Open Architecture Tools to Describe Automatic Test Equipment (ATE) Capabilities
Navy SBIR FY2018.1


Sol No.: Navy SBIR FY2018.1
Topic No.: N181-009
Topic Title: Open Architecture Tools to Describe Automatic Test Equipment (ATE) Capabilities
Proposal No.: N181-009-0321
Firm: Analysis, Integration and Design
2905 Bush Drive
Melbourne, Florida 32935
Contact: Timothy Winquist
Phone: (321) 253-9919
Web Site: http://www.aidinc-usa.com
Abstract: Experience in utilization of test information standards exposes levels of allowable variance that circumvents interoperability and allows proliferation of incompatible products. The standards must provide this flexibility in order to accommodate the variety of applications for which they are intended. However, achievement of compatibility, interoperability and other objectives associated with the commonality are underlying assumptions of standards usage in general. Innovative approaches to controlling, restricting and even denying allowable variations can provide a vehicle for better achieving these objectives while still requiring adherence to the standards. These approaches can additionally improve usage of standards in regards to applications supporting definition of test hardware and instrumentation. Moreover, levels of precision and accuracy can potentially be enhanced through these same mechanisms. New strategic utilization and improvement of signal modeling related standards are focal points for these objectives. Currently standards allow users to develop widely disparate and essentially custom implementations that are still within compliance boundaries. Formulation of technical strategies that contain the independent development aspects of signal models can restrict the proliferation of disparate products developed from these standards. The innovative strategies would produce the interoperability, precision and even cross vendor compatibility the DoD is striving for.
Benefits: 1.1 Anticipated Benefits The results of the fully executed effort will be commercially available shrink wrapped components that can provide enhanced functionality and cost savings for test applications and test systems developers. The technologies will reduce development efforts, improve automation, speed application production and enhance test system development processes. The tools would provide major technology advancement in various facets of the test domain. Allowing practitioners a new signal model paradigm that makes signals common across applications will provide new visions for system architects to produce efficiencies for their test systems. The new technologies will provide clarity and facilitate visualization for more comprehensive levels of abstraction than the industry has known until now. The components produced by this program are expected to enhance resource allocation techniques and reduce the revamp and rework when various vendor applications are required to work in unison. The AIDI research focus will be to produce user configurable components that can be employed in the various environments specified. In addition, other expected benefits are: �?� Improved software maintenance �?� Improve productivity �?� Provide accurate information to all design levels �?� Enable better service life management 1.2 Potential Commercial Applications The proposed environment will leverage the use of existing standards and commercial efforts to create potential interfaces to several areas including some outside military systems. Some areas for potential interfacing include: �?� sensor interfaces for weapons system analysis �?� avionics Operational Flight Programs (OFPs) �?� satellite communication systems �?� interactive human interfaces allowing outside decision data consideration �?� higher-level command control system access �?� portable or remote system connection and data extraction �?� remote maintenance action assessment �?� legacy test application retrofit

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