Avionics refresh solutions among technical workshop topics at Avionics 2009

AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands, 21 Jan. 2009 Methods and cost-benefit analysis for upgrading avionics software and hardware as well as software certification highlight the topics for technical workshops at the Avionics 2009 conference and exhibition. The event will be held March 11 and 12 at the Air Passenger terminal in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

The conference theme is "Moving on to New Heights," and content will touch on how designers and system integrators are handling the challenges of next-generation systems and standards for avionics in commercial and defense applications.

The technical workshops will run simultaneously to the main conference program.

Julian Day, senior field applications engineer, Green Hills Software Ltd, in Hampshire, England, starts off the workshops at 10:30 am on March 11 with a discussion on "Efficient Interpartition Communications in Scalable IMA Systems." This workshop session will examine some of the scenarios in which multiple applications are combined to form an IMA system or later added to an existing one.

Following Day at 11:30 am is Larry Kinnan, principal avionics and safety critical systems technologist for Wind River in Alameda, Calif., with a talk on the "Use of Multicore Processors in Avionics Systems and its Potential Impact on Implementation and Certification." The presentation details a procedural approach for implementing commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) processors in military avionics systems.

The first presentation of the afternoon on March 11 at 2:00 pm is titled "Cost-Benefit Analysis Implementing Performance-Based Navigation and Avionics Upgrades" and is presented by Steve Fulton, chief technical officer for Naverus, Inc., in Kent, Wash. Fulton will discuss "the real benefits of implementing performance-based navigation operations, the ramifications of committing to small and large airplane system upgrades, and the realities of winning the cost-benefit comparison in a way that increases the value of aviation assets while providing true improvements to individual operations and to national airspace."

Following Fulton at 2:45 pm is Andrew Coombe, marketing manager at Rapita Systems Ltd., in York, England. His talk is titled "Case Study: Improving Effectiveness of Worst-Case Execution Time Optimization in an Avionics System." Fulton says his "presentation will describe how it was possible to identify the hotspots in source code that contributed to the worst-case execution time (WCET) of an avionics application."

The last workshop presenter on day one of the conference at 4:00 pm is James Falasco, PSL for GE Electric in Dallas, Texas, and his discussion is titled "Avionics Refresh Approaches Using Sensor Simulation & COTS Reconfigurable Computing Technology." Falasco's presentation will cover hardware and software solutions that "allow for rapid prototyping of new or modified embedded avionics sensor designs, mission payloads, and functional sub assemblies."

The first workshop on March 12 runs from 9:00 to 10:30 am and is titled "Worst-Case and Structural Coverage Analysis – Tools and Technologies to get DO-178B." It is presented by Michael Friess, technical marketing manager for AdaCore in Paris, France, and Olivier Charrier, EMEA principal engineer for Wind River in Courtaboeuf Cedex, France. They will discuss how "proven tools and technologies address these requirements, and how they can ease performing these worst-case and structural analysis tasks required by the certification process."

The next talk – "UAV Data Link Design for Dependable Real-time Communications" – runs from 11:00 am to 12:30 pm and is presented by Peter Watson, marketing manager at Real-Time Innovations in Milton Keynes, England. This discussion will cover "how real-time messaging middleware can be applied to address the specific issues of dependable real-time messaging over undependable data links characteristic of UAV systems."

The first afternoon session on March 12 runs from 2:00 to 3:30 pm and is titled "The Importance of Recognizing the Interdependencies of the Major Components of the International Airspace System." The presenter, Frank Alexander, aviation consultant for Frank Alexander & Associates, in Austin, Texas, will discuss the needs for substantial changes in International Airspace System to accommodate the projected demand for Air Transportation and Global Commerce.

The last workshop presenter of the conference is Philip Moylan, regional marketing manager for CMC Electronics in Saint-Laurent, Quebec. He will be speaking from 4:00 to 5:30 pm on "Enhanced Vision for Enhanced Safety." He will discuss how sensors using uncooled microbolometer-based technology are being integrated in enhanced vision systems to improve situational awareness for helicopters and very light jets, which are flown by propeller or turboprop pilots unaccustomed to the higher speeds, especially in night time conditions.

Key speakers in the main conference program include Lars Lindberg, president of AVTECH in Akersberga, Sweden, Julio Ferreira, advanced design engineer for Embraer in Spain, Benjamin Wepfer, team leader for product management at RUAG Aerospace AG in Bern, Switzerland, Chris Nicholas, supportability and mission systems team leader, for the Defense Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl)— an agency of the United Kingdom Ministry of Defense (MOD), and Eric Billar, program manager for SESAR Civil Military Contribution at Eurocontrol in Brussels, Belgium.

Session topics include future air traffic management technology, next-generation military technology, electronic flight bags, certification and standards for future avionics systems (UAV's), technology for runway incursion, and more.

The content is for program and project managers, engineering managers, engineers, and commercial and military aerospace executives who are involved in avionics integration, manufacture, design, and technology standards development.

Click here to register for Avionics 2009.

Avionics 2009 is brought to you by Avionics Intelligence and >Military & Aerospace Electronics magazine. The Avionics-Intelligence Website and eNewsletter launched in November 2008 and covers all aspects of commercial and defense avionics.

This spring PennWell, the parent company of Military & Aerospace Electronics magazine, purchased Avionics Expo Limited, a U.K. company which owned and produced the Avionics conference and exhibition. The show's founder, Adrian Broadbent, was retained as event director.

PennWell also announced the first global expansion of the Avionics exposition with Avionics U.S.A., scheduled to run concurrently with the Military & Aerospace Electronics Forum in San Diego at the San Diego convention center on June 1 and 2, 2009. The new event offers two separate conferences and a shared exhibit floor. This shared environment will allow the senior level attendees to walk the entire show floor and mingle with the executives attending each event. Avionics U.S.A. conference content will be modeled after the Amsterdam event.

For more information on exhibiting at Avionics 2009 or Avionics U.S.A. 2009 contact Jeff Gallagher in the U.S. at 603-891-9147 or [email protected]. For International accounts please contact Gareth Watkins at 44 (0) 1992 656 672 or [email protected]. For speaking opportunities at Avionics U.S.A., contact our conference coordinator, Nuala Ferdinand, at [email protected]. For all other information, visit www.avionics-event.com or www.avionics-usa.com.

For more information on the Military & Aerospace Electronics Forum, visit www.milaeroforum.com.