PhD / CIFRE - Serialization of avionics systems simulation application (m/f)

Job description

Job Description:

Airbus Commercial Aircraft is looking for a PhD/CIFRE (f/m) to pave the way to optimized computing resources within our avionics systems modeling & simulation team based in Toulouse, France.

Context 

Commercial aircrafts rely on complex systems deeply integrated together. The critical avionics subset is the most important one, which needs an exhaustive validation coverage test policy. The future trend is to incorporate autonomous capacities, based on artificial intelligence and modern hardware architectures, in order to increase aircraft performances during all flight phases. Safety and certification push the need of highly increasing the number of tests, for the validation of the overall avionics subsystem. 

Costs (RC and NRC), and lead time to ensure availability of real equipment make this challenge impossible to obtain through classical test benches installations. Virtualization to set up fully computed simulations is a promising answer. However, keeping the same architecture as the Aircraft - asynchronous and real time - remains an obvious limitation even for fully virtual benches: one test has the same duration as it would have taken with real equipment. With such architectures, the only manner to increase test capacities is to multiply the number of simulation platforms while test duration is strictly equal to the real duration of the test procedure. 

Complying with real time requirements forces a CPU duty cycle strictly inferior to 100%. In other words, real time simulated platforms always have a certain amount of computation spare time. As those architectures copy the real Aircraft, they contain hundreds of real time models which are exchanging thousands of avionics data. Such platforms are distributed amongst several machines based on multi cores CPUs (16 to 32). The execution uses many real time tasks for which the duty cycle is obviously inferior to 100%. 

The overall purpose of this subject is to determine a theoretical process that reduces as much as possible the number of tasks in order to get a CPU duty cycle of 100%, while relaxing the real time requirement. 

The objectives of the research and CIFRE / PhD are as follows:

· 
to determine large models and data dependencies, 

· 
to integrate time propagation of avionics exchange (e.g. A429 word speed), 

· 
to improve the duty cycle without the constraint of respecting the real time requirement,

· 
Finally to pave the way of a methodology turning a complex asynchronous real time platform into an “as much as possible” serialized and non real time platform. 

The strict respect of the results of such platforms compared to real time based equivalents is the first requirement to prove. 

Phase 1

State-of-the art and establishment of a validation strategy.

The essential objective of this first phase is to identify potential models and data dependencies and how to validate the solution proposed to improve duty cycle usage while preserving the fidelity of the simulation.

Phase 2

Exploratory experimental strategies

The overall objective being to – ideally - determine strategies to isolate the loops and to propose solutions (containers, nodes…) for their execution.

Phase 3

Detailed analysis and understanding of the serialization mechanism.

The objective will be to develop an automatic method which, from a given real time sequence, provides the equivalent serialized sequence .

What can you expect?

Within Airbus, you will join the avionics systems Modelling & Simulation team based in Toulouse, France. International, multicultural and composed of highly specialised engineers, the team develops avionics simulation products covering most of the cycle of development, from design phases to full flight simulator devices for crew training.

Your boarding pass:

· 
Real time computing architectures

· 
Usual avionics protocols knowledge (ARINC 429, 664 mainly)

· 
Micro electronics  architecture knowledge (CPU, GPU), network architectures (OSI layers, Sensitive TIme Network)

· 
Linux operating System

· 
Global Civilian Aircraft avionics architecture knowledge (ATA27, 22, 7x and 31 mainly)

· 
Flight Physics knowledge (ATA00)

· 
Software development languages, techniques and tools (C/C++/Python , JIRA and Git, Matlab & Simulink)

· 
Negotiation level in English

· 
Knowledge of French would be a plus

This job requires an awareness of any potential compliance risks and a commitment to act with integrity, as the foundation for the Company’s success, reputation and sustainable growth.

Company:
Airbus Operations SAS

Employment Type:
PHD, Research

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Classe Emploi (France): Classe F11

Experience Level:
Student

Job Family:
Sub-system development

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