ASHLEY

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ASHLEY 1

ASHLEY

EU Programme: FP7

Coordination: THALES AVIONICS SAS

Participants: THALES AVIONICS SAS (FRANCE)|ARTTIC (FRANCE)|AIRBUS OPERATIONS SAS (FRANCE)|AIRBUS OPERATIONS GMBH (GERMANY)|Airbus Operations Limited (UNITED KINGDOM)|DIEHL AEROSPACE GMBH (GERMANY)|NORD-MICRO GMBH & CO OHG (GERMANY)|GMVIS SKYSOFT SA (PORTUGAL)|STIFTELSEN SINTEF (NORWAY)|ACQ INDUCOM (NETHERLANDS) |DASSAULT AVIATION SA (FRANCE)|EATON AEROSPACE LIMITED (UNITED KINGDOM)|GE AVIATION SYSTEMS LTD (UNITED KINGDOM)|STATE RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF AVIATION SYSTEMS (RUSSIAN FEDERATION) |HS ELEKTRONIK SYSTEME GMBH (GERMANY) |ISQ (PORTUGAL)|MESSIER-BUGATTI-DOWTY SA (FRANCE) |ALENIA AERMACCHI SPA (ITALY) |STICHTING NATIONAAL LUCHT- EN RUIMTEVAARTLABORATORIUM (NETHERLANDS) |OXSENSIS LIMITED (UNITED KINGDOM)|UNIVERSITA DELLA SVIZZERA ITALIANA (SWITZERLAND)|SAAB AKTIEBOLAG (SWEDEN)|SAFRAN ELECTRONICS & DEFENSE (FRANCE)|SYSGO AG (GERMANY)|GTD SISTEMAS DE INFORMACION SA (SPAIN)|SMART FIBRES LTD (UNITED KINGDOM)|TELETEL TECHNOLOGIA TILEPIKOINONION KAI PLIROFORIKIS ANONYMI EMPORIKI VIOMICHANIKI ETAIREIA (GREECE)|TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITAET HAMBURG-HARBURG (GERMANY)|ZODIAC AEROTECHNICS SAS (FRANCE)|SELEX ES SPA (ITALY)|FACHHOCHSCHULE ZENTRALSCHWEIZ - HOCHSCHULE LUZERN (SWITZERLAND)|LIEBHERR AEROSPACE TOULOUSE SAS (FRANCE)|TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITAT BRAUNSCHWEIG (GERMANY)|FRAUNHOFER GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FORDERUNG DER ANGEWANDTEN FORSCHUNG EV (GERMANY)|AIRBUS GROUP SAS (FRANCE)|IGUASSU SOFTWARE SYSTEMS AS (CZECH REPUBLIC)|EATON LIMITED (UNITED KINGDOM)|LEONARDO - FINMECCANICA SPA (ITALY)

Starting Year:  2013 

Duration: 2017

website: http://www.ashleyproject.eu/

ISQ Contact: id@isq.pt

Areas: R&D and Innovation

Acronym: ASHLEY

Project Name: ASHLEY – Avionics Systems Hosted on a distributed modular electronics Large scale dEmonstrator for multiple tYpe of aircraft 

Grant agreement no: 605442

Total cost: 39,8 M€

Total funding:  22,9 M€

OBJECTIVES: 

In search for a more competitive, multiple types of aircrafts, IMA (Integrated Modular Avionics) based, avionics platform solution, the European aerospace industry has recently initiated the IMA2G (Integrated Modular Avionics 2nd generation) paradigm thanks to the EC funded SCARLETT project.

This latter successfully validated a first underlying set of IMA2G concepts (Separate Core Processing resources from I/O resources, introduce resource segments typology of electronics solutions, provide platform services layer to function supplier etc.), thus creating the expected DME (Distributed Modular Electronics) breakthrough to lay  IMA2G solid rock foundations.

To make the most of DME potential, ASHLEY will carry out research on top of the existing state-of- the-art with the following objectives:

  • Objective 1: To extend the DME concept and set of components over the Open World and Cabin aircraft domains for large aircrafts, regional aircrafts and business jets.
  • Objective 2: To propose DME remote resources solutions for Secondary Power Distribution and Time Criticality aircraft systems.
  • Objective 3: To evaluate the benefits of photonics and smart interfaces to sensors and actuators to increase performances of some avionics systems.
  • Objective 4: To provide Database Services covering both the avionics world and open world to allow for a higher flexibility in avionics systems design.
  • Objective 5: To decrease avionics (multi-domains) function overall design time thanks to a more system designer oriented tool chain.

Objective 6: To validate the ASHLEY advanced state of the art by implementing a large scale demonstrator consisting of a set of representative aircraft systems onto the DME extended

EXPECTED RESULTS: 

The ASHLEY project will have a strong impact on the European industrial and academic sectors by developing creative and innovation-oriented work in tomorrow’s avionics. Hence, ASHLEY will foster European development and increase the competitiveness of European companies including academia and SMEs, which play a fundamental role in European economy.

ASHLEY standardised approach to DME components and interfaces permits new advances in technology to be integrated much faster than was traditionally possible. This will lead to a reduction in the development time and NRC’s for the Avionics.

ASHLEY expects to accelerate and improve the development of novel avionics products, thus increasing the overall software development efficiency thanks to:

  • The innovative and flexible IMA2G Tooling framework to secure the DME resources allocation and configuration activities during design phase,
  • New Extended DME platform capabilities such as: Database server concept to promote standardized data access for avionics functions, Use of generic applicative middleware common toa large set of avionics functions, More digital aircraft through the use of Smart component, new cabinet compliant remote component solutions especially those dedicated to secondary power management.
  • Certification activities to minimise possible showstoppers to these innovations. The flexibility offered by the DME concept will also permit parallel development due to the ability to adapt to late changes, and the knowledge that the interfaces are fully defined and mature It should bring software development and certification costs reductions by 20-30% compare to state-of the art solutions.
  • Applying standardised DME components and interfaces developed within ASHLEY to newAircraft domains (AISD and Cabin utility), will further reduce the spares holding for Airlines, reduce maintenance training, and allow easier upgrades to permit new functionality to be added without significant further development costs.

ASHLEY solutions focus on:

  • Extension of well proven benefits of IMA to other aircraft domains (i.e. cabin utility and open world domains)
  • Extension of DME concept to secondary power distribution to increase energy efficiency.

Expectations are 20-30% reduction of weight, electronics volume, and recurring cost, with operational benefits for Airlines to support operations and maintenance.

The flexibility inherent in the standardised DME concept developed in ASHLEY will allow future Aircraft to adapt to new Infrastructures, this taking advantage of new Airport and ATM developments.

Reducing significantly the needed volume and weight of electronics:

  • ASHLEY is to work the remote electronics cabinet approach for both secondary power generation and remote critical electronics,
  • ASHLEY is to extend IMA benefits to overaircraft domains,
  • To reduce cabling, ASHLEY will work towards a more digital aircraft thanks to its efforts on smart components as well as data over power.

By looking at cabin domain, ASHLEY expects to prove the capability of the DME concept and resources to adapt to this domain.

This document is produced under the Grant Agreement 605442. It is the property of the ASHLEY consortium and shall not be distributed or reproduced without the formal approval of the ASHLEY Steering Committee.