FACE and DDS
What is FACE?
The Future Airborne Capability Environment (FACE) is a technical standard describing a common software computing environment and architecture for airborne platforms, referred to as the FACE Reference Architecture. The goal of FACE is to ultimately lower implementation costs of new airborne systems by promoting standardized approaches and processes, software reuse, interoperability and portability of applications across different air platforms. The FACE standard is managed by the Open Group, a collaboration of Government agencies, contractors, and commercial companies.
Learn more about FACE…
FACE and the DDS standard
The FACE Reference Architecture specifies a infrastructure that provides a common interface to any FACE-compliant application for Operating System Services, I/O Services, Platform-specific Services, Transport Services, and Portable Components. This infrastructure is meant to provide a common operating environment, such that FACE-compliant applications (or Portable FACE Applications) may be easily shared and re-used between different air platforms.
The FACE Reference Architecture specifically names the Data Distribution Service (DDS) from the OMG as a component of the standard to provide a messaging paradigm for the Transport Services Segment.
DDS technology embodies many of the goals of the FACE standard, including standardized components and well defined interfaces to allow portability of applications. DDS is already used on many newer air platforms for high-performance and robust data communications.
CoreDX DDS and FACE
CoreDX DDS is a commercial implementation of the OMG DDS standard, meeting all DDS requirements laid out in the FACE Reference Architecture. CoreDX DDS provides all of the benefits of the DDS technology, including:
• Flexible architectures
• Open-standards based interoperability
• Tools for Fault Tolerant systems
• Data history and persistence for dynamic classes of information
• Reliable and best effort transports.
CoreDX DDS provides all these features in an extremely small footprint for resource constrained systems, and a low line of code count to facilitate certification efforts.
Twin Oaks Computing and FACE share a common vision and a passion for robust and quality software solutions that stand the test of time. Perhaps it is not a surprise that CoreDX DDS is so well suited for applications looking to become FACE compliant.
Twin Oaks Computing Vision:
"A world where complex, distributed software based systems work well"
FACE Consortium Vision:
The FACE Consortium, an aviation focused professional group made up of industry suppliers, customers and users, will create a technologically appropriate open FACE architecture, standards and business model that will result in:
- Standardized approaches & process models within avionics systems
- Lower implementation costs of FACE systems
- Standards that support a robust architecture and quality software
- Defined interoperability within FACE systems and components
- Portability of applications across multiple FACE systems and vendors
- Procurement of FACE conformant products
- More capabilities reaching the Warfighter faster