The 1970s saw the start of a trend towards integrated digital avionics. In the 1980s, the Air Force's Pave Pillar initiative defined centralized digital processing as the cost- effective approach to tactical avionics. The avionics systems of the two advanced aircraft presently under development, a fixed-wing tactical fighter and an armed scout/reconnaissance helicopter, were based on this architecture. Both platforms relied upon custom, single-purpose hardware and software to generate images for their advanced multifunctional flat panel cockpit displays. The technology to generate real-time synthetic images with common data and signal processors was not available during the development of the platforms. Harris IR&D investigations have focused on an approach that Harris GASD has named the Common Avionics Display Processor (CADP). This programmable device can generate sophisticated images or perform sensor image manipulation and processing. The Common Avionics Display Processor is a general purpose image synthesizer. It consists of software and hardware components configured at run time by a downloaded program. The CADP offers two advantages over custom, special purpose devices. First, it solves a class of problems, not a single one. It can generate many types of images, from alphanumeric to sensor simulation. Only one module type is required for any of these functions. Second, as program schedules become shorter, traditional hardware design time becomes the delivery limiting task. Because both the software and hardware components are programmable at run time, the CADP can adapt to changing requirements without redesign.
Common Avionics Display Processor (CADP)
Cockpit Displays II ; 1995 ; Orlando,FL,United States
Proc. SPIE ; 2462
1995-06-05
Conference paper
Electronic Resource
English
Digital avionics display processor
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