Sunday, November 7, 2010

 Awaited 2nd Session


The second session was much more interesting and informative. The session began with the reviews of the blogs. It was unexpected to see the Subject Matter Expert(SME) to point out every minute mistake done by us. Thanks for that Sir, as it helps us to improve our writing skills. The SME distributed the Students Orientation for Aerospace and Embedded System Requirements(SOAR) program handbook. The details provided in the book gave us a brief idea about all topics that will be discussed in the due course of the program.

The session started with discussion on the 3 aspects of human personality i.e think,speak and perform and the 80-20% rule in the industry. The SME discussed about the different standards such as  Six Sigma Standard, Aerospace Software Standard DO-178B. Missile ( Self propelled guided weapon) and its types.  A missile can be categorized based on the technique used to detect the position of the target object namely Heat Sensing missiles and Laser Guided missiles. Based on the type of missile, it absorbs the heat or the laser emitted and calculates the trajectory. Electronic Counter Measures (ECM) and Inter Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) were also discussed.

The discussion continued with the history of internet(ARPANET and DARPANET), Computer systems (divided into Stand Alone and Embedded Systems), Real Time Systems(divided into Hard and Soft), Spectrum of real time systems and DSP (Defense Support Program). Embedded systems (a system with computer hardware and embedded software designed for a specific purpose) and its Architecture containing four layers (Application Layer, Real Time Operating System, Embedded Computer Chip and Parent System) were also discussed.

Cruise Missile and the different system help guide for cruise missile such as:
1. IGS - Inertial Guidance System
2. TERCOM - Terrain Contour Matching
3. GPS - Global Positioning System
4. DSMAC - Digital Scene Mapping Area Correlator
was discussed in detail.

We were also taught about the landing of aircraft's based on the head wind, tail wind and cross wind using approaches such as TOGA( Take Of Go Around) and Crab. TCAS (Traffic Collision Avoidance System) , ILS( Instrument Landing System) systems and a computerized display containing four parts Airspeed,Altitude,Attitude and Horizontal Situation Indicator(HSI) were also taught.


We where also showed certain videos such as the top 10 scariest landings, the mid air crashes and many more. But the landing of US airways on the Hudson river and the mid air crash video took me off. There was two videos on mid air crash one aircraft with TCAS and the other without. The aircraft with TCAS had a mid air crash because the pilot had confusion which to follow between the TCAS and the ATC.

So its very important by the developers to build a product  i.e 100% right. Here comes the theme of the day " Almost right is 100% wrong " in aerospace as we are putting human lives  at risk, which is prizeless. So no compromise in the reliability and quality of the system.

The session was provided with lot of food for thought which gave about certain problems in aerospace which can be thought of as our project. Eagerly waiting for the next session to learn many new things.



Wednesday, October 27, 2010

AVEMBSYS - First Session
 

It was an introductory class where we were asked to tell about our self and what we expected from Avembsys. It was nice to see the CEO of Avembsys to give his views on what we told.

The session continued with brushing up of the basic knowledge on demand paging, SDLC (software development life cycle) and certain technical aspects. The concept that he put forth "Think like Engineers" by taking a small example of 'avoiding a hurt by a stone to a person walking on road' which turned into 'providing an virtual eye to the blind'   was very nice. And some students put forth their ideas about their project, which turned out to be a lot more interactive session.

The session was overall interesting and nice. Hope to gain much more knowledge about new technologies and the subject in the coming sessions.