Whitepapers

Mastering the ARINC 661 Standard

By introducing a separation between graphics and logic, an interpreted runtime architecture and a defined communication protocol, the ARINC 661 Standard was designed to address many of the concerns that aircraft manufacturers face today when creating cockpit avionics displays.
Before starting a project using this technology, it is important to understand all of the elements introduced by the standard, along with the benefits and occasional drawbacks.

This whitepaper will first provide an overview of ARINC 661 concepts, then go on to describe the benefits of using a distributed development approach as well as cover some practical realworld considerations when implementing an ARINC 661 solution. Finally, we will see how commercial tools can be used to simplify the creation of displays following this standard.

RTCA/DO-254 Commercial-Off-the-Shelf Graphical Processors Usage in Airborne Display Systems

This paper discusses the use of CGP components in avionics systems and addresses DO-254 and CAST-29 related issues with particular emphasis on the data available from the CGP manufacturing process.

Shadow Mapping in High Performance Visual Simulations

Presagis shadow mapping feature is supported in its visualization toolkit Vega Prime and its turnkey image generator Lyra. A brief background on shadow mapping and its caveats are presented here, followed by descriptions of various techniques employed to address common problems with shadow mapping. Strategies are discussed on how to balance high frame rates with key training objectives. Finally, the roles shadows play with Night Vision Goggles (NVG) and Infra Red (IR) wavebands are discussed. Working illustrations from Vega Prime are provided.

Specular Reflectance of Water

This paper discusses the characteristics of water in different wavebands. It explains the basic constituents of reflectivity and its role that dictates how water appears within an imaging system. Details of mathematical constructs, such as a Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution.

Reducing Mission Rehearsal and Training Application Production Timelines Using the Common Database (CDB) - Presented at the 2009 IMAGE Conference

Traditional synthetic environment database generation techniques have favored proprietary formats closely tied to the client systems in use. This has primarily been a runtime performance issue, requiring a publishing step to assemble and optimize source data in keeping with the requirements of the client. The availability of high performance computers, especially multi-core processors, has brought into question the need for proprietary databases and the potential for using the additional computational capacity to standardize on a single database format. The CDB is a database specification designed to be a single format that can be used to serve a variety of clients as a runtime database. Tests have been carried out to compare the time required to generate a CDB with other database formats. Results have shown that use of the CDB can reduce the overall production timeline when multiple clients are integrated as part of an overall system.

Lessons Learned Developing a CDB Run Time Publisher

Historically, synthetic environments have been generated off-line, often requiring unique, and sometimes proprietary, databases to be generated for each sub-system of a simulator. While this approach has been used successfully in many fielded systems, its disadvantages can include lengthy database production times, data duplication, and the introduction of correlation errors due to the variety of tools used to generate the content. The Common Database (CDB) initiative was developed for the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) to facilitate the rapid creation of databases necessary to meet their mission rehearsal timelines. CDB defines a single database repository consisting entirely of open formats, which provides source level correlation for all components of the simulation. CDB also introduces the concept of a Run Time Publisher (RTP) that operates on these open formats to convert the data at run time into the form most optimally suited for each Client.

Sensor Mission Training for Operators, Analysts, and Decision Makers

With the introduction of numerous ISR platforms, it has become even more important to train the complete intelligence chain from system operation to image analysis to the staff decision maker whose responsibility it is to action the information provided. Developing a trainer that provides the ability to simulate an environment representative of today's combat environment, completely immerse the trainees into systems representative of actual radar consoles, as well as providing a realistic simulation of the sensor system being simulated can prove cost prohibitive. This paper will explore the possibility of developing such a system utilizing commercial off the shelf technology and the advantages this offers and well as potential future applications of this confi guration.

A Flexible Solution to Deploy Avionics Displays to Multiple Embedded Platforms

Avionics HMI developers depend on both in-house and COTS HMI tools in their day-to-day work.  Unfortunately, many of these solutions support only a narrow set of embedded computing platforms or do not meet the performance requirements that a program defines. This means that engineering choices can be limited for HMI software and hardware combinations at the initial design phase and that seemingly straightforward hardware upgrades during an aircraft's lifecycle can become problematic. Yannick Lefebvre explains how VAPS XT makes it easier to deploy avionics displays to multiple embedded platforms more quickly and efficiently.

Understanding ARINC 661 and the benefits of 661-based development tools

This paper will first provide an overview of ARINC 661 concepts and then describe how commercial tools can be used to simplify the creation of displays following this standard.

Creating Next-Generation Display Applications for Real-Time Embedded Systems

This paper will describe the VAPS XT application creation workflow from beginning to end and will then focus on the process of creating a custom set of runtime libraries to deploy the code on a number of target systems.

Geometry Configuration for Performance in Vega Prime(TM) Applications

The objective of this paper is to provide some useful tips and tricks to configure geometry in both Creator^TM and Vega Prime to achieve optimal rendering performance.  This paper addresses optimizations in the areas of graphics state, geometry, and hierarchy that are essential to achieving the best performance possible.

Application migration from Linux prototype to deployable IMA platform using ARINC 653 and OpenGL

Linux offers a low cost, rapid-prototyping capability for Integrated Modular Avionics (IMA) applications, but moving these prototypes to a deployable ARINC 653 partitioned system presents many challenges to a developer. This paper discusses the steps needed to migrate an OpenGLbased graphic application from a Linux prototype to a working ARINC 653 IMA platform. It makes use of Wind River's VxWorks 653 operating Systems utilizing Seaweed Software's Certifiable OpenGL product. An example will be discussed of this software running on VxWorks 653 using PowerPC hardware with a Radstone PMC graphics adapter.

Automated Shader Generation using a Shader Infrastructure

This paper presented at I/ITSEC 2007 introduces a Shader Infrastructure that automates the building of vertex and fragment shaders by analyzing the OpenGL state machine. The Shader Infrastructure is capable of not only dynamic generation of highly efficient shaders for rendering any legacy data considered valid by the OpenFlight standard, but also extending the rendering pipeline via Advanced Rendering Techniques.

I24: Reconstructing Thermal Emissions on the GPU using an Indexed Texture Format that Texture Filters and MIP-maps

A desirable feature in IR sensor simulation is to provide radiance-based imagery that responds to changes in material temperatures as a function of simulated time-of-day, atmospheric state (i.e. cloudy, rainy, clear, etc.), and surface orientation. We propose a scheme in this paper, called “I24”.

An Open Programming Architecture for Modeling Ocean Waves

Typical ocean simulations provide for wave modeling that is extraordinarily restrictive. Read how our creative solution introduces new algorithms for rendering ocean waves in one unified manner, while simulation algorithms that are not native to any software system perform the generation and animation of the waves, modify the character of the ocean surface, and manage the underlying physics.

Surf Zone Modeling for an EFV Trainer for the UMSC

Find out how the UMSC used Vega Prime to solve challenges related to open water simulation for the EFV Trainer.

Material Classification Pragmatics: Creating and Evaluating Geo-specific Material Assignments

This paper presents large-area, geo-specific material classification from a pragmatic view. It explains the basic components of a material classification and provides advantages/disadvantages of the two most widely-used material classification techniques.

Virtual Texture: A Large Area Raster Resource for the GPU

This paper presents a novel approach, called Virtual Texture, that addresses the challenges of utilizing huge amounts of raster data on the programmable graphics pipeline.  It includes examples of techniques where Virtual Texture has been used successfully to address simulation demands.

A Game-Based COTS System For Simulating Intelligent 3D Agents

Using the latest in computer gaming techniques, this paper presents a commercial system for individual-level human simulation that is scalable to hundreds of people in real-time with a particular focus on the realistic inter-city navigation: one of the hardest components of visual individual life-form simulation.

Lessons Learned From Games middleware integration

This paper describes the experience of embedding a typical game middleware SDK into a traditional military training simulator.  The paper also presents reasons for having considered game (and crossover) technologies and tools for adoption as well as an overview of areas where the technologies overlap.

The Modernization of HMI Development Tools to Support the Entire Development Process

Next-generation information display development tools introduce new features to support the development of complex displays and provide closer connectivity with third-party applications to address the full breadth of the HMI development cycle.  This paper describes these new features in detail and highlights their benefits.

Creator Terrain Studio Terrain Generation Innovation

For the most part, existing terrain production tools are unable to meet the accuracy and fidelity requirements for large database production projects, especially when production is time-critical.  Learn how Creator Terrain Studio can overcome these, and other, challenges.

Assuring Certifiability of Outsourced Software Development — a DER's Perspective

RTCA/DO-178B is a set of considerations or guidelines for the assurance of software in the certification of an aircraft and its systems. The document contains a set of  objectives that need to be met and a description of the associated objective evidence required to show that they have been satisfied. The risks associated with attempting and subsequently failing in the certification process can be enormous, and naturally this drives cost and schedule on a given program.

OpenGL SC — Open Standard Embedded Graphics API for Safety-Critical Applications

This paper will discuss the particular demands of this market and explain how these demands have resulted in the current OpenGL ES SC profile definition. It will go on to explain how the OpenGL ES SC profile is beginning to change the way that aerospace and Defense companies specify their graphics requirements and will conclude with some predictions about what this will mean in future.

Analyzing Memory Usage Patterns in a Large-Scale Visual Simulation

The paper presents a practical approach to identification and utilization of dynamic memory allocation and usage patterns in a large-scale visual simulation application.  The paper presents practical guidelines and techniques found particularly useful in the process of development of the Vega Prime^TM framework (a large-scale C++ COTS toolkit) and tuning high-performance visual simulation applications built on top of it.

DO-178B: Top 13 DO-178B Mistakes (and how to avoid them)

What are the most common mistakes via DO-178B? As one of the largest, fastest growing, avionics-related services companies in North America, High Rely has captured both their own, and their client's, most common mistakes. Find out how to achieve DO-178B compliance while meeting (and hopefully surpassing) the competition.

Military Avionics Certification via DO-178B & DO-254

The convergence of military and commercial software standards for avionics are converging on a common set of standards - what do you need to know to ensure that you're ready?

DO-178B Costs Versus Benefits

DO-178B has increasingly evolved into the de facto standard for commercial avionics, then Military avionics, and now, general aerospace electronics. And the new DO-178C is on the horizon. DO-178B requires planning, consistency, determinism, thorough documentation and testing, and proof of preceding attributes. Find out more about the values, benefits and costs of achieving DO-178B certification.

Crowd Modeling For Military Simulations Using Game Technology

The objective of this paper is to present the process involved with the design and development of a simulation that integrates commercially available game technology with current military simulations in order to generate realistic and believable crowd behavior. This whitepaper was written by authors from the following organizations: Virginia Modeling Analysis & Simulation Center, Engenuity Technologies, Inc., and WernerAnderson, Inc.

Safe COTS Graphics Solutions: Impact of DO-254 on the use of COTS graphics devices for avionics

This presentation will briefly outline what DO-254 means for the use of COTS devices in avionics products and will explore some of the ways that COTS hardware suppliers may be able to minimize the impact of DO-254 on their customers’ products. It will go on to show, through a real example, that some COTS hardware providers do understand and embrace DO-254 and are already moving in the right direction.

Effective Use of Shaders in Presagis Visualization Products

Shaders have been used extensively in the entertainment industry for years and are now starting to have more wide spread use in the visual simulation community. Presagis takes advantage of shader technology internally in their commercial off the shelf (COTS) products, such as Vega Prime Marine, and also allows modelers and application developers to integrate their own shaders into their simulation applications. The focus of this paper is to discuss the tools available to simulation developers for the generation and manipulation of shaders in Creator and Vega Prime, and to describe ways to avoid or overcome some of the challenges associated with shader integration in simulation applications.

COTS Tools for Flight Simulation

The world of training is constantly evolving to keep up-to-date with the newest aircraft technology and the ever changing requirements of pilot and aviation safety. To meet the requirements of different levels of education, flight simulators must also evolve. Download the whitepaper to find out more.

Use of COTS Graphics Solutions: How industry standards initiatives for embedded graphics could help

Significant steps have been taken by some COTS software and hardware vendors to address the quality and certification requirements that face today’s avionics systems engineers. From a software perspective, vendors have often been forced to define suitable subsets of existing Open standards that were not originally designed to match the needs of the aerospace industry. This has produced results that are Open standards-based, but nevertheless not true Open standards themselves.

Aviation Quality COTS Software: Reality or Folly

This paper describes in detail, the techniques used to take an open standard graphics API (OpenGL) and turn it into an avionics COTS product that can offer significant savings for systems developers. The paper will describe how a from-scratch implementation has all the quality, safety, and performance attributes required to meet the stringent certification requirements for airborne systems.

COTS OpenGL Software Eases Certifiable Avionics Code

Using COTS graphics software for avionics displays can offer significant benefits to the system developer if the COTS software supplier can meet the certification challenges required by the FAA, known as RTCA/DO-178B. Even better, display development tools are now available which generate OpenGL calling C code. Such tools allow system developers to implement highly complex displays in very short time scales, all the while keeping a close eye on the certification requirements they’ll eventually face.