AWESUM®

The AWESUM® product line is purposely named and composed of a suite of integrated model-based tools that align with the lifecycle V model and components described by the RTCA’s DO 331 – Model-Based Development and Verification.

Unlike other model-based market toolsets, TES-SAVi AWESUM® unifies the lifecycle activities. Specifically, Systems and Software Design phase, the leading edge of the V Model, is handled by the Develop™ module. The Verify™ module handles the Software Implementation phase, the bottom side, and Verification phase, the following edge of the V Model. Additionally, AWESUM® model-based tool suite is especially designed to support the lifecycle activities required for most-stringent airworthiness qualification efforts with our Simulate™ and Qualify™ modules. These product modules are further described. 

Develop™ is an airworthiness software development environment that accelerates development and ensures traceability of high-level systems requirements through the lower-level requirements of software development phases. Develop™ imports, models, and automatically structures development projects from target device-level ICDs. System Engineers focus on core development tasks while Develop™ automatically generates device control code for common and modeled functions. All code in Develop™ directly reflects design requirements, establishing complete documentation traceability. Develop™ is used to create and manage the specification and design models (c.f., DO-331) throughout these important requirements and development lifecycle phases, i.e., the Product Definition or leading edge side of the V-model.

Verify™ is a software testing and verification system that accelerates and intensifies robustness testing of cyber-physical systems (CPS). Verify™ manages the verification lifecycle activities and assists in determining documentation and verification process completion, generates device design tests, executes tests that help ensure system functionality, and manages test results. Verify™ deepens testing by orders of magnitude compared to other industry tools with robustness testing, while dramatically reducing testing time with automating verification activities. By maintaining bi-directional tracing links between requirements, modeled capabilities, and software code, Verify™ enables full bi-directional traceability and enables changes to the requirements documentation to generate code changes on the fly. As such, models or code artifacts are no longer “throw-away”, but represent the current state of your product line.

Simulate™ brings systems level inputs into the AWESUM® tool chain, by adding a high fidelity virtual environment with outside stimulation from physical or simulated hardware. Simulate™ enables virtual operation of aircraft devices and platforms within their concept of operations, with real-time feedback through military line replace unit (LRU) equipment e.g., military communications. By basing all modeled factors on the target interfaces (i.e., ICD) and a platform concept of operations, Simulate validates and verifies intended operations of cyber-physical systems before expensive, real-world flight-testing occurs.

While wide experience with the use of simulation products used for obtaining certification under DO-178C/DO-331, remains unclear, it is believed that the acceptance of the use of model-derived simulation results for specifications and design acceptance will be a function of the fidelity of the models(s) (e.g., the system, its operating host/target operating system, flight models, and environment). Simulate™ brings these components together to represent an as-built system and model, and simulates operational characteristics of platforms, devices and their interactions with an environment. This area of study, SAVI – Systems Architecture Virtual Integration (see our AHS papers), remains to become an exciting development in systems engineering, as the objectives of SAVI become a reality.

Qualify™ is an integrated system for producing and managing airworthiness lifecycle documentation (CDRLs and DIDs) required to satisfy all DO-178C applicant objectives. Qualify™ automatically generates and allows for artifact engineering [TES Patent pending] of the software aspects of airborne system documentation required for airworthiness qualifications efforts applicable to airworthiness regulations, AR 70-62, AC 20-115C, DO-178C/DO-331, DO-278A, and the reuse guidelines of AC 20-148. In addition Qualify™ is designed to the produce the lifecycle documentation required for FACE™ conformance and verification efforts.