U-TEST® — An innovative test platform to accelerate the entry-into-service of military and civil electronic systems

The aerospace industry is constantly in need of better tools to improve the speed and accuracy of airborne electronic systems development. Certification of compliance with design requirements typically requires the simultaneous testing of multiple components. Any delay in their availability, or unexpected need for a partial redesign, can adversely impact the timing and cost of the final product. The later the problem arises in the development cycle, the costlier will be the corrective action. To address this industry concern, Spherea has successfully introduced an integration test platform called U-TEST®. The U-TEST® ATE platform is specifically designed to span the transition between all phases of integration testing, including laboratory simulation, supplier component test stand, air-framer test stand, “Iron Bird,” a/c ground test and a/c flight test. It accomplishes this in part through the use of sophisticated modeling and interoperable test vectors, as described below. The use of industry standard programming interfaces maximizes its availability to a broad customer set. In this paper the authors will outline the basic features of the U-TEST® system, and share the results of previous customer use.