Instrumentation Monthly Test | Measurement | Control
Dotstar Design has been chosen to design and develop a replacement software test platform for the Helicopter division of Airbus – the largest aeronautics and space company in Europe. 
Dotstar is tasked with replacing an obsolete Software Test Bench that Airbus need to be able to use for at least 10 more years.
This will involve custom designed hardware to be compatible with the old hardware, but using modern components wherever possible – to ensure that it can be produced for many years to come. Dotstar will also provide firmware and Device drivers to allow the new system to directly replace the obsolete one.
Dotstar are basing the design around a Xilinx Artix-7 FPGA and will be creating the firmware for this, along with Device drivers for Linux and a legacy version of SunOS.
Airbus will then be able to run their existing software applications under a Software emulation of SunOS running on a Linux PC.
The combination of custom hardware, firmware and software design all performed by one vendor, has been selected to ensure a smooth transition from the elderly system to the new one with minimal disruption.
