API proposes to develop a comprehensive toolkit for the construction of real-time diagnostics of aerospace systems. The toolkit includes modular ruggedized hardware components, based upon a COTS design, scalable from 400MFLOPS to 40 GFLOPS or more. Hermetically sealed, thermal managed processors in a small form factor will enable installation in hostile, confined spaces. A software tool, based upon API?s system integration tool, will permit rapid specification of several aspects of diagnostics tasks, including signal extraction, analysis, statistical analysis, and diagnostics logic. Designs will be specified in a format compatible with diagnostics experts, requiring little knowledge of DSP or real-time systems. A library of software components will enable rapid assembly of diagnostics systems, with the tool synthesizing the required real-time code. The concepts will be illustrated with several demonstration applications. POTENTIAL COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS We have first-hand experience with the target users of this technology, and have received direct requests for these capabilities. We have provided similar capabilities in the laboratory, and have fielded instrumentation and health monitoring systems at Rolls-Royce/Allison engines, General Electric Aircraft Engines, NASA MSFC and Stennis Flight Center, and USAF/AEDC. These systems are laboratory only use, with the exception of some of our work with NASA/MSFC which is part of the Integrated Vehicle Health Monitoring program for SSME in-flight monitoring. A significant opportunity exists to make the systems flight-capable for testing of new systems. This is a niche market, with estimated potential sales of $2-3M over a period of 3 years. A much greater potential exists for condition-based monitoring of aircraft engines. Significant unnecessary expenditures result from conservative maintenance schedules, handling worst case scenarios. Condition-based monitoring can continually compute the health and prognosis of an engine, provided that sufficient computational hardware is available. We estimate this market in excess of $40M per year. There is a compelling reason for the industry to invest in this technology, with individual airlines spending in excess of $2B per year for maintenance.
