Both in ICAO PANS-OPS and FAA TERPS there is a requirement to encode a set of final approach parameters into a binary file that is known as a Final Approach Segment (FAS) Data Block (DB). An encoding tool for both SBAS and GBAS procedures is now supported in the FPAssistant SDK and the app.
The FPAssistant app shows the required parameters needed to create the FAS data block and once all the parameters have been entered the user is able to download a binary encoded version. Here in the video where you can see:
- Warning messages appearing in red informing the user of invalid data input that has been entered
- Offers both SBAS and GBAS options with parameters data inputs enabled and disabled accordingly
- The encoded binary (shown in hexadecimal) is updated as each parameter is entered
There is also a FAS Data Block decoder coming where the binary file is decoded back into the parameters and a cloud based database where your parameter set of each FAS DB are stored for easy retrieval, update and, of course, deletions. Please make contact if you would like to have preview versions.
Automated Testing: This video is really showing the automated User Interface (UI) testing sequence that is used to ensure that the correct data values appear on the form on the screen. Whilst the encoding module in the SDK has been tested using Unit Testing there is still a requirement to make sure that the UI is interacting with the user. So a test sequence has be written that automatically enters the required information in each of the data fields and then once complete the final hexadecimal sequence (Data Block) is checked to confirm that the display and UI are correct. For more information about this automated UI testing please contact CADology.
