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For over ten years, members of the advanced space computing (ASC) group have been successfully conducting a variety of research projects in computer engineering that target the needs of advanced aerospace and space platforms. These projects have been funded by a number of organizations, such as Honeywell, ONR, Rockwell Collins, and NAWC. Below is a summary of projects currently active in the group.

Virtual Prototyping of Advanced Space System Architectures based on RapidIO

Space-Based Radar (SBR) algorithms such as Ground Moving Target Indicator (GMTI) and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) have extremely high network throughput and processing requirements and cannot be efficiently executed using the conventional embedded processing and network capabilities of today's space systems. In order to satisfy these bandwidth requirements, we and our sponsors are proposing new systems based on a radiation-hardened version of the RapidIO (RIO) embedded systems interconnect. In the first year of this project (CY2004), researchers in the ASC Group at the University of Florida performed an investigation of RIO-based GMTI and SAR systems through simulation-based analysis of the algorithms themselves as well as through the study of node-level, switch-level, board-level, and system-level architectural parameters that influence the performance of the algorithm. In the current phase of this project, we are focusing on four key tasks. The first is a sensitivity analysis of various system simulation parameters for RIO-based space systems and applications. The second task is to develop an Altia-based graphical demo for GMTI similar to the one we developed for SAR in Fall 2004. The third task is to design, construct, and evaluate a small experimental RapidIO testbed, and then use the results to better calibrate our simulation models. The fourth and most significant task is a preliminary investigation of fault tolerance issues and tradeoffs in RapidIO-based space systems and the development and evaluation of several candidate system architectures. More information is available here.

Fault-Tolerant HPC Infrastructure for Advanced Space Computing

Space-based radar (SBR), multi-spectral imaging, and other high-performance applications are creating orders of magnitude more data than limited-bandwidth satellite downlinks can support. As such, mission planners are demanding advanced space computing with more onboard payload processing to improve autonomous operations and reduce the amount of data sent over downlinks. Future platforms will need to be inexpensive, flexible, scalable, and able to support reduced development schedules while saving size, weight, power, etc. In addressing these challenges, Honeywell has designed a new satellite payload architecture that features general-purpose processors, memory, RapidIO, and FPGAs for spaceborne HPC with fault-tolerant computing and hardware-reconfigurable processing, among other components. The platform will feature Honeywell's novel approach known as environmentally-adaptive fault-tolerant computing (EAFTC) that provides adaptive fault tolerance with minimal overhead. The future goal for this platform is to allow scientists to migrate HPC application code developed on ground-based HPC systems to a satellite platform of up to several hundred computational nodes in a seamless fashion. In direct support of this initiative, the primary goal of our new project is to conduct applied research and determine the optimal approach to challenges in system architecture, system management and services, and application development support for advanced space computing and help produce a functional prototype and test application for dual-paradigm HPC in space, featuring both conventional and reconfigurable computing. More information is available here.

WDM Fiber-Optic Network Architecture Analysis, Modeling, Optimization and Demonstration for Aerospace Platforms

This new project will undertake the research, design, and development of key concepts, tools, and technologies for local-area optical networking, based on wave-division multiplexing, specifically targeted towards existing and emerging requirements for communication networks in advanced aerospace platforms. In the first phase of the project, the emphasis will be on the identification and integration of disparate requirements, the development and analysis of computer-based simulation models for candidate topologies and control methodologies, the determination of key metrics of performance, scalability, dependability, power, etc., and optionally the modeling and mapping of one or more legacy and emerging network protocols into the simulation environment. The results from this phase will lay the foundation for follow-on phases where candidate system and subsystem architectures will be developed and evaluated via advanced techniques in rapid virtual prototyping, network node requirements will be determined, and node and small-scale network prototypes will be constructed to demonstrate efficacy and properties of the approach in meeting the needs of advanced Navy aerospace systems.