Summary

Description

<p> PEAC’s novel technical approach is to leverage a low-power processor such as Aeroflex LEON-3 processor or ARM processor augmented with a co-processor, PEAC-Core, to be developed in this proposal that controls such critical system functions as power management, fault tolerance, and timing synchronization. It is based on observations of three major power-efficiency-limiting factors prevailing in conventional state-of-the-art space avionics: (1) Lack of adaptive, fine-grained, and multiple avionics power operational modes – almost all existing avionics designs support merely on/off power modes at the box-level. Once powered on, it is never powered off, wasting significant amount of energy even during off-duty cycle; (2) Lack of effective usage of inherent low-power features of modern space-grade microelectronics parts such as clock-gating and multiple-power-mode for microprocessors and variable-voltage-scaling for other parts; and (3) Lack of finer-granularity match between the mission operational mode (typically bursty) and the avionics operational mode (typically flat). PEAC’s unique innovations are embodied in its three key components: (1) PEAC-Core: it is a central controller that handles power management, fault tolerance, and timing synchronization. It will provides on-demand and fine-grained power scheduling algorithm capable of trading performance and power consumption at run-time via systematic power management at both board and chip level. In particular, PEAC uses dual power domains: always-on domain – is always powered and provides minimal functions such as timer and CCSDS Critical Relay Command Handling, consumes minimal power of less than 100 µW, and at-times-changed domain – it is managed at runtime with multiple power profiles adapted to various mission operational modes; (2) PEAC-designtime: it is a set of design guidelines of low-power board/firmware/software (such as clock gating, variable voltage scaling, etc.), power-aware RTL IP cores, power-aware.</p>