Embedded Avionics Simulator

Embedded Avionics Communication Simulator (ARINC429 & CAN)

A modular embedded C simulation of avionics communication and control software.

• Language: C
• Architecture: Modular Embedded System
• Protocols: ARINC429, CAN
• Control: PID Altitude Hold
• Testing: Unit Tests

System Architecture

flowchart LR
    S[Altitude Sensor<br/>Sensor Simulator] -->|ARINC429 Message| A[ARINC429 Driver]
    A --> B[System Message Bus]
    B --> F[Flight Control Unit<br/>PID Controller]
    B --> M[Monitoring Module]
    F -->|CAN Message| C[CAN Bus]
    C --> D[Actuator Driver]
    C --> T[Telemetry Node]
    D --> E[Elevator Actuator]

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Features

• ARINC429 encoding and decoding

• parity validation

• CAN bus queue simulation

• PID-based altitude hold controller

• modular subsystem structure

• unit tests

Build

This project can be compiled with a C compiler or Visual Studio C++ compiler.

Tests

Includes tests for:

• ARINC429

• CAN bus

• flight control

Verification Results

Example simulation output:

Decoded altitude from ARINC429: 1200 ft
Target altitude: 1500.0 ft
Altitude error: 300.0 ft
Actuator elevator command: 81

Unit test status:

test_arinc429: PASS
test_can: PASS
test_flight_control: PASS

Future Work

• AFDX (Avionics Ethernet) communication simulation
• ARINC653 partitioning
• RTOS-based task scheduling (QNX / FreeRTOS)
• Extended Kalman Filter navigation

Author

Vasan Iyer
Embedded Software / Flight Controls Engineer

Focus areas:

• Embedded C
• Flight controls and flight dynamics
• Avionics protocols: ARINC 429, CAN
• Navigation and control
• PID-based control systems

GitHub: https://github.com/Vaiy108