SCIENCE

Curtiss-Wright Controls Electronic Systems (CWCES) introduced the Versatile Flight Control Computer (VFCC), a high-performance, low-power conduction-cooled embedded processing system optimized for size, weight, power and cost (SWaP-C) in deployed airborne commercial and military applications. The rugged dual-processor clusters make the VFCC ideal for rotorcraft, manned and unmanned aircraft environments. The VFCC satisfies a wide array of demanding applications including flight controls, vibration management, engine controls, mission computing, actuator control, etc.

"The ARM processor's low-power design makes it the go-to processor for mobile devices," said David Dietz, vice president and general manager of Curtiss-Wright Controls Electronic Systems group. "Our Versatile Flight Control Computer provides designers of airborne computing systems with a qualified low-profile, lightweight, rugged flight control computer that includes a full complement of flexible I/O interfaces. It's ideal for simplifying avionics system design and reducing time to market for rugged military and aerospace deployed platforms."

CWCES's new VFCC combines a multi-processor architecture and small form factor design to optimize flexibility in world-wide commercial and military applications. The VFCC provides dual 600MHz ARM Cortex-A8 processor clusters, dual TMS320C64x+ DSP processors, and three Xilinx Spartan 6 FPGAs with 1GB of data to non-volatile memory. The fully enclosed unit supports a wide range of configurable off-the-shelf I/O interfaces including ARINC 825, RS-422/485, USB 2.0, ARINC 429 receive, ARINC 429 transmit, analog inputs with excitation outputs, synchronization discretes, discrete inputs/outputs, dedicated solenoid drivers and 10mA servo valve drivers. The system also includes system level built-in-test (BIT).