Rapid Integration with Confidence
Tangram Flex is excited to continue the multi-part series about bridging the treacherous gap in engineering.
In this edition, Matt Naveau, Director of Engineering at Tangram Flex, shares his insights about confidently supporting complex systems with rapidly evolving mission needs. Matt is a dynamic technical leader who has supported a variety of large and small DoD organizations in the areas of secure, embedded systems.
Complex software systems like autonomous aircraft are challenging to modify. Whether the software needs a significant upgrade or a simple patch, changes can ripple through the system and cause unexpected behaviors. Missions push for faster upgrades (Fix that bug! Patch that vulnerability! Give me that new app!), yet before modified software of any kind can fly, there must be confidence in the system. Will it work correctly? How risky is this upgrade? Should I make these changes?
This is a hard problem, but working to solve it is what gets our team out of bed in the morning. We love working on big, challenging problems, and getting the solution to this one right is something we’re passionate about. How do you address this challenge on a complex system like an autonomous aircraft? Break that big system down into small components, keep track of how these components fit together, and apply layers of confidence-building techniques to that system. Put another way, understand the system and be able to prove that your understanding is correct.
Building Blocks
This idea is very powerful, but it is not new. I see it all the time outside of the software world. My young son really enjoys building things with his plastic building blocks — airplanes, race cars, and flying boats, among others. Recently, we built an airplane kit together. Using the pieces of that kit, we can build the airplane pictured on the box, and we can also build a space shuttle or a sailboat or a huge number of other systems. It is possible to quickly build the original airplane design or something completely different because the building blocks are well-understood components in different sizes, shapes, and thicknesses that have a well-understood interface. Yet even with plastic building blocks, design adjustments are always happening. When we built that airplane kit, I couldn’t find one of the red pieces I needed, but I did find a blue piece that was the same size. Should I use the blue piece instead of the missing red one? If I do, the airplane is structurally the same and therefore equally likely to hold together if his younger sister grabs it from him and throws it across the room. Yet the customer I’m building the airplane for (my son) is likely to point out that his red-and-white airplane has a blue spot on it now and that I am not fully meeting his requirements.
As a human, I can think through this kind of challenge with plastic building bricks. However, dealing with a complex system like an autonomous aircraft is too much for any human to think through on their own. We need tools to help us get it right, and the right tool for that job is a Component Software Integration Platform (CSIP). A CSIP allows system builders and teams to manage components, understand how they fit together, and provide confidence that the assembled system is correct.
Up for the Challenge
Last year our CEO challenged me to give him an elevator pitch of five words describing this. Said another way, “I want five words that explain what we do at Tangram Flex”. As I am always competitive, I came back with four: “Rapid Integration With Confidence”.
Rapid Integration (tool-assisted component-based understanding of your system) With Confidence (demonstrating that your understanding is accurate) is a quick and effective way to respond to mission needs, whether that mission is a plastic airplane flown by a child or a real airplane that can fly itself.
Tangram Flex simplifies software integration for mission-critical defense systems. Every system is unique, but the mission is clear: the people on the ground need dependable, adaptable equipment to get the job done. At Tangram Flex, we understand the challenges of security, speed, and safety. Our team combines engineering expertise with our Component Software Integration Platform (CSIP), Tangram Pro™, to arm engineers with customized toolkits for meeting mission needs.
Tangram Flex is headquartered in Dayton, Ohio. Our staff has experience from DoD, Fortune 500 companies, and innovative software startups. We are dedicated to walking alongside our customers to keep pace with changes in technology. Get in touch: hello@tangramflex.com.
