Based on the AcQ Inducom LpDAS technology, the intelligent Remote Data Concentrator (iRDC) is a small, lightweight, conduction cooled embedded computer unit. It is suitable for aircraft installation or demonstrators and provides analog, ARINC-664/AFDX®, discrete and field bus interfaces. The iRDC can be used as both an intelligent as well as a non-intelligent platform. In an intelligent configuration a user application is hosted on the iRDC with access to the available I/O. The application platform interface is ARINC 653 part 4 (minimum subset) which makes it easy to write and port applications to the iRDC, for example SCADE® applications. In the non-intelligent configuration the I/O can be controlled or monitored by means of the AFDX® avionics data bus.

Configuration by means of XML-files makes the iRDC a flexible platform and a readily available solution to challenging protocol conversion, monitoring, data logging and control problems.

Architecture

At the heart of the iRDC, a user programmable PowerPC® processor runs the software application and controls the various interfaces and avionics data buses. Hardware interfaces are integrated into a FPGA in order to make full use of the processor capabilities for software applications. Furthermore the iRDC integrates an Analog to Digital Converter card, an AFDX® End System card and a Low Capacity AFDX® field bus card.

Software

PikeOS, a real-time operating system, is available on the iRDC platform. PikeOS supports ARINC-653 system partitioning and scheduling. The user application is separated from the platform software by means of partitioning and interfaces to platform software via the ARINC-653 part 4 API.

Future developments

The development of the iRDC platform is continuously in progress and additional features will be developed in the future. Other derived AFDX® implementations and CAN support for the iRDC will be available soon.

Features
> Configuration via XML files
> Full AFDX® E/S
> Low Capacity AFDX® field-bus support
> Analog and discrete I/O
> Hosting user created ARINC-653 part 4 applications (e.g. SCADE® applications)
> Conduction cooled