An Ultrahigh Speed CAMAC Interface for a Large Flight Simulator System

The real-time simulation subsystem (RTSS) at the NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, VA, consists of several CDC CYBER computers and over 20 flight simulation sites. This simulation network is used by the Langley Center to advance the state of aeronautics and to improve air safety. The current simulator interface system at NASA-Langley was installed in 1968 and uses centrally located analog and discrete conversion equipment. Of the alternatives studied by NASA for a replacement RTSS, only the network and input/output (I/O) system conforming to the international computer automated measurement and control (CAMAC) standards meets their requirements. The CAMAC serial highway provides a distributed I/O system with an extremely high data throughput approaching 24 000 000 information bits/per second. Fiber-optic links transmit the data over paths to 1 km. For multisite simulations, a computer-controlled electronic switch configures site highways in any combination. The CAMAC system uses analog-to-digital converters (ADCs), digital-to-analog converters (DACs), and synchro converters with 16 bits of resolution to give the needed system performance. The time to acquire data from 80 16-bit ADCs and 960 discrete inputs and transfer them to the CYBER central memory is less than 320 μs. Similarly, the time from CYBER central memory to the setting of 256 16-bit DACs and 960 discrete outputs is less than 650 μs.