Lifecycle Upgrade
ZedaSoft began work with the FAA Civil Aerospace Medical Institute (CAMI) in 2007 with a lifecycle upgrade to their Advanced General Aviation Research Simulator (AGARS). This included the rehosting of existing simulation models from Silicon Graphics IRIX based systems to Linux running on PC-based server hardware. The simulator system was rehosted to ZedaSoft’s CBA® for Simulation, which is a patented object-oriented Java-based simulation runtime framework.
The rehost provided an effective bridge to a modern Java based architecture which can more easily support new research initiatives such glass cockpit aircraft instrumentation. The software was integrated into the existing Piper Malibu cockpit, while providing new cockpit and EOS display hardware built on an architecture that allows future aircraft-to-aircraft networking and role playing. MVRsimulation® VRSG 5 satellite imagery-based out-the-window visual scene system was also integrated to replace the original Performer® based system. New weather and lighting systems have been modeled in addition to the core airport modeling and instrumentation.
In 2013, Helmet Mounted Display (HMD) symbology for the fixed and rotary wing platforms was initially added to AGARS. The system allowed the FAA to assemble custom displays from a wide variety of components, including data fields and scales, wireframe and textured terrain databases, ground-based feature markers, and highway-in-the-sky guidance. A plug-in infrastructure allows addition of future graphics capabilities with minimal effort. Pluggable data adapters allow the system to be used with all FAA research simulators. The HMD software is integrated with an InterSense IS-900 6DOF head-tracker and initially shown through an existing Kaiser HMD device, with additional manufacturer devices to be tested in the future.
As a continuation of the lifecycle upgrades, a Garmin OFP emulator (G1000) was integrated as an example of an Electronic Flight Instrumentation System (EFIS). The Garmin (G1000) emulator runs the Garmin cockpit operational flight program (OFP) software on a single Windows computer and drives two of the three touch screens present in the FAA’s AGARS reconfigurable cockpit. The OFP emulator provides the network sockets to simulate the various aircraft buses utilized in their system. ZedaSoft developed CBA plug-ins to simulate the Air Data Computer (ADC), Attitude Heading Reference System (AHRS) and other Garmin subsystems as they would be driven in a real aircraft. This effort also integrated the existing AGARS autopilot and control loader flight control systems with the Garmin autopilot functions.
