Flight Simulator ScramNet Ethernet Protocol Adapter
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Solution Overview
Problem
High-fidelity flight simulators require sophisticated communication protocols like ScramNet, which introduce costs, complexity, and bulk, making them less mobile, configurable, and affordable.
Innovation Solution
A processing system that combines ScramNet and Ethernet protocols using a ScramNet-to-Ethernet API to convert messages between the two, enabling real-time communication without the need for specialized hardware and software, allowing for a more mobile and configurable flight simulator.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If sophisticated communication protocols like ScramNet are used for real-time communication in flight simulators, then real-time performance and reliability are improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary layer (protocol adapter or gateway) that translates between ScramNet protocol and Ethernet protocol. This intermediary handles the complex ScramNet protocol requirements while presenting a simpler Ethernet interface to the rest of the system, thereby maintaining real-time communication reliability without requiring the entire system to adopt complex ScramNet protocols throughout.
Solution Approach 2:
The communication system is segmented into distinct layers: a ScramNet protocol layer for real-time critical communications and an Ethernet layer for general-purpose communications. This segmentation allows each layer to be optimized independently, with ScramNet handling time-sensitive flight control data and Ethernet handling less critical data, thus maintaining real-time performance while reducing overall system complexity.
2Speed
If sophisticated communication protocols like ScramNet are used for real-time communication in flight simulators, then real-time performance is improved, but cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
A protocol intermediary or gateway device translates ScrawNet messages to Ethernet frames, enabling high-speed Ethernet infrastructure to be used while maintaining ScramNet real-time performance characteristics. The intermediary handles protocol conversion, message prioritization, and timing synchronization, allowing standard Ethernet hardware to achieve ScramNet-level real-time performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes communication parameters by using Ethernet's higher bandwidth capabilities while maintaining ScramNet's timing and synchronization parameters through software control. This allows the physical layer to use modern high-speed Ethernet while the protocol layer maintains the deterministic timing characteristics of ScramNet, achieving both speed and real-time performance.
3Reliability
If specialized hardware and software for ScramNet protocols are used, then real-time communication reliability is improved, but ease of manufacture and configurability worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses universal Ethernet hardware and software that can serve multiple purposes: standard Ethernet communications for general data transfer and, through protocol adaptation, ScramNet real-time communications for flight control. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for specialized ScramNet hardware, improving ease of manufacture and configurability while maintaining real-time reliability through software-based protocol implementation.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of requiring specialized ScramNet hardware, the system creates a software copy or emulation of ScramNet protocol functionality running on standard Ethernet infrastructure. This software-based approach allows the same hardware platform to be configured for different protocols and applications, significantly improving manufacturability and configurability while maintaining the deterministic behavior of ScramNet through careful software design.
Data Source
AI summary
A processing system for a flight simulator includes a non-transitory memory and a processor. The non-transitory memory is configured to store computer-executable instructions for a host process and a ScramNet-to-Ethernet application programming interface (API). The processor is communicatively coupled to a ScramNet interface and the non-transitory memory, and is configured to execute the host process and the ScramNet-to-Ethernet API to: convert, using the ScramNet-to-Ethernet API, a user interface message to a first ScramNet message on the ScramNet bus, process, using the host process, the first ScramNet message to generate a second ScramNet message on the ScramNet bus.