Rick C. Stevens

Design process of a photonics network for military platforms

Technology development in photonics is rapidly progressing. The concept of a Unified Network will provide re- configurable network access to platform sensors, Vehicle Management Systems, Stores and avionics. The re-configurable taps into the network will accommodate present interface standards and provide scaleability for the insertion of future interfaces. Significant to this development is the design and test of the Optical Backplane Interconnect System funded by Naval Air Systems Command and developed by Lockheed Martin Tactical Defense Systems - Eagan. OBIS results in the merging of the electrical backplane and the optical backplane, with interconnect fabric and card edge connectors finally providing adequate electrical and optical card access. Presently OBIS will support 1.2 Gb/s per fiber over multiples of 12 fibers per ribbon cable.

Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Real-Time Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) Using Onboard Pre-processing

Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are increasingly being used in-theater to provide low-cost, low-profile aerial reconnaissance and surveillance capabilities. However, inherent platform limitations on size, weight, and power restrict the ability to provide sensors and communications which can present high-resolution imagery to the end-user. This paper discusses methods to alleviate this restriction by performing on-board pre-processing of high resolution images and downlinking the post-processed imagery. This has the added benefit of reducing the workload for a warfighter who is already heavily taxed by other duties.

Building block concept for optical backplane interconnect systems

This paper represents the results of a trade study performed under the Optical Backplane Interconnect System contract sponsored by the Navys Advanced Avionics Subsystems and Technology program. The purpose of this program is to perform development, test, evaluation, and documentation of optical backplane technology suitable for application in next- generation military air platforms.

Electro-optical printed circuit board (EO-PCB) device connectivity enables greater application execution efficiency

The use of an Electro-Optical integrated Printed Circuit Board (EO-PCB) enables the interconnect of multiple fiber optic channels between devices utilizing a hybrid optical and copper Ball Grid Array (BGA) package. This higher bandwidth optical interconnect dramatically improves the efficiency of resident application programs.

High speed data bus design validation

The SAE Linear Implementation Task Group has developed the SAE Linear Token Passing Multiplex Data Bus Standard (AS4074.1). A validation plan which will define the test requirements for determining that an implementation of the standard meets the requirements of SAE AS4074.1 is discussed. Once completed, the test requirements contained in this plan will be executed on bus interface units (BIUs) for validation purposes. The author describes the use of a validation model that incorporates many of the capabilities of the validation test plan. This model can also be thought of as a VHDL (VHSIC Hardware Description Language) behavioral representation of the SAE Linear Token Passing Multiplex Data Bus Standard. It is tightly coupled to the standard and provides a model that can be used during the BIU development to validate the design.<<ETX>>