Avionics Compositional System of Systems Simulation and Modeling Tool Chain

To address the Army’s need for a simulation and verification framework for future vertical lift (FVL) aircraft systems, Physical Optics Corporation (POC) developed and demonstrated a preliminary prototype of an Avionics Compositional System of Systems (SoS) Simulation and Modeling Tool Chain (ASSIST) in Phase I. ASSIST includes software to parse avionics specifications; automatically generate mission-specific configurations and simulation models; simulate a SoS in an integrated test and evaluation (IT&E) framework; and determine whether the hard/soft real-time interdependencies/constraints are met/violated in SoS subsystems. ASSIST’s innovation enables early detection of defects and verification of avionics functionality against specifications. Consequently, ASSIST will be instrumental in dramatically reducing the development/certification time and cost for avionics programs such as the Army’s FVL program. In Phase I, POC demonstrated the feasibility of ASSIST and reached TRL-4 by developing and demonstrating a prototype system. The ASSIST prototype simulates a representative integrated modular avionics (IMA) system and models representative features defined in ARINC 664/AFDX for network communication between subsystems, displays defined in ARINC 661, and resources partitioning defined in ARINC 653. In Phase II, POC plans to mature ASSIST and reach TRL-5 by including support for diverse heterogeneous systems, enriching modeled features, and improving SoS modeling fidelity.