Avionics Simulation Using Intermediary Data Formats
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current avionics system simulations face challenges in representing diverse data formats, achieving high representativity, and ensuring reliability and maintainability, particularly in real-time environments with complex avionics systems, where data conversion and interface definitions are difficult to manage effectively.
Innovation Solution
A mixed real-time simulation method that translates communications interfaces and encodes physical behavior into high-level language models, using a shared database to manage and update signal descriptions, allowing for partial simulation of communications interfaces and data streams, and supporting various protocols like ARINC429 and Ethernet, on a platform with reduced processing requirements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If data in avionics format is directly used in simulation, then the simulation is faithful to real on-board data, but the data must be converted to engineering format for simulation models, increasing complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary data structure called 'engineerable data format' that serves as a bridge between avionics format and engineering format. This intermediary format allows data to be stored in a unified structure that can be directly used by simulation models without complex conversion processes, while still maintaining fidelity to the original avionics data through structured encoding of physical quantities, units, and measurement information.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms data parameters by encoding physical quantities, units, and measurement information directly into the data structure during acquisition. This parameter transformation allows the simulation system to work with physically meaningful values rather than raw avionics codes, simplifying subsequent processing while maintaining representativity.
2Reliability
If comprehensive avionics system simulation is performed, then high representativity is achieved, but processing requirements and system complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the avionics system simulation into modular components, where each piece of equipment is represented by independent simulation models with standardized interfaces. This segmentation allows the system to process only relevant subsets of data for each simulation task rather than requiring complete system processing, reducing overall computational requirements while maintaining comprehensive representativity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a universal data structure and interface framework that can handle multiple avionics protocols and data formats through a single unified approach. This universality eliminates the need for separate processing pipelines for different data types, reducing processing overhead while enabling comprehensive simulation of diverse avionics systems.
3Reliability
If complete avionics system is simulated, then exhaustive validation is possible, but all components must be available, limiting validation capability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates digital copies (models) of avionics equipment that can be instantiated independently of physical hardware. These virtual models allow the simulation to proceed with synthesized or placeholder data when actual components are unavailable, enabling exhaustive validation of system architecture and interfaces without requiring complete physical component availability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a dynamic simulation framework where the system composition can be flexibly configured at runtime. Components can be added, removed, or replaced based on availability, allowing the same simulation infrastructure to adapt to different validation scenarios and component availability states while maintaining validation completeness.
Data Source
AI summary
Optionally-mixed highly representative real time simulation of at least part of an avionics system (2). The simulation provides at least a step of translating communications interfaces into the form of models encoded in high level language on the basis of formal files in mark-up language; and dynamically managing descriptions that provide for grouping together, updating, and sharing a database that, for each piece of equipment, incorporates signals that transit via its input and/or output interfaces.