Structured definition of modular avionics architectures using blueprints

This paper reports the outcome of research activities carried out by Alenia as prosecution of the EUCLID Research and Technology Programme (RTP) 4.1 “Modular Avionics Harmonization Study”, and in view of a follow-on RTP4.2 to be developed by various European Nations in the field of modeling/simulation of advanced avionics architectures. International research programs encompassing integrated modular avionics, such as the above mentioned EUCLID RTP 4.1 or ASAAC phase 1, have indicated a layered software architecture as the means to fulfil important requirements, such as software portability, software reusability and system fault tolerance. One of these layers, the System Applications Layer, is in charge of managing the system in order to provide a behavior which, across the various mission phases and system states, is compliant to what required by a structured description, realized off-line and embodied in a set of “Blueprints”, accessible by the System Manager in real-time. This paper develops the Blueprints concept, carrying out an exercise of its application to a reference system architecture. As a preliminary outlook on future European studies, it is shown how, exploiting commercial simulation toolsets with an approach based on Blueprints, generic avionics architectures can be rapidly modeled and simulated, to investigate configuration and performance issues without costly prototyping