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Cockpit Demo with IGLOO2-based FireCore IP node at SAE WG meeting in Baltimore, MD

DapTechnology successfully demoed an enhanced version of its highly regarded AS5643 Cockpit Demo at the SAE Mil1394 WG meeting in Baltimore, MD. The revised setup now includes the much anticipated addition of IEEE-1394 devices based on an IGLOO2 FPGA node implementation. Furthermore, the demo now features cross-platform IEEE-1394 and AS5643 communication interoperability between multi-vendor FPGAs as well as off-the-shelf silicon.

IGLOO2, S100/S200, cross-platform interconnectivity

The demo marked a first-time public presentation of three milestone accomplishments in the company's IP continued development program:

  • successful porting of DapTechnology's FireCore GPLink IP solution to Microsemi IGLOO2 
  • reliable interconnectivity between FireCore GPLink running on both Microsemi IGLOO2 and Xilinx Artix FPGA platforms as well as off the shelf TI silicon 
  • reliable connectivity and data exchange at S100 and S200 network speeds in a crossplatform FPGA environment

 

All three elements are considered critical for future growth of the AS5643 technology. They strongly support the case for usage of FPGAs in A&D programs, add very much required network speeds and demonstrate robustness of the IEEE-1394 node connectivity.

The AS5643 Cockpit Demo was successfully presented by DapTechnology's Director of Engineering, Jeroen de Zoeten.

An ideal showcase platform

DapTechnology's AS5643 Cockpit Demo again proved to be an ideal platform to showcase the achievements mentioned above. Since the demo is well defined by its AS5643 Slash sheet and Communication ICD, it is possible to have different alternative implementations for each node in the network on DapTechnology products or products from other vendors. The demo embodies a multi-node network with typical system components (sensors, actuators and a vehicle management device) and is perfectly suited for presenting AS5643 communication. For this second generation of the demo setup the embedded processing and  I/O interface resources on specific nodes were upgraded to run on different FPGA platforms. This marks a new milestone for crossplatform IEEE-1394 IP core compatibility as well device interoperability.

An on-going process

At DapTechnology we envision that the AS5643 Cockpit demo is that it is never finished. Just like the AS5643 handbook is a work in progress to further gather real-world experiences and lessons learned, we would like to continue adding new features and demonstration aspects to this reference platform. We invite you as an end-user to provide us with any feedback or questions you have so we can incorporate that into the demo.

A reference platform

The AS5643 Cockpit Demo can not only be used for learning AS5643 technology as it is today, but it could also be used as a tool for further discussions about improvements to the existing AS5643 specification. And it can be used as a testing and demonstration platform for new and innovative system and device sub-components as demonstrated in the demo.