Presagis provides complete life-cycle solutions that address the specific needs of the aerospace and defense industry. We are committed to delivering advanced, high-quality tools for the development of safety and mission-critical avionics.
The industry currently faces a number of challenges that can put aircraft programs at risk of considerable cost overruns.
Among the numerous hurdles are those related to the avionics system, which can account for a significant portion of program costs. In the past it was common practice to hand code all software components required, but this has become less practical in a rapidly evolving aerospace and defense industry, with pressures to deliver programs more quickly and on budget.
Mission and safety-critical programs have to comply to specific industry standards; the need for reliable, high quality code is a given in this environment. The stringent requirements of governing DO-178B/C software systems, hardware that satisfies DO-254, and increasing desire for ARINC 661 compliance can all lead to higher system complexity, and all are characterized by the need for extensive testing. Failing to “get it right first time” risks project delivery overruns and causes unforeseen expenditures.
Additionally, program managers are continuously looking for cockpit designs that incorporate the recommendations of Human Factors Specialists. Project requirements can rapidly evolve away from initial specifications, creating a need to not only implement these new requests, but also to quickly share design specifications across numerous development teams in different departments or even geographic locations.
The rising costs of embedded development means many companies are challenged to meet cost-savings goals when attempting to create, integrate, and maintain proprietary software systems. Additionally, hiring qualified engineers with the right expertise can be difficult when trying to keep pace with evolving standards, technologies, and customer requirements.
Using Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) software developed by Presagis has allowed numerous OEM aircraft manufacturers, avionics suppliers, and system integrators to cut back program costs and reduce project delivery time including 30+ programs requiring DO-178B certification.
Avionics Display Development
For developing cockpit display applications, Presagis offers VAPS XT, a model-based development tool that includes automatic code generation functionality. The approach used allows the modeled design to be shared across different teams in order to obtain feedback from all stakeholders and maintain design consistency. Automatic Code Generation ensures that any changes needed can be implemented and re-tested in the shortest amount of time possible, without having to hand-code every time.
Standards Compliant Avionics Software Development
For projects requiring DO-178B/C certification there is VAPS XT-178, a version of VAPS XT specifically designed to simplify development by allowing users to leverage a qualifiable code generator to automatically output object code that is certifiable under the DO-178B/C standard. To complement the code generator, Presagis offers all supporting documentation and test cases required to claim credit for low level requirements towards DO-178B/Ccertification. This approach has resulted in considerable cost savings and a significant reduction in the project development life cycle for Presagis customers. For projects requiring ARINC 661 compliancy, customers can implement the VAPS XT 661 Module. Introduced in 2004, this module allows for the rapid implementation of ARINC 661 compliant graphics.
Our product lines offer proven software solutions for embedded display development.
Built on years of industry expertise and developed through close consultation with top avionics manufacturers, VAPS XT extends the already powerful capabilities of VAPS and boasts new features for the complete aerospace HMI development cycle. With its open and extensible architecture, VAPS XT offers you an unparalleled level of control and flexibility in the design of the complex requirements of next generation airborne systems.
Out software tools will:
- automatically generate display code with the click of a button because of the automatic code generation capabilities in VAPS XT
- create the ultimate in simulated cockpit displays because, for simulation and advanced prototyping requirements, VAPS XT extends the graphical and drawing capabilities already found in VAPS and adds in photo-realistic effects, unlimited textures, shading, and graphical libraries
- take advantage of unmatched capabilities for display concept testing and evaluation in a simulated test environment through the unprecedented integration of VAPS XT with the STAGE family of simulation tools via nCOM
From prototyping and embedding to documentation and certification, VAPS XT dramatically reduces time to market and improves both the visual quality and the performance of your HMI application.
