Avionics

The European aerospace industries have a total turnover of 74.6 Billion Euro. They share with the automotive industries a key reliance on embedded systems in implementing key aircraft functions, and an exponential growth curve in embedded software (with e.g. the Airbus 380 comprising some 600 000 signal interfaces, and around 450 MB embedded software), as well as the challenges resulting from a distributed development process involving sources of multiple suppliers. On the safety side, ACARE´s safety targets for 2020 call for an 80% accident rate reduction, while coping with a traffic density increase by a factor of 3.

Instrumental for achieving these targets will be the reduction of the human error rate, which contributes to between 60% and 80% of all accidents, with the aim of 100% recovery of human errors. Further challenges relate to the reduction of certification costs.

Example Projects

Depnet. The Airbus Network of Excellence on Dependable Systems Depnet combines the leading European research partners of Airbus in the field of safety analysis, the University of York, Onera, and OFFIS, to define the future roadmap for its safety and dependability processes. Participating partners from Airbus include the leading safety experts in Airbus Germany, France, and UK. This project is directly funded by Airbus.

ESACS / ISAAC. Within the Growth project ESACS, a model-based methodology and tools supporting the current safety assessment process used in aircraft industry (ARP 4754) were developed and - jointly with the main European aircraft manufacturers - applied to several industrial case studies. The FP-6 project ISAAC extends the model-based safety analysis approach developed in ESACS to cover common cause analyses, impact of human errors, and operational aspects. The ESAC/ISAAC results have achieved high attention in a recent EUROCAE/SAE meeting and are expected to impact future versions of ARP 4754.

HEACE is an EC-funded project which focuses on the investigation of health effects on aircraft cabin crew and pilots and the development of a respective human response model. The project was co-ordinated by the Acoustics Group of the Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg and ended in July 2005.

SAFEAIR 1 und 2. The IST project SafeAir demonstrated successfully an improved development process of complex embedded control system in the avionics context by integration of widely used CASE tools, and enhanced these with formal verification methods for achieving highly dependable system designs. The follow-up project SafeAir 2 secured and improved the SafeAir results focusing on the industrial adoption of the technology for key users in the aeronautics and the automotive sectors.

VICTORIA (Validation Platform for Aircraft Electronic System). This European research project developed and implemented a novel testing strategy for the new generation of aircraft controllers which is currently used for testing control systems in the Airbus A380.

OMEGA - This IST project is promoting a UML-based methodology for the development of embedded real-time applications, including support for formal verification. The project combines end-users from such diverse application domains as telecom (France Telecom), space (NLR), and avionics (IAI).

FliDA – Flight Data Analysis. This project aims at the development of software agents assisting the assessment and diagnosis of man/machine interactions. In brief, these agents can be characterized as autonomous, proactive, and social software components. They shall help pilots or trainers to (online) evaluate individual performance in real flight situations or training sessions in flight simulators.

ASMS – Advanced Student Monitoring System. This Project aims at the development of a Data Warehouse System for training-oriented data and flight data. The project is carried out in tight cooperation with the Lufthansa Flight Training GmbH (Bremen/Frankfurt).

AIDA – Improving Human-in-the-Loop Simulations. For a better understanding of the HMI related to pilot workload the AIDA project has been conducted. The objective is the identification and the development of simulation fidelity criteria utilising different simulators. Fixed based, moving based and the flying simulator ATTAS were utilized in order to evaluate criteria on task performance and pilot workload.

HAFUN (Handling of Flight Uncertainties): joint venture between DLR-IFT and ONERA with participation of AIRBUS-F. Main goal is the modeling of flight at extreme flight conditions such as large sideslip angles, cross wind landing, asymmetric stall etc. Experimental investigations with ATTAS at large sideslip angles and cross-wing landings have been performed. Investigation of incidence cases and reconstruction of flight scenarios is yet another aspect addressed under this project.

FACE (Friendly Aircraft Cabin Environment), Development of an environmental comfort index for passengers. Methodology similar to HEACE, but focussed on passengers and travel comfort. Additionally: Measurement of acoustic and dynamical parameters of acoustic material and new compound material used in aircraft construction.

FRIENDCOPTER is an Integrated project for the integration of technologies in support of a passenger and environmentally friendly helicopter.

ICE (Ideal Cabin Environment). ICEs Objectives are (1) to establish target levels and ranges of cabin environment parameters (such as pressure, airflow, humidity and temperature), individually and in combination, to ensure that the cabin provides a healthy environment (both physiological and psychological well-being) for passengers in commercial aircraft; (2) to develop radical design models and predictive tools for airframers and airlines to provide, for the first time, a means by which they will be able to determine the health impact of their aircraft on their passengers; and (3) to develop guidelines for a draft European Prestandard, including the first ever scientifically based for cabin pressure, and provide practical design guides and operational recommendations in cooperation with stakeholders.

Enhanced Data Recording (EDDI). New data recording techniques to be investigated within EDDI, like Data Recording on Event and Image Recording, will improve the quality of current incident investigation and aircraft health assessment possibilities due to the availability of higher quality data. The focus is on eliminating accidents by automatic systems that lighten the burdens on the crew and help them to make correct decisions.

Autonomous Rotorcraft Testbed for Intelligent Systems (ARTIS). This project is part of the DLR-ONERA Joint Research Programme. The work is focussing on the development of an autonomous flight system with an intelligent on-board mission management. An important topic is the design process for a cognitive component that is well suited for the certification process. The operator-machine interface is based on the concepts of cognitive automation.

Self-Guided Parafoil-Load System (ALEX). A new generation of airdrop systems enables the automatically controlled delivery of personnel and materials e.g. for humanitarian missions. The aim of this project is to model the dynamic behaviour of the system, to study new GNC concepts and to design a smart man-machine interface.

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Alternativ gelangen Sie auch hier zu den verschiedenen Anwendungsdomänen und Forschungsgebieten.

• Anwendungsdomänen
  • Automotive
  • Avionics
  • Railway Systems
• Forschungsgebiete
  • Human Centered Engineering
  • System/Embedded Software Development Process
  • Safety and Certification Process