The VMMI-ERTMS realizes the operator interface for the system of vital information processing that is called Vital Man Machine Interface (VMMI) and is intended for high speed railways.

The VMMI-ERTMS is designed as a configurable module capable to represent high-speed railway situations in different shapes and sizes on one or more monitors.
The main functions of the VMMI-ERTMS are as follows:

• display, under an immediate and evident symbolic form, of a high-speed General Synoptic, animated in real time and demonstrating the state - delays and emergency stops - taken from the line;
• display of essential information regarding trains in movement - such as, for example, train’s ID and the Movement Authority (MA);
• management and display, on a special video (TC), of the commands given by the Operator through the ATS-IXL Workstation and consent device (DVC) and their delivery to the RBC;
• display of information coming from the data stream interface with the SCCGW and the CLC-MS modules;
• dispatch of diagnostic messages to the SDM-GS Module.

Integrity Level: according to the rules established by the CENELEC EN 50128, the integrity level applicable to the VMMI-ERTMS is SIL 4 (as it deals with critical security information).

Hardware Features: VMMI-ERTMS is assembled within a specially designed console which substitutes the operator’s desk.
VMMI-ERTMS consists of:

• 3 monitors for displaying the railway status, 2 of them dedicated to the display of General Synoptic and one - to the display of Commands Terminal;
• a DVC (Vitale Consensus Device) for the control settings;
• a basket containing the information processing boards, the power supply unit, the diagnostic module and the fan compartment;
• a DC / DC converter that provides power supply to the graphics DVI (Digital Video Interface) cards;
• a basket containing the graphical information processing boards.

VMMI-ERTMS is based on both composite architecture and reactive architecture, implemented by using the controls carried out by IPA (Interface & Protection Assembly).

In particular, the security architecture of the VMMI ERTMS module is based on the following technological means:

• 2oo2Architecture - vital data are processed by 2 different "peripheral" CPU (called VMMIMAIN_A and VMMIMAIN_B), each of which processes the same algorithms using different "datasets". Both CPU boards require different hardware resources during the processing and the end result is correct only if both CPUs function without failure or error.
• To avoid common mode errors, VMMIMAIN_A and VMMIMAIN_B boards must have separate CPCI backplanes, each of these with its own independent power supply.

VMMI-ERTMS boards are divided into three Assemblies:

• GEA (Graphical Elaboration Assembly) that contains COTS boards based on CPU technology;
• IPA (Interface & Protection Assembly) composed of proprietary boards;
• GPA (Graphical Peripheral Assembly) contains COTS boards based on CPU technology capable of module’s graphics processing.

Each assembly is, in turn, divided into several elementary boards designed for one or more functions.

The software development activities requires the usage of the following programming languages:

• ANSI-C without syntax restrictions for the development of SIL0 routine on embedded platforms that perform VMMI-ERTMS
• Minimal-C ANSI-C language with restrictions imposed by the documents for the development of SIL4 routine on embedded platform which realizes VMMI-ERTMS (IPA and VMMIMAIN board assembly)
• Visual C++ 6.0
• Languages such as simulators and test programs, to develop applications outside VMMI ERTMS platform
• Borland C++ Builder 5.0
• Perl DOS batch language to create scripts that automate software production phases
• UML Notation to describe the software architecture

The software development of SIL0 applications is based on VxWorks (version 5.4.2 and updates) and on "COTS" operating system (by Wind River).
As of SIL4 application development, the software development activities is based on DOS4GW v. 2.01a operating system.

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