Aerospace Electronics

For more than 20 years, Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has designed, developed, and maintained hardware and software systems for the aerospace community. The Institute designs and fabricates hardware for aircraft and ground support equipment, ranging from microcircuits to major subsystems. A variety of platforms, including microprocessor-based and RISC-based systems and other engineering workstations, supports extensive software development.

Using a systems engineering approach, technical staff members have experience in all aspects of a system's life cycle, including:

• Research and development
• Design and analysis
• Fabrication and manufacturing
• Maintenance and diagnostics
• Logistics support and information management

To support aerospace electronic systems development, facilities include numerous microelectronic design and fabrication laboratories. Using a variety of computer systems, SwRI conducts modeling, simulation, circuit design and fabrication, software development, and electronic document publication.

Research and Development

The Institute's aerospace systems engineering staff maintains state-of-the-art capabilities through an active research and development program. Research projects range from developing advanced diagnostic techniques for aircraft electronics to designing flexible monitoring and control systems. Technologies incorporated include advanced sensors, artificial intelligence, neural networks, and digital signal processing.

The Institute has automated a thermal-based process of detecting faults in circuit boards. Using neural networks, the system associates various thermal features of the components with faults.

With vast potential for safe, effective aerial reconnaissance, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) pose significant challenges for lightweight, highly complex electronics. SwRI designs, fabricates, and tests compact, sophisticated electronics that support UAVs.

Design and Analysis

Using automated circuit modeling techniques, SwRI reduces the time and costs required to perform circuit analyses. Modeling allows identification and correction of design problems before the circuit is prototyped.

As an independent contract research and development organization, the Institute is particularly qualified to:

• Develop documented designs with unlimited data rights
• Perform impartial design assessment studies
• Perform independent verification, validation, and testing of designs

Design analysis using computer-based simulation and modeling provides an assessment of a design's reliability, producibility, testability, and maintainability.

Institute engineers perform independent verification and validation of software. For this electronic warfare pod, SwRI documented the software and identified software deficiencies in both the test software and operational flight program.

Systems are designed to client specifications, and complete data and documentation packages become the sole property of the client. When required, these documentation packages include all specifications a third party needs to fabricate the product. The Institute performs independent verification and validation of systems and their test support equipment.

Fabrication and Manufacturing

To lower the life cycle costs and improve the reliability and maintainability of the F-111 aircraft, the Institute developed an engine monitoring system based on an existing A-10 system. Staff members developed operational software and designed and prototyped replacement circuits for the F-111. The upgraded circuits were later used to enhance the original A-10 engine monitoring system.

SwRI is an independent research and development organization, unaffiliated with any manufacturer or product line. Typically, only engineering prototypes are produced, although short pre-production or limited production runs can be performed when necessary. The Institute often helps qualify alternate production sources, and staff members can support production runs and fabrication processes performed by other companies.

The Institute has improved the testing capabilities and operational flight software maintenance of the Air Force A-10's low-altitude safety and target enhancement computer. Full design disclosure included DOD-STD-2167A software documents, Cadre CASE databases, source code, and Level 2 drawings.

Maintenance and Diagnostic

Complex, cutting-edge aerospace systems require state-of-the-art maintenance and diagnostic technologies. SwRI develops diagnostic equipment to support all levels of the maintenance process, including large, specialized, ground-based automatic test equipment and on-board, built-in test systems. The staff is experienced in the philosophy and use of numerous standards related to the development of electronic test equipment. In some cases, the Institute examines reliability and maintainability problems and redesigns the system, subsystem, or component causing problems.

The staff has developed hardware and test programs for a number of large, ground-based automatic test systems. SwRI developed this depot power-supply tester for F-15 aircraft support equipment.

This lightweight hand-held data collection device retrieves engine monitoring system information from F-100 and F-110 aircraft on the flightline. The Institute developed the hardware using off-the-shelf components and the software by modifying government-supplied Ada source code.

Logistics Support and Information Management

Through the design of complex systems for delivery to clients, SwRI has become expert in the development of complete data packages for logistics support of the systems. In addition to conventional, hard-copy documentation, the Institute has developed a variety of automated systems to support various logistics activities. These automated systems utilize advanced database and user interface technologies as well as artificial intelligence.

To slow the proliferation of specialized equipment, an electronic database, the Support Equipment Acquisition Management System (SEAMS), was developed from existing microfiche data of inventoried support equipment. Staff members developed software to support database administration and problem reporting.

The Continuous Acquisition and Life-cycle Support (CALS) initiative advocates the development of standards and techniques to transfer information electronically across a variety of computer platforms. As a charter member of the San Antonio CALS Shared Resource Center, SwRI is a leader in CALS applications and technology development for government and industry.

This brochure was published in August 1994. For more information about aerospace electronics, contact Christopher E. Camargo, Director, Phone (210) 522-2095, Fax (210) 522-2572, Aerospace Electronics and Information Technology Division,Southwest Research Institute, P.O. Drawer 28510, San Antonio, Texas 78228-0510.

Aerospace Electronics and Information Technology Division Brochures
SwRI Brochures SwRI Publications
SwRI Technical Divisions SwRI Home