[Avionics Today April 23, 2014] Vector has reported on the successful completion of the first test trial of its GL1020FTE data logger analyzing Controller Area Network (CAN) data bus communications onboard the second flight test aircraft in the Airbus A350 XWB program.
CAN data bus is a serial communications protocol that supports distributed real-time control with a high level of security, first introduced for Mercedes-Benz cars in the 1980s and is used extensively by Airbus in its A380 to reduce the number of interconnected wires from control panels in the flight deck to system computers in the avionics compartment.
According to Vector, its GL1020FTE was designed according to the RTCA DO-160E standard, and can time-synchronously record up to 32 gigabytes of data from two CAN channels and four analog measurement channels. Test engineers are also given the option to reduce data volume by defining extensive filters and trigger conditions with a Windows-based logger configuration.
The data logger is interoperable in aircraft with CAN networks including galley, water and waste, environmental control and de-icing systems.