The nEUROn is an experimental

UCAV program led by Dassault

Aviation in partnership with several

European companies including

Saab Aerosystems, Alenia

Aermacchi and EADS CASA.

The System Acra KAM-500 data acquisition

units (DAUs) are integrated into the

nEUROn’s Ethernet distributed FTI

system for analog sensor data

acquisition and to view real-time

video from 3 cameras.

The Results • Compact and lightweight DAUs

yielding more flight test

measurements

• Reliable accurate data

delivered to the onboard and

ground test systems

• Flexible Ethernet based video

monitoring system

Dassault instruments the

nEUROn UCAV with Acra

KAM-500 data acquisition

HC-130H

COMMERCIAL OFF-THE-SHELF

MODULAR DESIGN

The System Six KAM-500 DAUs are integrated into the distributed system to acquire • Pressure

• Temperature • Video The KAM-500 was chosen because of its small footprint. Especially important on the nEUROn, the KAM-500’s compact design and MIL-STD ruggedness means it can

be located anywhere on the airframe, even in the severe environment of the internal bay.

A six user slot Acra KAM- 500 DAU with a video acquisition module and Ethernet encoder is connected to 3 cameras in the weapons bay.

The video module can manage up to three video input signals which are packaged in Ethernet frames by the encoder and sent over a data link to the Ground Control Station.

Acra KAM-500

Lowers Risk Proven on every platform type in

all environmental conditions

COTS hardware with short delivery

times

Reduces Cost of Ownership Reduced inventory of spares due

to common product line

Lower installation, setup and

maintenance requirements

Modular design greatly extends

system lifetime

FTI by Design Designed to minimize the data

transfer time from sensor to screen

Guaranteed predictable data

Simultaneous sampling occurs

across the complete system

COMPACT &

LIGHTWEIGHT

“ We have been using

Acra equipment for over

10 years and it always

produces accurate,

reliable data on time.

The Results I

Compact and lightweight DAUs yielding more flight

test measurements

The KAM-500’s compact design and MIL-STD

ruggedness meant the DAUs could be located in

spaces where alternative DAU’s would not have

fit.

• The overall weight allocation for FTI was less than

90kgs

• The compact size enabled Dassault to get more

measurements onto the platform than would have

been possible with any other system

• More measurements means better data for

designers which is the goal of the platform

• The compact size of the KAM-500 opened up

additional possible locations on the platform for

the DAU’s thus enabling easier and more flexible

system design

“ Jean Pierre Rouby

Dassault Aviation, Istres,

France

The compact size of the

KAM-500 DAU enables

us to get more

measurements onto the

platform than would be

possible with any other

system.

“

The Results II

Reliable accurate data delivered on time to

the onboard and ground flight test systems

The KAM-500 data acquisition is based on a simple and

robust concept - the ‘acquisition cycle’.

• Finite state machines are implemented on fixed

function FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Arrays),

not software dependent microprocessors

• The FPGA is configured to repeatedly perform the

same set of actions so that hardware performs

reliably and in a completely deterministic manner

This combined with the high performance achieved

using an all digital backplane means reliable accurate

data is delivered on time to the nEUROn onboard and

ground segments.

“

WORKS ONCE

WORKS ALWAYS

HIGH QUALITY DATA

FLIGHT AFTER FLIGHT

The Results III

A low risk, flexible and reusable flight test

instrumentation system

At the early stages of system design an alternate

approach to video monitoring was planned.

Acra was asked if it could accommodate the

requirements.

The flexibility of the KAM-500 meant the unique

needs of the program could be quickly satisfied

with COTS hardware.

The solution was the installation of an Acra 6U

KAM- 500 DAU with a video acquisition module

and an Ethernet encoder, connected to the

three FTI cameras

For more information visit

www.cwc-ae.com

Curtiss-Wright Controls Avionics & Electronics

cwc-ae@curtisswright.com

665 North Baldwin Park Boulevard City of Industry, CA 91746, USA

Phone: 626-851-3100

Landscape House, Landscape Road Dublin 14, Ireland Phone: +353-1295-1264