Automated Configuration Generation and Validation for ARINC 653 Compliant Avionics Architectures

Abstract

The development of Integrated Modular Avionics (IMA) has revolutionized the avionics industry by allowing multiple functions to be present on the same General Processing Module instead of a single function per Line-Replaceable Unit in federated architectures. However, the strict restrictions and expensive verification processes associated with IMA platforms have led to the establishing of standards and guidelines to reduce development and verification costs and time. One such standard is the ARINC 653 Standard, which outlines, amongst others, the necessary data for specifying any ARINC 653 configuration. This paper proposes a model-driven approach for the automated configuration, verification, and validation of ARINC 653-compliant avionics architectures. The approach involves using System Composer and Simulink for modeling and configuring the system, as well as generating ARINC 653-compliant configurations in XML format. The paper exemplifies an expandable pattern for modeling and automatically configuring ARINC 653-compliant systems, highlighting the potential for system verification and validation at both the design and software implementation stages. The results show that Model-Driven Engineering of ARINC 653-compliant avionics architectures is a viable way to isolate parts of the engineering process and increase the automation and validity of the system.