Abstract:
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Effective calibration automation requires a balance of people, time and equipment. People with calibration knowledge are a precious and scarce resource with limited time for automation. They move on in their careers and their knowledge can be lost. Computer languages and operating systems change which requiring extensive rework of existing software that leave little time for new development. Calibration hardware uses an ever expanding plethora of various control languages and communication protocols. Industry tries to help with standards but they are often too little too late or in a constant state of flux. The Air Force Metrology and Calibration Program's NextGen Calibration Automation system is one of the USAF answers to the above issues. The NextGen Calibration Automation uses defined levels (The Sequencer Level, the Measurement Module, and the Hardware Abstraction Layer) that can be modified independently of one another, but interact via common interfaces. This allows the internals of the levels to change without having to rewrite the entire program. The Sequencer Level handles equipment configuration, graphical user interfaces and test logic in a human readable XML standard. The Measurement Module is an equipment independent level which handles technique, timing and takes a particular measurement and can be reused on many calibration programs. It captures calibration knowledge. Finally, the Hardware Abstraction Layer concerns itself with instrument control, communication buses and equipment substitution. The Air Force Metrology and Calibration Program have already fielded several automated oscilloscope calibration programs using the defined layers of these NextGen Protocols. This paper describes the challenges and the rewards for automation using these defined layers
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