Model-based approach for software defined payload applications (artes at 5a.089)

The objective of the activity is to design, develop and test key building blocks for software defined payloads using a model-based approach. At least six building blocks implementing telecommunication application functions (e.g. signal processing, signal filtering, encryption, compression, etc.) shall be developed. At least two use case applications shall be developed, and the performance tested to validate the approach.Targeted Improvements: Reduction by 30% (or more) the software development efforts of payload software and ease architecture trade-offs.Description: This activity is aiming at delivering a list of software building blocks and the model-based framework supporting the development of payload applications targeting multiple processing architectures. A list of the most relevant functions used in telecommunication payload applications will be established and developed as reusable software building blocks optimised for telecommunication payload processing devices. These building blocks will be integrated in a model-based software development environment making possible to quickly model an application by interconnecting the building blocks. Once the model of the application is complete, the model-based software development environment will ensure the proper generation of code implementing the interfaces between building blocks and the deployment of the application on a set of payload processing devices (generic processing unit, reprogrammable FPGA, graphical processing unit, etc.). At least two use case applications will be developed using the modelbased framework to interconnect at least six different processing building blocks. The target applications will be in the domain of software defined radio and networking supporting in-orbit reconfiguration, waveform experimentation, and the development of novel radio capabilities. In addition to traditional algorithms, the use case applications will consider the implementation of AI algorithms. The building blocks used for these applications will be selected among the most relevant ones, e.g., Delay-and-Sum Beamforming, Phase Shift Beamforming, Least Mean Squares, Sample Matrix Inversion, Generalised Sidelobe Canceller as well as Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) for the domain of signal processing, Softmax, Batch normalisation and Convolutions in the domain of AI. The applications will be Implemented and tested on a representative hardware as used for telecommunication payload signal processing chains.