation in a partitioned scheduled environment)

The S-92 Sikorsky helicopter is among the INTEGRITY-178 applications approved as compliant to DO-178B Level A with an independent FACE™ conformance verification authority in order to verify conformance of the Technical Standard for Future Airborne Capability Environment (FACE) edition 3.0. INTEGRITY-178 tuMP is being verified for three different multicore architectures, or Units of Conformance (UoC): Intel, Arm and PowerPC/QorIQ. Each INTEGRITY-178 tuMP UoC is being verified against both the Safety Base and Security Profiles with each profile including verification for C, C++ and Ada support.

INTEGRITY-178 tuMP was previously certified FACE v2.1 conformant in 2017 for Intel, Arm

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COTS Journal | October 2018

a partitioned scheduled operating environment on a multicore SoC, thus enabling maximum throughput by way of highly optimized core utilization.

While other operating systems claim to meet the requirements in the FAA’s CAST-32A Position Paper, INTEGRITY-178 tuMP is the only multicore operating system that provides system integrators with the necessary DAL-A compliant RTOS mechanisms and tools to effectively mitigate the multicore interference risks and challenges. INTEGRITY-178 tuMP advanced and innovative interference prevention features enable

make it the industry’s leading high-assurance operating system when it comes to delivering the most efficient and optimal core utilization and overall system throughput for today’s 32bit and 64-bit multicore architectures,” said Dan O’Dowd, founder and chief executive officer of Green Hills Software. “Our certified FACE conformant INTEGRITY-178 tuMP is the industry leader in enabling optimal SWaP reduction results.”

Green Hills Software www.ghs.com

October 2018

COT’S PICKS WIN Enterprises Announces 1U High Performance Computer (HPC) with AMD Naples EPYC™ 7000 SoC Processor

Reflex Photonics launches 28G rugged embedded optical modules with integrated CDR.

First AMD EPYC–based Network Service Appliance Available Anywhere in the World

Reflex Photonics is proud to announce the launch a new line of rugged optical modules offering up to 28 Gbps per lane for defense applications.

WIN Enterprises, Inc. announces the PL81280, a 1U high-performance rack-mounted networking system designed for use in the cloud and datacenter. The appliance supports the AMD Naples EPYC™ 7000 SoC processor. The System on Chip (SoC) processor features integrated security and graphics capabilities.

The EPYC processor achieves breakthrough in computing performance offering up to 32 processing cores. Big data analytics and in-memory databases are accelerated with the additional parallelism enabled by this microarchitecture.

Overall throughput is optimized in data intensive environments by two standard PCIe X16 slots that support two 100 Gigabit Ethernet adapter cards.

FEATURES • Supports AMD Naples EPYC™ 7000 Series SoC Processor, LGA4094 • Eight-channel DDR4 ECC Registered 2400/2667MHz memory • Max memory support of 512GB • Max support 4x PCIe X8 slots for expansion LAN modules, supporting a maximum of 32 GbE Copper/Fiber ports • 1 x 3.5” or 2 x 2.5” HDD/SSD support • 1 x riser card for PCIe slot expansion • 2 x M.2 2280/22110 and 1 x m-SATA • Supports optional IPMI card with VGA PL-81280 supports up to 4 NIC modules and has multiple Ethernet module bays that enable flexible port configuration that include 1/10/40 Gigabit fiber and Gigabit copper with BYPASS option.

Strong IO elements include Ethernet ports for management and optional IPMI, a console port, two USB 3.0 ports, a Graph LCD module, 5-key interface, and LEDs for power/HDD/2 x GPIO. In addition, PL-81280 supports one 3.5” or two 2.5” SATA HDDs/ SSDs, one m-SATA and two M.2 2280/22110 slots to accommodate basic network storage applications.

WIN Enterprises, Inc. www.win-ent.com

This line of optical modules consists of the LightABLE28 mid-board transceiver and the LightCONEX28 active optical blind mate connector. These devices are compatible with QSFP28 firmware, thus, enabling a seamless migration to small, chip sized optical transceivers that are less than one fifth the size of a QSFP28 module.

As well, these parts support 100G Ethernet and other protocols over 4 full duplex optical lanes.

The 28G optical modules are highly integrated with CDRs, equalizers and pre-emphasis to compensate for jitter and high frequency signal attenuation. The transceivers offer excellent error free transmission as they can be mounted close

Mercury Systems Receives $20.5M Integrated Subsystem Order from US Navy Mercury Systems, Inc. announced that it received a $20.5 million follow-on order against a previously announced $152 million 5-year sole source basic ordering agreement (BOA) to deliver integrated subsystems to the U.S. Navy in support of both Navy and Air Force training environments. The order was received in the Company’s fiscal 2018 fourth quarter and is expected to be shipped over the next several quarters. In total, Mercury received orders of $28.9M in the Company’s fiscal 2018 fourth quarter against this BOA,

to electrical drivers to mitigate electrical signal distortions.

Rugged devices - The new 28G optical transceivers are intended for harsh environments where reliability is critical and the equipment is under constant stress over its operational life. All parts are qualified to MILSTD-883J for vibration, thermal cycling, mechanical and thermal shock in addition to damp heat and cold storage, according to MIL-STD-202 and MIL-STD-810 respectively. This level of testing provides confidence that the 28G design withstands the aggressive effects of thermal cycling, moisture ingress, and other environmental conditions.

Applications - Applications for the new 28G optical transceivers include high performance computing, AESA radars, media adapters, and optical networks for aircraft, ships, and land vehicles.

Reflex Photonics’ VP of Business Development, Gerald Persaud comments, “Reflex Photonics’ 28G transceivers offers an excellent migration path for next generation systems that needs to do more, with less SWaP. We continue to build on our rugged technology base by doubling data rates with no compromise to reliability, long life, and error free transmission.”

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with follow-on orders anticipated to continue through the life of the agreement.

“We are honored to support this critical military program with our SWaP-optimized subsystems that reliably operate in harsh and hostile environments,” said Brian Perry, President, Mercury Defense Systems. “The U.S. Navy and Air Force can confidently select Mercury Systems to ensure the warfighter gains confidence in their ability to be prepared for their role in the battlespace against sophisticated threats.”

Mercury Systems, Inc. www.mrcy.com

COTS Journal | October 2018

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October 2018

COT’S PICKS

VadaTech Announces new One Slot 6U VPX Benchtop Development Chassis with RTM

VadaTech, a leading manufacturer of integrated systems, embedded boards, enabling

software and application-ready platforms, announces the VTX991. The VTX991 is a single slot 6U VPX chassis for board bring-up and testing of 6U VPX modules. The chassis can accept a front and a rear module (5HP or 10HP). The panels on both the front and rear slots are removable for ease of probing and debugging. The VTX991 can

be placed on bench in both horizontal and vertical positioning for ease of access.

The VTX991 comes with a Universal AC power supply which provides 400 W to the chassis.

The chassis supplies all the necessary power (+12 V, -12 V, +5 V, etc.) to the module in accordance with VITA 46 specifications. It also comes with a battery pack which provides the VBAT to the module. The VTX991 allows the power to VBAT to be switched between the on-board battery pack and the power supply. Each of the rails has a sense resistor to allow the user to monitor how much power is being drawn from each rail using a simple voltmeter. For Health Management there is also a dual IPMI bus routed to a connector compatible with an external VadaTech VT007 bench top shelf manager for monitoring the VPX board sensors, compliance to VITA 46.11, etc. The VT007 supports Tier 2 Health Management and can be ordered separately or as an option with VTX991.

VadaTech www.vadatech.com

One Stop Systems Introduces World’s First Gen 4 PCIe Cable Adapter One Stop Systems, Inc. has introduced the world’s first PCIe Gen 4 cable adapter, the HIB68-x16.

“OSS has consistently been the first-to-market with each generation of PCIe cable adapters and Gen 4 is no exception,” said Steve Cooper, CEO of OSS. “OSS

cable adapters form the core of our high-performance computing products, and this new Gen 4 adapter offers double the IO performance for our customers in the HPC, military, media and entertainment markets. They can now take advantage of the additional bandwidth available in Gen 4-equipped servers and be ready when Gen 4 IO cards hit the market.”

This latest generation cable adapter fits in a PCIe 4.0 x16 half-length, half-height server slot, and features four SFF-8644 cable connectors on

the IO bracket for expansion and composable infrastructure applications. OSS plans to begin shipping the HIB68-x16 in Q4 of 2018.

The flexible Gen 4 cable adapter complies with the PCI-SIG PCIe cable standard, and it uses mini-SAS HD and cable management interface (CMI) compliant copper and fiber optic cables.

This flexibility allows for the highest speed PCIe system-to-system and rack-to-rack interconnects in data centers, airborne installations and OEM applications, delivering bandwidth up to 256 Gb/s and latency of less than 150 ns.

Gen 4 includes improvements in flexibility, scalability and lower-power due to bandwidth bifurcation options of the cable and modern 16 nm integrated circuit design. OSS expansion customers no longer have to wait for Gen 4 add-in boards since Gen 3 devices can aggregate their bandwidth into a Gen 4 slot in a server. Servers available from major OEMs like IBM currently provide Gen 4 slots for the HIB68-x16. Additional Gen 4 servers and PCIe switches are expected to be announced in 2018 and 2019.

World’s First Gen 4 PCIe Cable Adapter

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COTS Journal | October 2018

One Stop Systems, Inc. www.onestopsystems.com

A50_COTs_2_25x9_875.qxp_A45.qxd 7/23/18 11:12 A

October 2018

COT’S PICKS

Chassis Plans BFX Bi-Fold Rugged LCD Display System

reliable operation in extreme outdoor and challenging environments and can operate in widely varied temperatures (0°C to 50°C / -25°C to 60°C).

The first double side-by-side 24-inch rugged displays on the market offers a multitude of available video input formats in a 2U rackmount package for military, industrial and commercial applications.

The BFX displays support a wide range of video resolutions – from 640x480 all the way up to 1920x1200; video inputs include VGA, DVI Dual Link, HDMI, DVI-D and NTSC/PAL/SECAM video as well as Composite Video and S-Video.

Rugged BFX Video Displays can survive, shock, vibration, dirt, corrosive atmospheres and extreme working conditions

Additional Features: System Information, OSD position, scaling to fill screen and fill to aspect ratio, OSD timeout, factory reset, OSD menu transparency, Horizontal & Vertical image inversion, Picture in Picture, Picture by Picture variable positions. RS-232 or Ethernet command and control.

Chassis Plans, known for its combat proven technology, is now shipping their industry leading twin BFX displays.

“Because of the system’s proven ruggedness, compact 2U size and 24-inch high definition display, the US Navy’s next generation Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) are now using it in their onboard testing stations,” says Mike McCormack, CEO and Founder of CP. “Our BFX displays provides a lot of viewing space into just a small 2U, 19-inch rack.

In addition, the BFX is ideal for deployable transit case integration where both image quality and display toughness are required The BFX offers rugged, military grade, high performance, 2U rackmount LCD panel displays with two 24-inch TFT LCD displays with per panel resolution of 1920x1200. 1000:1 contrast ratio, and 4ms response time. Both display screens are offered with bonded cover glass with anti-reflection and EMI surface treatments for MIL-STD-461G certification. The BFX1-241 model is optimized for

Other functions and options include up to 10 bit per color, 16.7 million colors, On Screen Display (OSD) menu, Image Scaling: Up scaling to fit input to panel resolution. Image Control features include Auto configuration, Brightness, Contrast, Clock, Phase, Color temperature, Image position, Saturation, Hue, Gamma.

In addition to its outstanding video performance, the BFX displays include 2 integrated, water resistant speakers. Chassis Plans’ BFX displays can operate on a range of power sources - including universal input 85 to 245 VAC MILSTD-1275/704 28 VDC, with options for 12VDC and 400Hz AC input as well.

Chassis Plans www.chassis-plans.com

DC-DC Converters Transformers & Inductors DC-DC Converters 2V to 10,000 VDC Outputs 1-300 Watt Modules

• MIL/COTS/Industrial Models • Regulated/Isolated/Adjustable Programmable Standard Models • New High Input Voltages to 900VDC • AS9100C Facility/US Manufactured • Military Upgrades and Custom Modules

Transformers & Inductors

Surface Mount & Thru Hole

• Ultra Miniature Designs • MIL-PRF 27/MIL-PRF 21308 • DSCC Approved Manufacturing • Audio/Pulse/Power/EMI Multiplex Models Available • For Critical Applications/Pico Modules, Over 50 Years’ Experience

VISIT OUR EXCITING NEW WEBSITE with SEARCH WIZARD

For full characteristics of these and the entire PICO product line, see PICO’s Full line catalog at

www.picoelectronics.com

PICO ELECTRONICS, Inc. 143 Sparks Ave., Pelham, New York 10803 Call Toll Free 800-431-1064 FAX 914-738-8225

E Mail: info@picoelectronics.com

COTS Journal | October 2018

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October2018

COT’S PICKS

DIN-Rail is a new modular concept from MEN.

The system is based on robust individual components which can be combined in flexible built-to-order configurations. The DIN rail modules are suitable – thanks to medium CPU and low power dissipation – for a variety of applications in the mobile and industrial market.

Flexible configuration in a modular system.

The DIN rail concept is designed for flexible configuration of module combinations and is suitable for embedded IoT applications in various markets. The range of individual modules includes a CPU module, a power supply unit and various expansion modules for wireless communication and storage.

In the modular system, the data transfer between the individual modules as well as the power supply of the individual components takes place via the expansion connectors standardized

by MEN. The concept specifications include housing dimensions, mounting, cooling and IP protection. In addition, expansion connectors and their pin assignments are defined.

Elma’s Open VPX CMOSS Backplane Supporting the DoD C4ISR Modular Open Suite of Standards for hardware convergence

With you at every stage!

Elma Electronic Inc., USA elma.com

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COTS Journal | October 2018

Fast time to market with flexible expansion modules The MC50M is the current basic module of the DIN-Rail family and is based on Intel’s Atom

E3900 series with low power dissipation and scalability in power and memory. The simple integration of ready-made expansion modules enables application-specific configurations to be created and delivered in a short time.

The expansion modules have interfaces such as MVB, CAN, binary and analog I/Os as well as the wireless functions LTE Advanced, WLAN and GNSS. A removable shuttle with one or two 2.5’’ SATA hard disks can expand the DIN rail system for storage-intensive applications. A wide-range power supply can be integrated if a nominal power consumption of 24 V DC to 110 V DC is required (EN 50155).

DIN rail mounting (35 mm) is standard. Wall and 19’’ rack mounting is possible with the aid of adaptation brackets. Highest qualification and availability the CPU module is qualified for use onboard rail vehicles, for wayside applications and for road vehicles (ECE R10). Long-term availability of at least 15 years from product launch minimizes life cycle management.

The components of the DIN-Rail family support the temperature range -40°C to +70°C according to the railway standard EN 50155 (class OT4, ST1) with internal conduction cooling.

MEN www.men.de

October2018

COT’S PICKS New 5-slot OpenVPX Rackmount Chassis Features Conduction-Cooled Card Guides Pixus Technologies, a provider of embedded computing and enclosure solutions, has released a new OpenVPX chassis platform. The RiCool chassis is loaded with conduction-cooled card guides to allow testing and development of rugged 3U OpenVPX boards. The Pixus solution allows a mix-and-match configuration of air-cooled and conduction-cooled modules.

The new RiCool chassis platform fea-

Acromag Introduces New MIL-STD-1553 Communication Modules on a Ruggedized Mini-PCIe Form Factor AcroPack® communication modules target avionics databus applications with a highperformance design in a tiny footprint.

Acromag expands their offering of AcroPack rugged I/O modules based on the PCI Express mini card standard with two new MILSTD-1553 communication modules. The AP571 provides single function MIL-STD-1553 communication and the AP572 provides full multi-function databus communication. Both models provide one dual redundant channel with four open/ground avionics level discrete I/O signals in addition to IRIG-B I/O and Trigger I/O.

tures a 5-slot OpenVPX backplane to the BKP3DIS05-15.2.13 profile. The chassis fits up to 16 front and RTM (rear transition module) slots at a 1.0” pitch. With the fans directly above the card guides, the chassis provides powerful cooling in a front-to-rear format. The format also prevents blockage of airflow from the RTM cards. It is ideal for high-power or high card-count deployed and development applications. Versions with VITA 66 (optical) or VITA 67 (RF) slot options are also available upon request.

and designs in the MicroTCA, AdvancedTCA, and CompactPCI Serial architectures.

Pixus Technologies www.pixustechnologies.com

Pixus provides OpenVPX enclosures, backplanes, components, and accessories. The company also offers solutions for 6U OpenVPX boards A high performance SoC architecture features dual-core RISC processors tightly coupled to large programmable logic for host CPU offload and real-time functionality. With 128MB global RAM on-board for data scheduling and acbuffering, the module can operate dependably at full bus rates. Designed for COTS applications, these mPCIe mezzanine modules deliver a SWaP-optimized solution for avionics test, simulation, and monitoring applications. A variety of carrier cards are available to host a mix of up to four AcroPack I/O modules on PCI Express, VPX or XMC computer platforms.

“The advanced hardware architecture provides generous computing and memory resources to guarantee all functions can run concur-

rently and at full performance specifications,” stated Robert Greenfield, Acromag’s Business Development Manager. “Plus, all the key features and functions from larger platforms are now available in a very small package.”

AcroPack mezzanine modules improve on the mini PCI Express architecture by adding a down-facing 100-pin connector that securely routes the I/O through a carrier card without any loose internal cabling. Carrier cards in PCIe, VPX, and XMC formats let you combine up to four I/O function modules from more than 25 available models in a single computer slot.

Software tools support embedded applications running on Linux®, Windows®, or VxWorks® operating systems.

Acromag www.acromag.com

COTS Journal | October 2018

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COTS COTS

Index

ADVERTISERS

Company Page# Website Atrenne Integrated Solutions ............ 34 ................................... www.atrenne.com Avalex Technoogies .......................... 5 ...................................... www.avalex.com Behlman Electronics ......................... IFC .................................. www.behlman.com Chassis Plans .................................... 18 .......................... www.chassisplans.com Elma Electronics ............................ 32 ........................................ www.elma.com Interface Concept ............................... 24 ..................... www.interfaceconcept.com Mercury Systems ................................ 4 ................................. www.tms.mrcy.com MPL ................................................... 24 ............................................. www.mpl.ch North Alantic Industries .................... 8 ......................................... www.nail.com OSS ................................................... 27 ...................... www.onestopsystems.com Pentek ............................................. BC .................................... www.pentek.com PICO Electronics, Inc ........................ 31 ....................... www.picoelectronics.com Red Rock Technologies, Inc .............. 34 ............................ www.redrocktech.com SkyScale .......................................... 15 .................................. www.skyscale.com Supermicro ...................................... IBC ............................ www.supermicrot.com Vicor Cororation................................ 25/34 ... www.vicorpower.com/defense-aero.

Ultra-High Voltage Bus Converter Provides 98% Efficiency This unique K=1/16 fixed ratio bus converter sets the industry benchmark for efficiency and power density.

The thermally adept VIA package simplifies customer cooling approaches in addition to providing integrated PMBus control, EMI filtering, and transient protection.

These strong abilities make it ideally suited to military applications. Evaluate it today!

COTS Journal (ISSN#1526-4653) is published monthly at; 3180 Sitio Sendero, Carlsbad, CA. 92009.

Periodicals Class postage paid at San Clemente and additional mailing offices.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to COTS Journal, 3180 Sitio Sendero, Carlsbad, CA. 92009.

SFF Chassis Enables Mini-ITX Modules in Airborne Platforms

vicorpower.com

Add Removable SSDs To Your VME System

Atrenne Integerated Solutions has announced an extension to the Small Form Factor (SFF) 760 Series electronic packaging design which enables off-the-shelf Mini-ITX and PCIe commercial electronics CCA’s to be deployed in airborne applications that reach stratospheric altitudes, well above 50,000 feet. Commercial components are typically not designed to operate in reduced pressure environments.

For example, standard aluminum electrolytic capacitors, are designed for atmospheric pressure corresponding to 10,000 feet and below.

Atrenne created a hermetically sealed rugged enclosure which maintained an atmospheric pressure of one atmosphere at all times, essentially simulating a lab operating environment. In order to maintain a seal, Atrenne employed a gasket able to buffer mechanical occlusions between the two precisely machined aluminum surfaces of the enclosure. Atrenne also developed a creative solution to maintain a seal around fiber optic cables, I/O cables and connectors. The solution also incorporated workmanship standards, and design for vibration, shock, and temperature. With a robust enclosure design, the system was able to meet stringent application requirements by isolating sensitive internal electronics from the harsh external environment.

• VME boards with SATA, USB or SCSI interface • Fixed or removable options using COTS SSDs • Removable module rated for 100,000 mating cycles • Discrete controlled military secure erase options • P2 adapters available

Red Rock Technologies, Inc. Brocton, MA • (508) 588-6110 • www.atrenne.com 34

COTS Journal | October 2018

info@redrocktech.com www.redrocktech.com (480) 483-3777