General Measurement and Control Technology and Its Application in the Military Field

Testing technology is a crucial means of acquiring, processing, and realizing information in scientific research. It is a fundamental method for people to understand the objective world and obtain qualitative or quantitative information. It is an indispensable tool and means in military equipment research, new product development and manufacturing, as well as production, maintenance, and operation. In today's highly developed scientific and technological world, testing will be at the forefront of the design and manufacturing of various modern military equipment systems, becoming an important indicator of productivity, manufacturing capability, and practicality. According to relevant data, testing costs have reached 50%, or even 60%, of the total cost of the developed military equipment system, and the time spent developing test procedures is longer than the system design time. Therefore, testing will form a complete whole with the design and manufacturing of modern military equipment systems, and is a vital means to ensure the actual performance indicators of modern military equipment systems.
I. General Measurement and Control Technology
With the increasing complexity of weapon systems and the continuous increase in weapon models, the research on the construction and key technologies of a universal testing system has profound strategic significance and a bright strategic prospect. The main objective of a universal testing system is to integrate key technologies such as universal bus technology, universal module technology, remote measurement and control technology, integrated testing and fault diagnosis equipment technology, and automatic generation technology of test applications, according to the overall requirements of comprehensive system testing, to construct a universal testing system. Once verified, universal testing technologies can be applied to the technological transformation of military fields and the development of new weapon systems, especially in the development of high-precision and advanced weapon systems, thereby fully realizing the universal requirements of military testing equipment and promoting the advancement of testing technology.
I. Key Technologies in General Measurement and Control Technology
1. Universal Bus Technology
Bus interface technology is the foundation and key to all test systems, and a necessary condition for system generalization, modularization, and serialization. Over time, it has evolved through stages of dedicated measurement and control buses and general-purpose measurement and control buses. As the complexity of test systems increases, the number of performance indicators to be tested increases, and the difficulty of building test systems also increases, people have gradually recognized the benefits of standardization and versatility in test equipment, especially VX and PX buses. As an extension of the high-speed computer bus VMEbus in the instrumentation field, the VX bus features stable power supply, powerful cooling capabilities, and strict RF I/E II shielding.
Due to its advantages such as fewer standard requirements, compact structure, strong data throughput, accurate timing and synchronization, reusable modules, and support from numerous instrument manufacturers, it quickly gained widespread application. After more than a year of development, the VX system has become increasingly convenient to build and use, especially in building large and medium-scale automatic measurement systems and in situations requiring high speed and accuracy, where it offers unparalleled advantages over other instrument systems. The VX bus test platform is recognized as an excellent platform for instrument bus systems and automatic test systems in the early 21st century. The PX bus is an extension of the PC bus in the instrumentation field. It is formed by adding mature technical specifications and requirements to the PC bus core technology, including multi-board synchronous trigger bus and inter-board local bus technical specifications and requirements, to facilitate high-speed communication between adjacent modules. The PX bus system has high scalability, good cooling capacity and EMC functions, and advanced digital interface and instrument interface functions, making it one of the most competitive virtual instrument test platforms.
2. General Module Technology
From the early days of GPIB, instrument manufacturers and users have been committed to the standardization, flexibility, and interchangeability of test equipment. Currently, modular instruments using VX-8 and PX-8 test buses are widely used in the testing field. Through VX-8 and PX-8 bus modular instruments, users can design their own instrument systems according to their testing needs, utilizing one or more general-purpose hardware modules and calling different software modules to form different instrument functions. When testing requirements change, new testing requirements can be met by modifying and adding test modules, thus ensuring the effectiveness of user investment. In addition to hardware, instrument manufacturers are also committed to the standardization of test software. Software architecture centered on VISA (Virtual Instrument Software Architecture) has become the foundation of test software, especially IVI (Interchangeable Virtual Instrument) technology, which truly makes instrument interchangeability possible. A single platform software performs basic data acquisition and spectrum analysis, as well as high-precision and rapid analysis such as precise frequency calibration, precise amplitude calibration, and precise damping calibration. Multiple modular instrument software programs run on this platform software, sharing the data and spectrum values ​​provided by the platform software, and each program performs its own minor functions. Its key feature is that multiple modular instrument software programs share A/D acquisition data resources and signal processing data resources on a single platform software, and can run simultaneously at high speed in real time. Virtual instrumentation (IH) is developing towards a comprehensive, multifunctional, and fast multi-ICI virtual instrument library.
3. Remote monitoring and control technology
a. Standalone Remote Measurement and Control Scheme. A standalone remote measurement and control system refers to a VX industrial testing system that uses a single computer to test and control an object located more than 100 meters away. Remote control and remote signal conditioning are two common approaches to building a standalone remote measurement and control system.
The remote control method uses an external, independent PC or workstation connected to the main chassis via an external bus to control the measurement and control bus. In this method, the PC does not directly drive the measurement and control bus; instead, it drives a bus suitable for communication transmission. One end of the communication bus is connected to the PC's expansion slot via a bus adapter, and the other end is the zero-slot controller of the measurement and control bus. The interface of the external controller must be able to communicate between the two buses, enabling reliable signal exchange between the external PC bus and the measurement and control bus to ensure the reliable operation of the entire bus testing system. The external control method is less limited by the physical structure of the measurement and control main chassis and offers greater flexibility. The high-speed MX-3 bus interface extends the PC bus to the zero-slot controller of the VX chassis, allowing for electrical isolation and long-distance control via fiber optics. The zero-slot controller can be placed up to 200 meters away from the PC or another VX/PX chassis. Based on the FOXI interface control method, high-speed data transmission via optical fiber is used: providing a maximum transmission distance of 2km between optical fiber nodes; featuring a data throughput of 10Mbytes/s and a PCI DMA transmission mode of 20Mbytes/s; supporting up to 126 controllers on a single highway. In long-distance telemetry and control systems, apart from using local area network technology, the MXI-3 and FOXI are irreplaceable.
By employing grounding, shielding, and transmission line theory, remote signal conditioning in the form of analog transmission can successfully complete long-distance analog data transmission over 300m. The cable connecting the remote module and the main system must be shielded, twisted-pair, and purely impedance-based. Both the driver and receiver amplifiers are differential, with their output impedance matched to the cable impedance to reduce reflections. A common-mode transmitter in each differential pair reduces noise during long-distance transmission. A capacitor is connected in series with the cable shielding to block low-frequency ground loops, and the shielding is also effective for RF by connecting the RF ground to the system chassis. The high common-mode consistency in the analog receiver amplifier and RS485 transmitter/receiver allows for a large amount of differential signal between the remote module and the acquisition module without any loss.
b. Network-based remote measurement and control solutions. The practical significance of networked testing technology lies in at least the following three points: it helps reduce the cost of testing systems; it facilitates remote measurement and control and resource sharing; and it enables remote diagnosis and maintenance of testing equipment.
The continuous development of computer technology, network technology, communication technology, and intelligent instruments has provided new directions and prospects for the development of decentralized distributed measurement and control network technology. The current status and development trend of networked testing technology and instruments are mainly reflected in: Ethernet technology, networked instruments and sensors, and web-based virtual instruments. The working mode based on the Internet represents the development direction of distributed automatic testing systems. A networked system integrating data acquisition, transmission, and processing, composed of various measurement and control instruments and computers, will become the dominant system in the future measurement and control field. Networked instruments, networked sensors, measurement and control computers, expert knowledge bases, and even test personnel will all be shared by the entire network as part of the network resources. Users can operate the network from any location to complete test and control tasks.
4. General Software Technology
The general-purpose test software platform constructs a universal integrated test environment between system-level hardware and general user requirements. It features instrument control, automatic code generation, mathematical analysis and processing, and self-generated reports, capable of meeting the testing needs of various weapon systems. The basic testing philosophy of the general-purpose test software platform is:
a. The general-purpose test software should be compatible with the general-purpose ATE/ATS system hardware platform, establish a software platform that meets the requirements of "standardization", and fully utilize the powerful software functions of the computer to make the general-purpose test system more user-friendly and maintainable.
b. The general-purpose test software should be a customizable common software platform. Software developers can add or remove functions and select parameters in this general-purpose integrated test environment according to the functional requirements of the general-purpose test system, so as to improve the quality of the test software, shorten the software development cycle, and reduce the software development cost.
c. The test software is automatically generated using a process design approach, giving it a graphical and modular structure, a unified and user-friendly interface, and good interactivity and flexibility.
The primary goal of the general-purpose testing software platform is to provide an integrated testing program development environment that combines automatic program generation and editing. It allows for input of test parameters through intuitive human-computer interaction. Its direct benefit is giving users full control over the low-level modules, fully leveraging module performance, and maximizing the fulfillment of various user testing requirements.
5. Integrated measurement, control, and diagnostic technology
During use, to ensure safety and reliability, technical support is required for weapon systems, primarily focusing on performance testing and fault diagnosis. This necessitates not only real-time, rapid, and accurate testing of multiple parameters but also the recording of large amounts of data and information. Therefore, the development and research of testing and maintenance systems suitable for the technical support requirements of modern weapon systems is of great significance. A general-purpose automatic testing and intelligent diagnostic system can be used in the comprehensive testing, parameter setting, firing aiming, and firing control of weapon systems. It can record system signals and data in real time and perform real-time or subsequent intelligent analysis, effectively achieving fault monitoring and diagnosis throughout the entire combat process.
Fault diagnosis is an indispensable and crucial component of modern testing systems. Remote diagnostic technology, combining fault diagnosis with communication technology, is an advanced diagnostic technique and a promising open remote diagnostic architecture that integrates the Internet with diagnostic technology. Diagnosis and control can be built upon local and remote servers. The knowledge base of the remote diagnostic expert system is based on a web database with an open architecture. The local server runs a local diagnostic system and communicates with the diagnostic system on the remote server via the Internet to perform remote fault diagnosis tasks on the testing system. An expert database for equipment diagnosis, calibration, and self-testing is set up on the remote server. Each test point is assigned an IP address, allowing testers to run equipment diagnostic and calibration programs using the information provided by the test point. Simultaneously, the local diagnostic system can continuously improve itself by utilizing the resources on the remote server via the network.
II. Applications in the Military Field
1. Applications in foreign militaries
In the mid-to-late 1980s, the United States began developing the "Generalized Automated Test Equipment (GPATE)" program, establishing standardized, serialized, and modular hardware and software testing platforms for automated test equipment in the military field. The Air Force adopted the "Modular Automated Test Equipment (MATE)" standard; the Army adopted the "Integrated Test Equipment Series (IFTE)" standard; and the Navy adopted the "Joint Automation Support System (CASS)" standard. All these standards reflect the U.S. Department of Defense's system design philosophy, making computer software a major part of the test system and using standard bus systems (primarily VX bus) and general-purpose modular instruments to build the test system. Among them, the "Integrated Test Equipment Series (IFTE)" is one of the two standardized testing equipment sets of the U.S. Department of Defense. It consists of five parts: a mobile testing equipment set, a base repair shop testing equipment set, a civilian equivalent equipment set, an electrical repair container, and an optoelectronic testing equipment set, capable of testing aircraft, missiles, armored vehicles, warships, and cybersecurity systems. The automated test platform series currently used in France mainly adopts the VX bus hardware structure and SMART standard system, forming a general automated test platform with flexible configuration of hardware and software structure.
2. Application in my country
In the past, domestic missile testing equipment mainly relied on CAMAC (Computer-Assisted Missile Control) systems. The Anti-Aircraft Department introduced this technology in the 1980s and applied it as a standard to missile testing systems. Due to inherent defects in CAMAC and limitations in my country's manufacturing processes, its low reliability has severely impacted the reliability and tactical performance of the entire missile system.
Since the early 1990s, some domestic manufacturers and research institutes have begun to track VX (Vehicle X-ray) technology, and have now developed a considerable number of VX products, which are being gradually used in aerospace testing with good results. Standardized and modular testing systems based on VX and PX technologies are being widely applied as new standards in weapon system testing, and self-testing functions have been incorporated into unit tests of weapon systems. However, overall, system-level testing systems lack practical artificial intelligence testing technologies and built-in testing functions, lagging significantly behind developed countries.
IV. Conclusion
To meet the needs of the military field, ATE and ATS systems are developing towards miniaturization, portability, intelligence, self-diagnosis, self-calibration, and universality. In short, the development goal of using a universal testing platform to achieve horizontal integrated testing of multiple weapon models on a single platform, with dual military and civilian applications and universal use by both branches of the armed forces, embodies the characteristics of standardized, modular, universal, and decentralized testing technology, and represents the current development trend in the measurement and control field.