This project produced a common development process and associated interface standards to support the aviation industry’s requirements to rapidly prototype flight deck and cockpit display concepts, and to efficiently transition these concepts to avionics systems. Key process capabilities included:
- Ability to carry-out rapid prototyping of display graphics and logic
- Ability to model graphics and logic requirements
- Ability to validate graphics and logic requirements
- Ability to evaluate flight deck/cockpit display concepts at workstation and simulators
- Major reduction in costs and cycle time in software product implementation
- Use of commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) graphics and logic software prototyping tools
- Provide for a supplier “hand off’ standard
These capabilities were generated across a variety of developmental and testing platforms by Boeing, avionics and flight deck display suppliers as well as software development tool venders. The goal was to develop a common rapid prototyping display development process and common inter-model interfaces. The development project involved 4 major steps:
- Process Definition
- Tool Set Requirements
- Preparation for Process Demonstration and
- Process Demonstration using a sample tool set
Logic tools employed to demonstrate the process were not endorsed by the project
This project addressed a huge need within the industry regarding cycle time and cost reduction including:
- Development of the system concepts
- Determination of how the system really works
- Validation of requirements
- Implementation of the established process.
The project did not directly develop auto-coding and verification techniques, but the developed processes and tools did enable and support the display suppliers in the development of model-to-embedded-verified-software.
The project did not require the invention or design of new hardware or software. However, it did identify products and processes that were then available, as well as required enhancements. And it integrated the components into a practicable process.
