Innovative Approaches to Agile Software Development for Secure Modular Avionics Architectures

TECHNOLOGY AREA(S): Air Platform OBJECTIVE: Design and demonstrate rapid and agile approaches to secure modular avionics architectures, incorporating emerging standards-based avionics approaches such as Future Airborne Capabilities Environment (FACE), Integrated Modular Avionics (IMA), Hardware Open Systems Technologies (HOST), Open Mission Systems (OMS), Joint Common Architecture (JCA), System of Systems Architecture (SOSA), and/or other standards for reusable avionics. DESCRIPTION: Reusable and modular software drive improvements in commercial software development, but in the avionics domain, particularly in defense aviation, rapid and agile software development practices, innovations in Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE), Software Design Patterns, and improvements in software development and testing processes are limited. New research and the emergence of standards create new opportunities to innovate avionics architectures in ways to implement a highly aligned (to what?) and loosely coupled (in what way?) paradigm to achieve more modular software. Key among these innovations are true hardware portability across hosts to decouple the avionics software and hardware qualification processes and software modularity to allow rapid incorporation / replacement of new or modified capabilities. Aided by new tools, technologies, processes, and standards, small businesses have an opportunity to demonstrate innovative new approaches to developing avionics architectures. This includes, but is not limited to, approaches for software interfaces, partitioning, incorporation of MBSE practices and Architectural Centric Virtual Integration Processes (ACVIPs), automated software testing, data management, secure processing, encryption, and related technologies to improve the speed, quality, and security of avionics software development. FACE Units of Portability (UoPs) must be incorporated for acceptance; use of other open standards is encouraged. PHASE I: Design and demonstrate innovations for the overall Mission Systems Architecture (MSA) to allow rapid integration of new capabilities through FACE UoPs and similar emerging standards. Capabilities might include sensors, navigation, flight-related algorithms, and communications. Phase I Deliverables will include software design artifacts. PHASE II: Develop a prototype architecture suitable for a proof-of-concept demonstration on avionics hardware. The proof of concept will demonstrate; hardware portability across hosts, software modularity, and system security in a representative avionics architecture supplied by the sponsor. Phase II Deliverables will include functional software and completed designs. Capture of requirements, design, and verification results will support qualification and certification. PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS: The small business is expected to obtain funding from non-SBIR government and private sector sources to transition the technology into viable commercial products. Rapid and agile software development processes and architectures have broad application in the civil avionics domain, including commercial and private aircraft. The innovation of technology and processes in support of rapid fielding of avionics and improvements to the security of the aviation architecture will benefit the defense and commercial avionics industrial base, perhaps also crossing into automotive or other embedded software domains. Specific military applications may include FVL Capability Sets 1-5 and/or architecture upgrades to Apache, UAS platforms, UH-60M, CH-47, MH-60/47, Navy's MH-60R/S, Aircraft Survivability Equipment, Degraded Visual Environment, etc. REFERENCES: FACE Technical Standard, ARINC-653, POSIX, DO-178, DO-326, AR 70-62, MIL-STD-882E, SAE ARP 4754, SAE ARP 4761, Risk Management Framework KEYWORDS: FACE, IMA, JCA, HOST, OMS, SOSA, MBSE, Joint Common Architecture, Integrated Modular Avionics, Software Airworthiness, Mission Systems Architecture, Reusable Avionics Software, Model Based Systems Engineering, Avionics Software Development, Open Systems, Modular and Open Systems Architecture.