On upgrading legacy electronics systems: methodology, enabling technologies and tools

Defense and commercial electronics systems need upgrading for a number of reasons; obsolete parts, diminishing manufacturing sources (DMS), availability of newer technologies that are superior to older ones, requirements for newer functionality and form-fit-function replacements, in addition to the drive towards using commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) technology. We propose a comprehensive methodology and a set of enabling technologies that facilitate the efficient recovery of legacy component and system functionality, tradeoff-based redesign and functional replacement, followed by synthesis and test of the upgraded system (consisting of hardware and software). Our VHDL-based methodology is currently being evaluated on several avionics programs under the auspices of the Air Force Electronics Parts Obsolescence Initiative (EPOI), and some recent results are presented.