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 Universal COTS Interfaces
Industrial Consortium for the Development of a Universal COTS Environmental Interface Standard By George S. Nitschke THE PROBLEMCommercial off-the-shelf (COTS) electronics are being utilized on military platforms to leverage technology growth and maximize affordability. The use of COTS products on MIL platforms is no longer the "way of the future," rather, it is the "here and now." However, the environmental interface requirements for typical COTS electronics are far less robust than the requirements for interfaces provided by typical military platforms. Table I illustrates the major environmental disconnects. While in some cases the platform itself will partially bridge the interface disconnects, e.g., for equipment mounted within a pressurized hull, there will be "coffin corner" operational and environmental areas where COTS requirements will conflict with a MIL platform’s environmental envelope. These environmental interface disconnects can be partially, and in some cases completely, mitigated by a combination of the following: (1) procuring electronics with increased ruggedness (e.g. ROTS); (2) making the less rugged COTS products more rugged (e.g., with conformal coatings or stiffeners); and (3) using platform-specific, unique operating procedures to protect the COTS products within the military-grade environments. With option 1 also comes increased costs and a decreased supplier/technology base, as most suppliers and advancements are targeted towards the office-level environment. Option 2 increases costs–for example, from extra manufacturing and qualification testing–and adds complexity arising from configuration control and cross-vendor sourcing. Option 3 requires in-depth coordination with each proposed platform’s operators and maintainers in order to develop new operating procedures, while complicating training and support equipment requirements. None of the three stated options, however, ensures the universal environmental integration, or envirogration, of COTS products across a variety of military platforms. The use of these options to date has led to ad hoc, point solutions, which are not conducive to the seamless insertion of COTS technologies. THE SOLUTION The proposed solution, an Open COTS Environmental Interface (OCEI), is conceptualized in Figure 1. The box is meant to illustrate a military interface that is standard in size, mounting, cooling, and power interfaces, e.g., ARINC. Externally, the installation would match the typical MIL specifications in Table I. The COTS electronics are mounted inside the box along with the requisite Enabling Mechanical System(s) (EMS). The EMS maintains a COTS-friendly environment within the box, i.e., the typical COTS specifications of Table I. The EMS would be plug-n-play, dependent upon the environmental dictates of the particular installation, e.g., to provide added temperature control. The OCEI will enable COTS-populated boxes to be implemented across a wide variety of military platforms while avoiding costly, and potentially defeating, platform-specific envirogration issues. The OCEI can be controlled using standards-based criteria, i.e., an OCEI STD. The OCEI STD can be structured to be independent of platform, environment, or customer, thereby allowing for the seamless envirogration of COTS products into military platforms. Its interface will be independently qualified, thereby allowing the COTS hardware to be inserted as pre-qualified hardware, facilitating streamlined technology insertion and near effortless cyclic upgrades. The OCEI STD can lead to a common sustainment scheme, freeing resources for improving military systems versus sustaining them. As COTS products proliferate, the utility of the OCEI STD will increase, to the mutual advantage of industry and government. Since commercial aviation standards are typically more stringent than those for office-environment COTS products, e.g., RTCA/DO-160D, the OCEI STD will also be useful to commercial fleet manufacturers and operators, as they are also working to incorporate COTS technologies. THE APPROACH We propose that a consortium be organized under the Government Electronics and Information Technology Association (GEIA), a component of the Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA), for the purpose of developing an OCEI STD and facilitating its implementation. The consortium will operate as an independent body seeking a win-win COTS envirogration solution for industry (the provider) and government (the customer). The purpose of the consortium will be to develop a consensus-based OCEI STD that will truly enable the seamless insertion of COTS technologies into MIL platforms. The OCEI STD will be universal–that is, platform independent–and will be controlled using standards-based methods and criteria. The consortium membership will be initialized from a balanced group of prime contractors, subcontractors, vendors, and customers who are, or will be, envirograting COTS products into military platforms. On 22 June 2000, at their Washington, D.C. headquarters, the GEIA hosted a kick-off meeting for the companies that had expressed an interest in the OCEI. (For information contact Chris Denham, 703-907-7568.) Discussions about the next steps for forming the OCEI consortium are ongoing. The MITRE Corporation continues to provide technical participation in the ongoing activities of OCEI development. Table I: Comparison of Typical COTS and Airborne Military Environments
Figure 1: Conceptual Universal COTS Environmental Interface (UCEI) For more information, please contact George Nitschke using the employee directory. |
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MITRE’s
George S. Nitschke, a senior mechanical engineer, presented the UCEI concept
at the Universal COTS Environmental Interface (UCEI) Consortium Kick-Off
Meeting on 22 June 2000. His paper, outlining the problems faced by the
military trying to leverage technology growth while maximizing affordability,
can be read below. Nitschke posits a solution and an approach to implementing
it.