Bottom-up laboratory testing of the DKIST Visible Broadband Imager (VBI)

Andrew Ferayorni; Andrew Beard; Wes Cole; Scott Gregory; Friedrich Wöeger

doi:10.1117/12.2233695

16 August 2016 Bottom-up laboratory testing of the DKIST Visible Broadband Imager (VBI)

Andrew Ferayorni, Andrew Beard, Wes Cole, Scott Gregory, Friedrich Wöeger

Proceedings Volume 9911, Modeling, Systems Engineering, and Project Management for Astronomy VII; 991106 (2016) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2233695
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2016, Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Abstract

The Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope (DKIST) is a 4-meter solar observatory under construction at Haleakala, Hawaii [1]. The Visible Broadband Imager (VBI) is a first light instrument that will record images at the highest possible spatial and temporal resolution of the DKIST at a number of scientifically important wavelengths [2]. The VBI is a pathfinder for DKIST instrumentation and a test bed for developing processes and procedures in the areas of unit, systems integration, and user acceptance testing. These test procedures have been developed and repeatedly executed during VBI construction in the lab as part of a "test early and test often" philosophy aimed at identifying and resolving issues early thus saving cost during integration test and commissioning on summit.

The VBI team recently completed a bottom up end-to-end system test of the instrument in the lab that allowed the instrument’s functionality, performance, and usability to be validated against documented system requirements. The bottom up testing approach includes four levels of testing, each introducing another layer in the control hierarchy that is tested before moving to the next level. First the instrument mechanisms are tested for positioning accuracy and repeatability using a laboratory position-sensing detector (PSD). Second the real-time motion controls are used to drive the mechanisms to verify speed and timing synchronization requirements are being met. Next the high-level software is introduced and the instrument is driven through a series of end-to-end tests that exercise the mechanisms, cameras, and simulated data processing. Finally, user acceptance testing is performed on operational and engineering use cases through the use of the instrument engineering graphical user interface (GUI).

In this paper we present the VBI bottom up test plan, procedures, example test cases and tools used, as well as results from test execution in the laboratory. We will also discuss the benefits realized through completion of this testing, and share lessons learned from the bottoms up testing process.

Citation Download Citation

Andrew Ferayorni, Andrew Beard, Wes Cole, Scott Gregory, and Friedrich Wöeger "Bottom-up laboratory testing of the DKIST Visible Broadband Imager (VBI)", Proc. SPIE 9911, Modeling, Systems Engineering, and Project Management for Astronomy VII, 991106 (16 August 2016); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2233695

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