Avionic expansion subsystem increase customisation potential
A standard Ethernet interface is used in the A174 expansion subsystem, designed to increase the functionality of rugged embedded systems.
Aitech offers the compact A174 I/O expansion subsystem to connect to a multiple-client/multiple-server architecture, acting as a server with the avionics computers acting as clients.
Each client (or avionics computer) can access and control the I/O resources on any networked A174, which can be individually reached by any client on the network. The I/O expansion subsystem accommodates multiple client processor architectures (PowerPC, Intel, Arm) and operating systems (OS), for system flexibility when adding capabilities to avionics computers. For network connectivity, the A174 supports one GbE (1000 BaseT) interface or two Fast Ethernet (10/100 BaseT) interfaces.
Only the physical layers of the subsystem are dedicated devices. All I/O interfaces are implemented on the unit’s Intel Cyclone V SoC FPGA, which keeps power consumption to a minimum, while enabling convenient customisation and additional system functionality. The Cyclone features dual Arm Cortex-A9 MPCore processors with up to 1Gbyte of 32-bit DDR3L memory and 128Mbyte of SPI flash.
According to Aitech, the compact footprint and minimal weight of the rugged A174, coupled with the number of available I/O interfaces, makes the unit a versatile expansion subsystem. I/O interfaces include ARINC-429, analogue and isolated discretes with optional RS-232/422/485 Serial and MIL-STD-1553B (BC/RT/MT) ports.
System resources include temperature sensors and an elapsed time recorder as well as a pre-installed Linux Embedded OS and drivers, server application and test sample applications. To ensure the highest reliability, the A174 also includes built-in test (BIT) capabilities.
The A174 offers other important attributes to provide reliable and versatile system expansion, such as EMI/RFI filtering of I/O signals, natural convection cooling and a standard 28V power input (16 to 32V DC) with 50 milliseconds power hold up time support. It is also environmentally sealed. Power consumption is typically only 13W, with a maximum of 18W. The A174 has an extended operating temperature of -40 to +71 degrees C.
