HALT and HASS provide a speedy path to improved product reliability testing. But the success of such methods depends on how they’re used and the equipment available to perform sophisticated testing.
A Look Under the Hood of HALT and HASS John E. Starr, Consultant, CirVibe, Douglas D. Walker, Principle Test Engineer, ATK, Advanced Weapon Systems Division
Although HALT and HASS methodologies have become widely accepted in military programs, not enough attention is paid to what is actually happening to hardware in those test environments.
Despite political turmoil and a degree of uncertainty about the DoD budget, doubt about the progress of the military efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, and an impending change in government leadership in 2009, the market for embedded computers used in military and aerospace remains on solid ground.
With its rivals fallen by the wayside, Serial RapidIO has emerged as the system-level switched fabric of choice for demanding, minimal latency applications such as advanced military radar.
For space-constrained, high-compute-density apps, COM Express is gaining ground as a solution for marrying custom functionality and standard PCI Express computing.
No longer an outsider looking in, conduction-cooled CompactPCI is fitting neatly with the military’s demand for compute density and complete integrated solutions.
Managing component obsolescence is a puzzle that’s become ever more challenging for military system designers. Tools are emerging to help smooth the way.
