Payload Computer and Telemetry System(PCATS)

Functions:

• Universal high-speed interface to airborne Sat-Com systems - supports multiple instruments - Interfaces : Firewire, USB-1 & 2, Ethernet, RS232/422/485, 1553,

ARINC429, IP serial - Sat-Com hardware-independent

• On board multi-purpose computer to: - reduce data volume for telemetry - run user-provided science algorithms - store instrument data (40GB)

• Central sensor command & control device - SensorML - Interfaces to ground-based IMM & Sensor-web architectures

Ames Airborne Science

& Technology Lab

PCATS(Payload Computer and Telemetry System)

ASTLAmes Research Center

• A Universal Payload Interface to Airborne Telemetry Systems (Ku- , L- , & S- Band)

• Fast CPU & Solid State Disks For Experimenter Algorithms & Data Storage

• Inputs for ~20 instruments; Up To

40 Mbs Throughput

• Airborne element currently packaged with AMS data system (stand-alone version in FY08)

PCATS Module

AMS Airborne Data System

Ground Element (cPCI)

PCATS Development

• First flown on 2006 Western States Fire Missions, using Inmarsat-64 (Cessna Caravan) and Ku-band on Altair Predator-B

• Performed real-time on-board generation of Level-1 & 2 geophysical products, Geo-Tiffs and JPG-2000s

• Stand-alone repackaging for Ikhana in FY08 to include: - dual processors (running optimized near-real time Linux) - two Gigabit Ethernet interfaces - 80 GB solid state storage - robust packaging

• Development by the Ames Airborne Science & Technology Lab and Biospheric Sciences Branch (E. Hildum, D. Sullivan, et al.)

UAS-AMS Image Data Flow Diagram(Western States Fire Mission, 10/06)

Line Scanner

POS/AV

IMU/DGPS

Digitizer

Shared Storage

PCATS Module3 Mbs Link (Forward Only)

9.6Kbs Duplex Channel

Ground Computer

Shared Storage

Web Server

CDE Agents

Ku Sat Com Link

Airborne Element Ground Element

• Image Data Capture (ADC)

• POS-AV Data Ingest

• Ku-Band Telemetry Interface

• Level-1B, -2 Product Generation

• Image Geo-Rectification

• SRTM DEM Database

• Instrument C&C

• Query Handling• Instrument Engineering Data• Vehicle Data• Product QA/QC

•Collaborative Decision

Environment (CDE) Host

•Intelligent Mission Management SW

•Image & Map Server

Fu

ll Re

s. 20

0H

z Data

(RS

-232

)