OPEN HARDWARE CONFORMANCE STANDARD
Mixed-Signal Finite State Controller (MS-FSC)
Jimmy Willard Anthony Smith, Clarkson EE '99
Electrical Engineer · Computer Engineer · Software Engineer · Certified Energy Manager
A Universal, Vendor-Neutral Standard for Digital + Analog Control Systems
The Open Hardware Conformance Standard (OHCS) defines a complete, interoperable mixed-signal controller architecture for power electronics, PLC systems, SMPS controllers, FPGA/ASIC/CPLD/SPLD devices, and photonic-hybrid and quantum-enhanced microsystems. OHCS ensures that any vendor can implement a compatible controller — and prove it through automated, quantitative testing.
Problem Statement
WHY OHCS MATTERS
Eliminates supply-chain lock-in
Enables multi-vendor interoperability
Provides deterministic digital behavior
Defines analog conditioning requirements
Establishes measurable KPIs
Includes automated PASS/FAIL certification
Fully open-source, royalty-free, globally accessible
Deliverables
WHAT'S INCLUDED
Reference RTL
FSM, PWM, and DSP control-law modules in Verilog/VHDL
Mixed-Signal Simulink Model
Complete digital + analog plant model for simulation and validation
MATLAB KPI Analysis Suite
Automated quantitative performance and stability analysis toolchain
Vendor Onboarding Kit
Step-by-step integration guide for FPGA, ASIC, CPLD, SPLD, and photonic vendors
CI/CD Conformance Pipeline
Automated GitHub Actions workflow for continuous conformance testing
PASS/FAIL Badge System
Publicly verifiable certification badges for compliant implementations
Complete Documentation
Full specification, architecture diagrams, and integration reference
Vendor Certification
CERTIFICATION CRITERIA
Every vendor implementation is tested against a rigorous set of quantitative KPIs. Certification is fully automated through GitHub Actions — no manual review required for initial conformance.
KPI Metric
Description
Aliasing RMS Error
Measures spectral aliasing introduced by the ADC interface and digital sampling chain
Bit-Error RMS
Quantifies digital bit-error rate across the FSM state transitions and PWM output
Leakage Probability
Evaluates spectral leakage in the DSP control-law frequency domain response
Confidence Intervals
Statistical bounds on all KPI measurements across operating conditions
Functional FSM Behavior
State machine correctness verification across all defined transitions and edge cases
PWM Output Fidelity
Duty cycle accuracy, dead-time compliance, and switching frequency stability
ADC Interface Compliance
Sampling rate, resolution, and analog conditioning chain conformance
Certification is fully automated via GitHub Actions CI/CD — no manual review required.
Onboarding
GET STARTED
View the full specification
Download the complete OHCS v1.0 document and architecture reference
Download the onboarding kit
Get the vendor integration package including RTL templates and test harnesses
Submit your implementation
Fork the repository and submit your controller implementation via pull request
Run the automated conformance tests
GitHub Actions CI/CD pipeline executes the full KPI suite against your implementation
Earn your PASS badge
Receive your publicly verifiable OHCS conformance badge upon successful certification
Collaboration & Partnerships
CONTACT
For collaboration, vendor onboarding, or research partnerships:
Jimmy W.A. Smith
[email protected]www.jimmywasmith.com