Flexible and robust communication interface

1. A system, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory coupled with the processor, wherein the memory is configured to provide the processor with instructions which when executed cause the processor to:

receive, from a controller and via a communication channel with redundancy, a first instruction directed to a first device;

send the first instruction to the first device via a first communication protocol associated with the first device;

receive, from the controller and via the communication channel with redundancy, a second instruction directed to a second device; and

send the second instruction to the second device via a second communication protocol associated with the second device;

wherein: the first device includes a vertical takeoff and landing lift fan which is configured to rotate about a vertical axis of rotation, is configured to rotate during a vertical takeoff and landing mode, and is configured to be stopped during a forward flight mode; and the second device includes a forward flight lift fan which is configured to rotate about a longitudinal axis of rotation, is configured to be stopped during the vertical takeoff and landing mode, and is configured to rotate during the forward flight mode.

2. The system recited in claim 1 , wherein the first communication protocol includes one or is more of the following: ARINC 429, RS-422, Controller Area Network (CAN), serial, PWM, SDLC/HDLC, SPI, RS-232/422/485, or USB.

3. The system recited in claim 1 , wherein the second communication protocol includes one or more of the following: an Ethernet protocol, Spanning Tree Protocol, Parallel Redundancy Protocol, EtherCAT, Modbus, or Avionics Full-Duplex Switched Ethernet (AFDX).

4. The system recited in claim 1 , wherein the communication channel with redundancy includes one or more of the following: an Ethernet protocol, Spanning Tree Protocol, Parallel Redundancy Protocol, EtherCAT, Modbus, or Avionics Full-Duplex Switched Ethernet (AFDX).

5. The system recited in claim 1 , wherein the memory is further configured to provide the processor with instructions which when executed cause the processor to: receive, from the first device in an aircraft, a first piece of state information associated with the aircraft; associate a first timestamp with the first piece of state information; receive, from the second device in the aircraft, a second piece of state information associated with the aircraft; associate a second timestamp with the second piece of state information; send, to the controller and via the communication channel with redundancy, the first piece of state information with the first timestamp and the second piece of state information with the second timestamp; and generate an instruction, including by organizing the first piece of state information and the second piece of state information using the first timestamp and the second timestamp.

6. The system recited in claim 1 , wherein the memory is further configured to provide the processor with instructions which when executed cause the processor to: receive, from a device in an aircraft, an encoded message; perform decoding on the encoded message, wherein decoding determines a number of errors in the encoded message; and send, to the controller and via the communication channel with redundancy, diagnostic information which includes the number of errors in the encoded message.

7. The system recited in claim 1 , wherein the memory is further configured to provide the processor with instructions which when executed cause the processor to: receive, from a device in an aircraft, an encoded message; perform decoding on the encoded message, wherein decoding determines a number of errors in the encoded message; determine if the number of errors in the encoded message exceeds a reporting threshold; and in the event it is determined that the number of errors in the encoded message exceeds the reporting threshold, send, to the controller and via the communication channel with redundancy, diagnostic information which includes the number of errors in the encoded message.

8. The system recited in claim 1 , wherein the memory is further configured to provide the s processor with instructions which when executed cause the processor to: receive, from a device in an aircraft, an encoded message; perform decoding on the encoded message, wherein decoding determines a number of errors in the encoded message; and send, to the controller and via the communication channel with redundancy, diagnostic 10 information which includes the number of errors in the encoded message, wherein: at the controller, it is determined if the number of errors in the encoded message exceeds a reporting threshold; and in the event it is determined that the number of errors in the encoded message exceeds the reporting threshold, the controller reports the diagnostic information which is includes the number of errors in the encoded message.

9. A method, comprising:

receiving, from a controller and via a communication channel with redundancy, a first instruction directed to a first device;

sending the first instruction to the first device via a first communication protocol 20 associated with the first device;

receiving, from the controller and via the communication channel with redundancy, a second instruction directed to a second device; and sending the second instruction to the second device via a second communication protocol associated with the second device;

wherein: the first device includes a vertical takeoff and landing lift fan which is configured to rotate about a vertical axis of rotation, is configured to rotate during a vertical takeoff and landing mode, and is configured to be stopped during a forward flight mode; and the second device includes a forward flight lift fan which is configured to rotate about a longitudinal axis of rotation, is configured to be stopped during the vertical takeoff and landing mode, and is configured to rotate during the forward flight mode.

10. The method recited in claim 9 further comprising: receiving, from the first device in an aircraft, a first piece of state information associated with the aircraft; associating a first timestamp with the first piece of state information; receiving, from the second device in the aircraft, a second piece of state information associated with the aircraft; associating a second timestamp with the second piece of state information; sending, to the controller and via the communication channel with redundancy, the first piece of state information with the first timestamp and the second piece of state information with the second timestamp; and generating an instruction, including by organizing the first piece of state information and the second piece of state information using the first timestamp and the second timestamp.

11. The method recited in claim 9 further comprising: receiving, from a device in an aircraft, an encoded message; performing decoding on the encoded message, wherein decoding determines a number of errors in the encoded message; and sending, to the controller and via the communication channel with redundancy, diagnostic information which includes the number of errors in the encoded message.

12. The method recited in claim 9 further comprising: receiving, from a device in an aircraft, an encoded message; performing decoding on the encoded message, wherein decoding determines a number of errors in the encoded message; determining if the number of errors in the encoded message exceeds a reporting threshold; and in the event it is determined that the number of errors in the encoded message exceeds the reporting threshold, sending, to the controller and via the communication channel with redundancy, diagnostic information which includes the number of errors in the encoded message.

13. The method recited in claim 9 further comprising: receiving, from a device in an aircraft, an encoded message; performing decoding on the encoded message, wherein decoding determines a number of errors in the encoded message; and s sending, to the controller and via the communication channel with redundancy, diagnostic information which includes the number of errors in the encoded message, wherein: at the controller, it is determined if the number of errors in the encoded message exceeds a reporting threshold; and in the event it is determined that the number of errors in the encoded message io exceeds the reporting threshold, the controller reports the diagnostic information which includes the number of errors in the encoded message.

14. A computer program product, the computer program product being embodied in a non-transitory computer readable storage medium and comprising computer instructions for:

receiving, from a controller and via a communication channel with redundancy, a first is instruction directed to a first device;

sending the first instruction to the first device via a first communication protocol associated with the first device;

receiving, from the controller and via the communication channel with redundancy, a second instruction directed to a second device; and sending the second instruction to the second device via a second communication protocol associated with the second device;

wherein: the first device includes a vertical takeoff and landing lift fan which is configured to rotate about a vertical axis of rotation, is configured to rotate during a vertical takeoff and landing mode, and is configured to be stopped during a forward flight mode; and the second device includes a forward flight lift fan which is configured to rotate about a longitudinal axis of rotation, is configured to be stopped during the vertical takeoff and landing mode, and is configured to rotate during the forward flight mode.

15. The computer program product recited in claim 14 further comprising computer 30 instructions for: receiving, from the first device in an aircraft, a first piece of state information associated with the aircraft; associating a first timestamp with the first piece of state information; receiving, from the second device in the aircraft, a second piece of state information associated with the aircraft; associating a second timestamp with the second piece of state information; sending, to the controller and via the communication channel with redundancy, the first piece of state information with the first timestamp and the second piece of state information with the second timestamp; and generating an instruction, including by organizing the first piece of state information and the second piece of state information using the first timestamp and the second timestamp.

16. The computer program product recited in claim 14 further comprising computer instructions for: receiving, from a device in an aircraft, an encoded message; performing decoding on the encoded message, wherein decoding determines a number of errors in the encoded message; and sending, to the controller and via the communication channel with redundancy, diagnostic information which includes the number of errors in the encoded message.