This year's conference theme is "45 Years of Support Innovation — Moving Forward at the Speed of Light." The conference focuses on the importance of technical innovation to advance next generation ATE system and solutions. Conference participants will be able to visit more than 250 exhibit booths and talk with military and aerospace experts about their needs and future directions of the industry. Attendees will also be able to preview new products from a variety of automated test vendors including Geotest.
Geotest booth events Geotest will introduce and demo several new and recent additions to its product line at booth #623. (You can read more about these products in the Product Highlight section in this issue of Test Connections.)- GX5960 — High performance PXI digital subsystem with per pin timing
- GX5295 — Dynamic digital I/O PXI card with per pin PMU
- ATEeasy 8.0 — New release of Geotest's test development and test executive software
- GX3501, GX3509, GX3510, and GX3540 — New expansion cards for the GX3500 FPGA PXI card
- GX1642 — 64-channel analog output PXI card
- GX3617 — Video generator PXI card
Our booth demos will give you the chance to see how these products can address your present and future ATE needs.
And as you explore the show floor, watch for the ways other organizations are using Geotest technology. Look for Geotest products at the following booths:- Astronics DME Corporation (booth # 809)
- EADS North America (booth #611)
- PXI System Alliance (booth #118)
When you visit the Geotest booth, be sure to get your Tech Trek stamp! Sponsored by Evaluation Engineering, the Tech Trek tour helps you make the most of your AUTOTESTCON experience and qualifies you for a special door prize. Join in the fun! Technical presentations The conference will feature more than 120 application-focused presentations, and Geotest experts will be among the presenters. - Modernizing Legacy Automated Test Systems for DoD Depots — David R. Carey (Tobyhanna Army Depot) and Michael Dewey
- An FPGA–Based Solution for Testing Legacy Video Displays — Dale Johnson
- Implementing A High Performance Digital Sub-System Using the PXI Architecture — David Manor
- Upgrading Optics Test Capabilities for Modern Weapon Systems — Lowell Parsons and Loofie Gutterman
Want to know more? Read the presentation abstracts in the box below, and plan to attend these enlightening sessions.
See you there! Join more than 1,500 attendees from the ATE community at the Marriott Orlando World Center Resort & Convention Center for an exciting and informative week of professional and social activities. You'll get the opportunity to interact with peers and industry professionals and discuss the issues facing the ATE community.
And don't forget to stop by booth 623 and talk with Geotest personnel about how we can help meet the changing needs of your applications.
Session: 2C1: Modernizing Legacy Automated Test Systems for DoD Depots David R. Carey (Tobyhanna Army Depot) and Michael Dewey (Geotest) Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2010 8 a.m.–9:45 a.m.
Tobyhanna Army Depot (TYAD) faces a growing challenge regarding legacy Automated Test Systems (ATS). These systems, which are critical to ensuring mission success, are increasingly difficult to maintain and repair as well as being costly to modernize or replace. According to the General Accounting Office, the Department of Defense (DOD) has estimated that it will spend billions of dollars to modernize their ATS inventory, much of which was acquired in the 1970s and 1980s. TYAD is in a similar situation. This paper reviews the requirements and issues associated with Depot ATS equipment and presents a strategy for modernization of ATS at TYAD that satisfies Army Regulation AR750-43 and the DOD's ATS acquisition policy.
Session: 2B1: An FPGA–Based Solution for Testing Legacy Video Displays Dale Johnson (Geotest) Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2010 8 a.m.–9:45 a.m.
The theme for IEEE AUTOTESTCON 2010 is "45 Years of Support Innovation — Moving Forward at the Speed of Light." This theme is particularly relevant for military ATE systems because it highlights the dichotomy of striving to maintain state-of-the-art testing capabilities, while also needing to support legacy technologies. The need to support decades-old technologies using test systems built around custom application-specific integrated circuit (ASICs), high-performance Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGAs), and logic levels whose peak-to-peak amplitudes were once considered "noise," presents unique challenges. Systems deployed in the last century used CRT monitors based on analog video transmission standards. This paper discusses the requirement for a PXI-based instrument that can generate simple color bar signals in National Television System Committee (NTSC) and Phase Alternate Line (PAL) formats to support the Katlanit Remote Controlled Weapons Station. By integrating an off-the-shelf PXI FPGA card with an intellectual property core available in the public domain, and a handful of commercially available support components, a cost-effective solution can be developed that supports the generation of both analog and digital video signals for testing CRT and LCD monitors.
Session: 2C3: Upgrading Optics Test Capabilities for Modern Weapon Systems Lowell Parsons (Geotest) and Loofie Gutterman (Geotest) Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2010 1:30 p.m.–3:15 p.m.
The terms obsolete and obsolescence are heard in almost every industry today. For suppliers and users of test systems facing product obsolescence, these terms represent both opportunities and challenges. For manufacturers of replacement items, they represent new business possibilities, and for those maintaining the systems, it can mean investment and expense. This paper presents the requirements and features associated with the development of an Infrared Target Simulator used by the Air Force to test IR Seekers at the O-level, Depot, and I- level. The present legacy test simulator was a stand alone, bulky, off axis design that became no longer producible due to obsolete hardware. The legacy system also included a Black Body source that utilized older technology. The replacement simulator utilizes the latest technology components with the Black Body source employing a low-temperature black body with the temperature controlled over the entire surface to within 0.01 degrees, allowing for a uniform emission of energy across the entire target even if the target is moving. In addition, the electronics of the simulator have been reduced by a factor of three while maintaining the overall performance provided by the legacy system. The result is a modular replacement target simulator that provides test capabilities for field, flight line and depot applications.
Session: 3B2: Implementing A High Performance Digital Sub-System Using the PXI Architecture David Manor (Geotest) Thursday, Sept. 16, 2010 10 a.m.–11:45 a.m.
High-performance digital sub-systems have been developed over the years using the GPIB and VXI architectures. However, with the availability of high-performance/high-density FPGAs and analog electronics, the implementation of high-performance digital functional test sub-systems has become a reality using the PXI architecture. The smaller form factor of PXI also presents some unique challenges for design teams developing these high-performance digital instruments. This paper discusses some major considerations and challenges when implementing high-performance digital instrumentation based on the PXI architecture.
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