VairCRAFT : Versatile Systems-on-Chip Integration to Reduce Aircraft Weight and Gas Emission

如今，传感器、致动器和相应的庞大电子系统以及它们相关的电力和数据电缆的数量在现代飞行器中迅速增长，这些传感器、致动器和相应的庞大电子系统占据了显著的空间并增加了飞行器的重量。由此产生的后果使得航空和航天工业积极地寻找解决方案来使常规电子系统及其相关附件小型化以减小体积和重量。可重新配置的系统，片上系统（SoC），其中电子部件集成在单个芯片上，以及系统级封装（SiP），其中由不同技术制成的不同SoC集成在单个封装上，是实现该微型化水平的替代方案。参考上述概念，本研究的主要目标是为多功能飞机（VairCRAFT）集成积木。 这不仅对减轻飞机重量及其后果具有令人印象深刻的影响，而且还提供了一种具有更高水平的多功能性的手段，由于不同的传感器和致动器规格，这在飞机中是重要的。为了实现上述目标，不同的传感器接口将集成在SoC或SiP上。这样的传感器接口被认为生成所需的电流和电压以通过功率电子电路（例如功率放大器）激励不同的传感器和致动器（例如线性可变差动变压器）。这就是为什么传感器接口必须是通用的。读回电路，包括滤波器，读出放大器和数据转换器，应该监测和控制传感器接口。一旦集成，不同的芯片将首先单独评估，并且各个特征化的芯片将集成在单个封装上，以提供小型化的传感器接口原型。这些努力通过分别大幅减少消耗的燃料和温室气体排放，带来经济和环境效益。

Nowadays the number of sensors, actuators and corresponding bulky electronic systems as well as their related power and data cables, which occupy a remarkable space and increase the weight of aircrafts, are rapidly growing in modern aircrafts. The resulting consequences have made the aeronautic and aerospace industries actively look for solutions to miniaturize conventional electronic systems and their related accessories to reduce the bulkiness and weight. Reconfigurable systems, System-on-chip (SoC), where electronic parts are integrated on a single chip and system-in-package (SiP), where different SoC made of different technologies are integrated on a single package, are alternatives to achieve that level of miniaturization. Referring to the mentioned concepts, the main objective of this research is to integrated building blocks for a versatile aircraft (VairCRAFT). This will not only have impressive impacts on reducing the weight of aircrafts and its consequences, but it also provides a mean to have a higher level of versatility which is important in an aircraft due to different sensor and actuator specifications. To achieve above objective, different sensor interfaces will be integrated over SoCs or SiPs. Such sensor interfaces are supposed to generate required currents and voltages to excite different sensors and actuators, e.g. linear variable differential transformers, through power electronic circuits e.g. power amplifiers. That is why the sensor interfaces must be versatile. Read back circuits, which includes filters, sense amplifiers and data converters, are supposed to monitor and control the sensor interfaces. Once integrated, different chips will individually be evaluated first and the individual characterized chips will be integrated on a single package to provide a miniaturized sensor interface prototype. These efforts bring economic and environmental benefits by drastically diminishing the consumed fuel and greenhouse emissions, respectively.