Curtiss-Wright Corporation’s Defense Solutions division and Lord Corporation have agreed to collaborate on the development of a wireless sensing solution for data acquisition in flight test instrumentation (FTI) applications. Under the agreement, Defense Solutions’ Avionics & Electronics business will integrate Lord MicroStrain’s Lossless Extended Range Synchronized (LXRS) gateway technology onto a hardware module for use in Curtiss-Wright’s COTS-based Acra KAM-500 Data Acquisition Unit (DAU) subsystem.
The new module will make the Acra KAM-500 compatible with the wireless sensor nodes supported by Lord and provide Curtiss-Wright’s FTI customers with a single solution for both wireless and wired data acquisition. It will also enable system designers to configure their wireless and wired networks using the same software, analyze the resulting data with the same playback software, and transmit their wireless FTI data in the same format as that used for wired data.
“Curtiss-Wright is very excited to bring Lord’s proven wireless sensor network capability to our existing suite of FTI data acquisition products,” said Lynn Bamford, senior vice president and general manager, Defense Solutions division. “Our customers are seeking ways to reduce weight and installation time, while maximizing the flexibility of where on the airborne platform they can place data acquisition sensors. By providing seamless integration for wireless networking on our Acra KAM-500 subsystem, we help reduce cabling, time, effort and weight.”
