MICROCHIP-BASED INFERENCING MECHANISM FOR HIGH PERFORMANCE DIAGNOSTICS - TESTMASTER(R)

ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS ARE BECOMING INCREASINGLY MORE COMPLEX. ADVANCES IN PACKAGING TECHNOLOGY AND INCREASING DEVICE COMPLEXITY ARE DEMONSTRATING THAT CURRENT TECHNIQUES OF IN-CIRCUIT TESTING AND FAULT DIAGNOSIS ARE INADEQUATE. INDUSTRY AND DOD HAS INITIATED SEVERAL EFFORTS TO HELP SOLVE THIS PROBLEM. DOD ISSUED MIL-STD-2165 WHICH INDICATES THE INCORPORATION OF TEST AND MAINTENANCE CRITERIA IN ALL NEW HARDWARE DEVELOPMENTS. THE JOINT TEST ACTIO GROP (JTAG) WAS FORMED TO FIND A SOLUTION TO INCREASING PROBLEMS OF SYSTEM TESTING. UNFORTUNATELY, IMPROVEMENTS IN TESTABILITY PROVIDED BY MIL-STD-2165 AND IEEE P.1149.1 DO NOT LEAD TO IMPROVEMENTS IN FAULT DIAGNOSIS OR FALT PROGNOSIS. AI/EXPERT SYSTEMS TECHNIQUES HAVE PROVDN TO BE EXTREMELY EFFECTIVE IN SOLVING COMPLEX SYSTEM DIAGNOSIS PROBLEMS. HOWEVER, THESE DIAGNOSTIC SYSTEMS HAVE HISTORICALLY REQUIRED EXPENSIVE AMOUNTS OF COMPUTATIONAL RESOURCES AND WERE NOT SUITABLE FOR EMBEDDING IN HARDWARE IN DEPLOYED WEAPONS SYSTEMS. RETICULAR SYSTEMS, INC. WILL DEVELOP AN AI/EXPERT SYSTEM MICROCHIP WE CALL TESTMASTER WHICH SATISFIES OPERATIONAL AND PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS OF TACTICAL MILITARY SYSTEMS. THE TESTMASTER MICROCHIP CONTAINS KNOWLEDGE OF THE LIKELY FAILURE MODES OF THE BOARD WHICH SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVES THE SPEED AND ACCURACY OF ITS TEST DIAGNOSIS. TEST MASTER PROVIDES A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO USE PROVEN AI/EXPERT SYSTEM TECHNOLOGIES FOR ENHANCING MAINTAINABILITY AND SUPPORTABILITY OF COMPLEX SYSTEMS WHILE REDUCING LIFE-CYCLE COSTS.