July 13, 2010 08:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time
SAN DIEGO and NATICK, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–MathWorks today announced that TriVector Services used Model-Based Design to reduce the validation time on design of communication buses for NASA’s Ares I rocket by more than one year. TriVector used MathWorks products to create a system model to serve as an executable specification throughout development. The model was used to analyze timing performance and to validate system requirements before committing to hardware, reducing the overall task duration for timing analysis by 60%.
“TriVector’s ability to use Model-Based Design to analyze communication between the architecture’s avionics systems was critical to the success of verifying the Ares I communications system performance.”
TriVector engineers used Simulink, Stateflow and SimEvents to develop system-level models of the Ares I internal communication systems. Simulating these systems allowed engineers to assess end-to-end latencies by tracing each packet from its source to its destination to verify that it was delivered within the time frame required. The team then used MATLAB to post process the simulation results, to create plots of packet latency, and to visualize and communicate results easily. The team has completed the initial timing analysis for more than a dozen communications buses in the First and Upper Stages of Ares I.
The ability to model and test the system through simulation prior to hardware development has reduced verification time by over a year. The simulation-based approach also allowed errors to be caught that would have been much more difficult to discover using traditional spreadsheet-based approaches.
“Our SimEvents model for Ares I tracks delivery time for approximately 20,000 packets per second across multiple buses, enabling us to validate requirements and identify issues with the timing requirements prior to hardware design,” said Kerry Alexander at TriVector Services. “Model-Based Design helped us model the system based solely on requirements and graphically represent the analysis results to prove that timing requirements could be met.”
“Model-Based Design remains critical as aerospace engineers develop, verify, and certify high-integrity embedded systems,” said Jon Friedman, aerospace & defense industry marketing manager at MathWorks. “TriVector’s ability to use Model-Based Design to analyze communication between the architecture’s avionics systems was critical to the success of verifying the Ares I communications system performance.”
About TriVector Services, Inc.
TriVector provides proven engineering experience in the development of space-flight vehicles and payloads. Our expertise has been developed through years of hands-on application of aerospace engineering fundamentals and partnership with multiple government agencies including NASA, the United States Air Force, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
TriVector’s expertise in the development of space systems includes the International Space Station Nodes 2 and 3, the Ares I Crew Launch Vehicle, the Space Shuttle External Tank and Solid Rocket Booster, and the X-37 Approach and Landing Test Vehicle.
For additional information, visit: trivector.us/cms.
About MathWorks
MathWorks is the leading developer of mathematical computing software. MATLAB, the language of technical computing, is a programming environment for algorithm development, data analysis, visualization, and numeric computation. Simulink is a graphical environment for simulation and Model-Based Design of multi-domain dynamic and embedded systems. Engineers and scientists worldwide rely on these product families to accelerate the pace of discovery, innovation, and development in automotive, aerospace, electronics, financial services, biotech-pharmaceutical, and other industries. MathWorks products are also fundamental teaching and research tools in the world’s universities and learning institutions. Founded in 1984, MathWorks employs more than 2200 people in 15 countries, with headquarters in Natick, Massachusetts, USA.
For additional information, visit www.mathworks.com.
