Chapter 10 Tools: Solving the Challenges of Varying Implementations of the IRIG Standard(DRC-014-009)

<p>Developers at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center have developed a software toolkit--dubbed Chapter 10 Tools--that is capable of reading data files originating from various onboard digital recorders that follow the Range Commanders Council Inter-Range Instrumentation Group (IRIG) 106 Chapter 10 Digital Recording Standard but use differing interpretations of that standard.</p><p>The toolkit reads data files regardless of the vendor implementation of the source recorder, displays the data, and even identifies and corrects errors. Ultimately, it produces a data file that can be successfully processed post-flight.</p><p>Chapter 10 Tools was developed in response to ongoing challenges researchers at Armstrong's Dryden Aeronautical Test Range faced when attempting to process data files originating from various vendors' digital recorders. As Chapter 10 experienced rapid growth as a technology standard for data recording, many digital recorder vendors began interpreting the standard differently--resulting in errors and variations (sometimes even between one vendor's different firmware versions of the same recorder). While some errors could be identified with Chapter 10 validation software, the type of error was not always apparent, making fixes problematic. These errors and variations can prevent software from reading and processing the data file, thereby effectively making the data unavailable.</p><p>Chapter 10 Tools eliminates these challenges with a flexible software toolkit that gives users visibility into the data file's individual data packets, allowing for both manual and automatic correction of errors. An additional Telemetry Attributes Transfer Standard (TMATS) editor offers the ability to modify and add details to the TMATS file. Because aircraft personnel typically only include enough information in the TMATS portion of the Chapter 10 data file to allow for data recording, this leaves a gap in ground personnel's ability to process that data. So, the TMATS editor enables error correction and provides the ability to add the additional information needed to process the data.</p><p>Chapter 10 Tools is now in widespread use at Armstrong's Dryden Aeronautical Test Range.</p><p>BENEFITS</p><p> * Diagnostic: Accurately identifies errors and variations in various Chapter 10 data files, as well as the error type</p><p> * Flexible: Offers a flexible architecture enabling visibility into individual data packets</p><p> * Easy to use: Autocorrects most errors, and makes manual error identification and correction simple and streamlined</p><p>APPLICATIONS</p><p>Chapter 10 Tools is ideal for:</p><p> * NASA flight data processors needing to reconcile data between varying flight data recorders</p><p> * Software developers looking to integrate error identification and correction capabilities into their Chapter 10 toolkits</p>