A Continuously Reconfiguring Multi-Microprocessor Flight Control System.
Stanley J. Larimer, Maher,Scott L · Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC) · 1981
Recent research at the US Air Force Wright Aeronautical Laboratories (Flight Dynamics Lab) has resulted in the development of a promising microprocessor-based flight control system design. This system is characterized by a collection of cooperatively autonomous distributed microcomputers interconnected by an arbitrary number of common serial multiplex busses. Each processor in the system independently determines its assignments using a simple algorithm that dynamically redistributes system functions from processor to processor in a never-ending process of reconfiguration. This approach offers several benefits in terms of system reliability, and the architecture in general incorporates many state-of-the-art features which promise improved system throughput, expandability, and above all, ease of programming.