Integrated Modular Avionics
Encyclopedia
Integrated modular avionics (IMA) represent real-time
computer network airborne systems. This network consists of a number of computing modules capable of supporting numerous applications of differing criticality levels
.
The IMA concept proposes an integrated architecture with application software portable across an assembly of common hardware modules. An IMA architecture imposes multiple requirements on the underlying operating system
.
F-22
and F-35
, or Dassault Aviation
Rafale
since the beginning of the '90s. Standardization efforts were ongoing at this time (see ASAAC
or STANAG 4626
), but no final documents were issued then.
First uses for this concept were in development for business jet
s and regional jet
s at the end of 1990s and were seen flying at the beginning of 2000s, but it had not been yet standardized.
The concept was then standardized and migrated to the commercial Airliner
arena in the end of the 2000s (Airbus A380
then Boeing 787
).
:
Communication between the modules can use an internal high speed Computer bus
, or can share an external network, as of ARINC 429
or AFDX.
It must be noted that there is no overall hardware or software standard that defines all the mandatory components used in an IMA architecture. However, parts of the API involved in an IMA network has been standardized, such as:
, which form the basis of Integrated modular avionics today, allow each software building block of the overall Integrated modular avionics to be tested, validated, and qualified independently (up to a certain measure) by its supplier.
Real-time computing
In computer science, real-time computing , or reactive computing, is the study of hardware and software systems that are subject to a "real-time constraint"— e.g. operational deadlines from event to system response. Real-time programs must guarantee response within strict time constraints...
computer network airborne systems. This network consists of a number of computing modules capable of supporting numerous applications of differing criticality levels
Life-critical system
A life-critical system or safety-critical system is a system whose failure ormalfunction may result in:* death or serious injury to people, or* loss or severe damage to equipment or* environmental harm....
.
The IMA concept proposes an integrated architecture with application software portable across an assembly of common hardware modules. An IMA architecture imposes multiple requirements on the underlying operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
.
History
It is believed that the IMA concept originated with the avionics design of the fourth generation jet fighters. It has been in use in fighters such as Lockheed MartinLockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin is an American global aerospace, defense, security, and advanced technology company with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, in the Washington Metropolitan Area....
F-22
F-22 Raptor
The Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 Raptor is a single-seat, twin-engine fifth-generation supermaneuverable fighter aircraft that uses stealth technology. It was designed primarily as an air superiority fighter, but has additional capabilities that include ground attack, electronic warfare, and signals...
and F-35
F-35 Lightning II
The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is a family of single-seat, single-engine, fifth generation multirole fighters under development to perform ground attack, reconnaissance, and air defense missions with stealth capability...
, or Dassault Aviation
Dassault Aviation
Dassault Aviation is a French aircraft manufacturer of military, regional and business jets, a subsidiary of Dassault Group.It was founded in 1930 by Marcel Bloch as Société des Avions Marcel Bloch or "MB". After World War II, Marcel Bloch changed his name to Marcel Dassault, and the name of the...
Rafale
Dassault Rafale
The Dassault Rafale is a French twin-engine delta-wing multi-role jet fighter aircraft designed and built by Dassault Aviation. Introduced in 2000, the Rafale is being produced both for land-based use with the French Air Force and for carrier-based operations with the French Navy...
since the beginning of the '90s. Standardization efforts were ongoing at this time (see ASAAC
Allied Standards Avionics Architecture Council
Allied Standards Avionics Architecture Council, or ASAAC, is an effort to define and validate a set of Open Architecture Standards for Avionics Architecture, particularly in the field of Integrated Modular Avionics....
or STANAG 4626
STANAG 4626
STANAG 4626 is a NATO standard which define a set of Open Architecture Standards for Avionics Architecture, particularly in the field of Integrated Modular Avionics...
), but no final documents were issued then.
First uses for this concept were in development for business jet
Business jet
Business jet, private jet or, colloquially, bizjet is a term describing a jet aircraft, usually of smaller size, designed for transporting groups of up to 19 business people or wealthy individuals...
s and regional jet
Regional jet
A Regional jet , is a class of short to medium-range turbofan powered airliners.-History:The term "Regional jet" describes a range of short to medium-haul turbofan powered aircraft, whose use throughout the world expanded after the advent of Airline Deregulation in the United States in...
s at the end of 1990s and were seen flying at the beginning of 2000s, but it had not been yet standardized.
The concept was then standardized and migrated to the commercial Airliner
Airliner
An airliner is a large fixed-wing aircraft for transporting passengers and cargo. Such aircraft are operated by airlines. Although the definition of an airliner can vary from country to country, an airliner is typically defined as an aircraft intended for carrying multiple passengers in commercial...
arena in the end of the 2000s (Airbus A380
Airbus A380
The Airbus A380 is a double-deck, wide-body, four-engine jet airliner manufactured by the European corporation Airbus, a subsidiary of EADS. It is the largest passenger airliner in the world. Due to its size, many airports had to modify and improve facilities to accommodate it...
then Boeing 787
Boeing 787
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is a long-range, mid-size wide-body, twin-engine jet airliner developed by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It seats 210 to 290 passengers, depending on the variant. Boeing states that it is the company's most fuel-efficient airliner and the world's first major airliner to use...
).
Architecture
IMA modularity simplifies the development process of avionics softwareAvionics software
Avionics software is embedded software with legally mandated safety and reliability concerns used in avionics. The main difference between avionic software and conventional embedded software is that the development process is required by law and is optimized for safety.It is claimed that the...
:
- As the structure of the modules network is unified, it is mandatory to use a common APIApplication programming interfaceAn application programming interface is a source code based specification intended to be used as an interface by software components to communicate with each other...
to access the hardware and network resources, thus simplifying the hardware and software integration. - IMA concept also allows the ApplicationApplication softwareApplication software, also known as an application or an "app", is computer software designed to help the user to perform specific tasks. Examples include enterprise software, accounting software, office suites, graphics software and media players. Many application programs deal principally with...
developers to focus on the Application layerApplication layerThe Internet protocol suite and the Open Systems Interconnection model of computer networking each specify a group of protocols and methods identified by the name application layer....
, reducing the risk of defaults in the lower-level software layers. - As modules often share an extensive part of their hardware and lower-level software architecture, maintenance of the modules is easier than with previous specific architectures.
- ApplicationApplication softwareApplication software, also known as an application or an "app", is computer software designed to help the user to perform specific tasks. Examples include enterprise software, accounting software, office suites, graphics software and media players. Many application programs deal principally with...
s can be reconfigured on spare modules if the primary module that supports them is detected faulty during operations, increasing the overall availability of the avionics functions.
Communication between the modules can use an internal high speed Computer bus
Computer bus
In computer architecture, a bus is a subsystem that transfers data between components inside a computer, or between computers.Early computer buses were literally parallel electrical wires with multiple connections, but the term is now used for any physical arrangement that provides the same...
, or can share an external network, as of ARINC 429
ARINC 429
ARINC 429 is the technical standard for the predominant avionics data bus used on most higher-end commercial and transport aircraft. It defines the physical and electrical interfaces of a two-wire data bus and a data protocol to support an aircraft's avionics local area network.-Messages:ARINC 429...
or AFDX.
It must be noted that there is no overall hardware or software standard that defines all the mandatory components used in an IMA architecture. However, parts of the API involved in an IMA network has been standardized, such as:
- ARINC 653ARINC 653ARINC 653 is a software specification for space and time partitioning in Safety-critical avionics Real-time operating systems...
for the software avionics partitioning constraints to the underlying Real-time operating system (RTOS)Real-time operating systemA real-time operating system is an operating system intended to serve real-time application requests.A key characteristic of a RTOS is the level of its consistency concerning the amount of time it takes to accept and complete an application's task; the variability is jitter...
, and the associated APIApplication programming interfaceAn application programming interface is a source code based specification intended to be used as an interface by software components to communicate with each other... - AFDXAvionics Full-Duplex Switched EthernetAvionics Full-Duplex Switched Ethernet is a data network for safety-critical applications that utilizes dedicated bandwidth while providing deterministic Quality of Service . AFDX is based on IEEE 802.3 Ethernet technology and utilizes commercial off-the-shelf components...
for the data network bus.
Certification considerations
A specificity of Integrated modular avionics in the certification process of avionics systems is that standards such as ARINC 653ARINC 653
ARINC 653 is a software specification for space and time partitioning in Safety-critical avionics Real-time operating systems...
, which form the basis of Integrated modular avionics today, allow each software building block of the overall Integrated modular avionics to be tested, validated, and qualified independently (up to a certain measure) by its supplier.
Examples of IMA architecture
Examples of aircraft avionics that uses IMA architecture :- Rafale : ThalesThales GroupThe Thales Group is a French electronics company delivering information systems and services for the aerospace, defense, transportation and security markets...
IMA architecture is called MDPU (Modular Data Processing Unit) - F-22 RaptorF-22 RaptorThe Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 Raptor is a single-seat, twin-engine fifth-generation supermaneuverable fighter aircraft that uses stealth technology. It was designed primarily as an air superiority fighter, but has additional capabilities that include ground attack, electronic warfare, and signals...
- Airbus A380Airbus A380The Airbus A380 is a double-deck, wide-body, four-engine jet airliner manufactured by the European corporation Airbus, a subsidiary of EADS. It is the largest passenger airliner in the world. Due to its size, many airports had to modify and improve facilities to accommodate it...
- Airbus A400MAirbus A400MThe Airbus A400M, also known as the Atlas, is a multi-national four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft. It was designed by Airbus Military as a tactical airlifter with strategic capabilities. The aircraft's maiden flight, originally planned for 2008, took place on 11 December 2009 in...
- Airbus A350Airbus A350The Airbus A350 is a family of long-range, wide-body jet airliners under development by European aircraft manufacturer Airbus.A consortium originally comprising European aerospace companies from the UK, France, Spain and West Germany, Airbus is now fully owned by EADS and since 2001 has been known...
- Boeing 787Boeing 787The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is a long-range, mid-size wide-body, twin-engine jet airliner developed by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It seats 210 to 290 passengers, depending on the variant. Boeing states that it is the company's most fuel-efficient airliner and the world's first major airliner to use...
: GE Aviation Systems (formerly Smiths AerospaceSmiths AerospaceGE Aviation Systems .Smiths Aerospace was formerly one of four business units of Smiths Group plc., an engineering company and constituent of the FTSE 100 share index. However, it was announced on January 15, 2007 that Smiths Group was divesting Smiths Aerospace to General Electric for US $4.8...
) IMA architecture is called Common Core System - DassaultDassault AviationDassault Aviation is a French aircraft manufacturer of military, regional and business jets, a subsidiary of Dassault Group.It was founded in 1930 by Marcel Bloch as Société des Avions Marcel Bloch or "MB". After World War II, Marcel Bloch changed his name to Marcel Dassault, and the name of the...
Falcon 900, Falcon 2000Dassault Falcon 2000|-See also:...
, and Falcon 7XDassault Falcon 7X|-See also:-External links:****...
: HoneywellHoneywellHoneywell International, Inc. is a major conglomerate company that produces a variety of consumer products, engineering services, and aerospace systems for a wide variety of customers, from private consumers to major corporations and governments....
's IMA architecture is called MAU (Modular Avionics Units), and the overall platform is called EASyEnhanced Avionics SystemEnhanced Avionics System is an Integrated Modular Avionics suite and Cockpit display system used on Dassault Falcon business jets since Falcon 900EX, and later used in other newer Falcon aircraft such as Falcon 2000EX and Falcon 7X.... - Sukhoi Superjet 100Sukhoi Superjet 100The Sukhoi Superjet 100 is a modern, fly-by-wire regional jet in the 75- to 95-seat category. With development starting in 2000, the plane was designed by the civil aircraft division of the Russian aerospace company Sukhoi in co-operation with Western partners...
- ATR 42ATR 42-Civil operators:The largest operators of the ATR-42 are FedEx Express, Airlinair, TRIP Linhas Aéreas,and Mexico City-based Aeromar respectively. Number of aircraft as of 2010:Some 70 other airlines operate smaller numbers of the type....
- ATR 72ATR 72The ATR 72 is a twin-engine turboprop short-haul regional airliner built by the French-Italian aircraft manufacturer ATR. ATR and Airbus are both built in Toulouse, and share resources and technology...
- BAE HawkBAE HawkThe BAE Systems Hawk is a British single-engine, advanced jet trainer aircraft. It first flew in 1974 as the Hawker Siddeley Hawk. The Hawk is used by the Royal Air Force, and other air forces, as either a trainer or a low-cost combat aircraft...
(Hawk 128 AJT)
See also
- Annex: Acronyms and abbreviations in avionics
- OSI modelOSI modelThe Open Systems Interconnection model is a product of the Open Systems Interconnection effort at the International Organization for Standardization. It is a prescription of characterizing and standardizing the functions of a communications system in terms of abstraction layers. Similar...
- Cockpit display systemCockpit display systemThe Cockpit display systems provides the visible portion of the Human Machine Interface by which aircrew manage the modern Glass cockpit and thus interface with the aircraft avionics.-History:...
- ARINC 653ARINC 653ARINC 653 is a software specification for space and time partitioning in Safety-critical avionics Real-time operating systems...
: a standard APIApplication programming interfaceAn application programming interface is a source code based specification intended to be used as an interface by software components to communicate with each other...
for avionics applications - Def Stan 00-74 : ASAACAllied Standards Avionics Architecture CouncilAllied Standards Avionics Architecture Council, or ASAAC, is an effort to define and validate a set of Open Architecture Standards for Avionics Architecture, particularly in the field of Integrated Modular Avionics....
standard for IMA Systems Software - STANAG 4626STANAG 4626STANAG 4626 is a NATO standard which define a set of Open Architecture Standards for Avionics Architecture, particularly in the field of Integrated Modular Avionics...
IMA Publications & Whitepapers
- "Transitioning from Federated Avionics Architectures to Integrated Modular Avionics", Christopher B. Watkins, Randy Walter, 26th Digital Avionics Systems Conference (DASC), Dallas, Texas, October 2007.
- "Advancing Open Standards in Integrated Modular Avionics: An Industry Analysis", Justin Littlefield-Lawwill, Ramanathan Viswanathan, 26th Digital Avionics Systems Conference (DASC), Dallas, Texas, October 2007.
- "Application of a Civil Integrated Modular Architecture to Military Transport Aircraft", R. Ramaker, W. Krug, W. Phebus, 26th Digital Avionics Systems Conference (DASC), Dallas, Texas, October 2007.
- "Integrating Modular Avionics: A New Role Emerges", Richard Garside, Joe F. Pighetti, 26th Digital Avionics Systems Conference (DASC), Dallas, Texas, October 2007.
- "Integrated Modular Avionics: Managing the Allocation of Shared Intersystem Resources", Christopher B. Watkins, 25th Digital Avionics Systems Conference (DASC), Portland, Oregon, October 2006.
- "Modular Verification: Testing a Subset of Integrated Modular Avionics in Isolation", Christopher B. Watkins, 25th Digital Avionics Systems Conference (DASC), Portland, Oregon, October 2006.
- "Certification Concerns with Integrated Modular Avionics (IMA) Projects", J. Lewis, L. Rierson, 22nd Digital Avionics Systems Conference (DASC), October 2003.