A Single-Source-of-Truth Approach for Automatic ED-247 Gateway Configuration in Hybrid Testing Through UCoF

One key factor that makes avionics testing complex and time consuming is the setup of the test environment. Due to the large amount of interconnected signals that needs to be configured correctly, the process must be formalized and automatable. However, connecting devices with preliminary I/O interface specifications is still a challenge for virtual and hybrid environments, since communication interfaces may not match. While the EUROCAE ED-247 standard enables virtualised avionics I/O communication channels for simulation-based and hybrid test environments, it’s yet to be integrated into a formalised configuration approach. Therefore, this paper introduces a method to derive communication gateways that are required to connect physical test-benches with simulation models based on the ED-247 standard automatically and integrates them into a Single Source of Truth configuration approach, based on the Universal Configuration Format (UCoF). The automation not only simplifies test environment configurations but also ensures consistency and prevents errors.