Design Article
DO-178C takes safety-critical software development to the next level
Tim King, DDC-I and Bill StClair, LDRA
4/2/2012 9:08 AM EDT
Full turn DO-178C certification services
Automated tools greatly reduce the time and cost associated with developing DO-178-compliant software. DO-178 certification, however, is still an expensive, time consuming and arduous process. To help expedite this process for avionics equipment makers, companies like DDC-I offer Eclipse-based development tools and RTOS platforms that have already undergone the most rigorous DO-178B Level A certification processes and been deployed in real-world commercial and military avionics systems. They also offer turnkey development and certification services for both DO-178B and DO-178C.
Figure: A DO-178C cockpit display hosted by the Deos RTOS
Conclusion
DO-178C is welcome news for developers of complex avionics software that must be certified to the highest levels of safety criticality. DO-178C simplifies the development process by embracing high-level modeling and object oriented techniques that enable designers to conceptualize and encapsulate their software at a higher level. It also streamlines the verification and certification process by providing bidirectional traceability that extends from the models and requirements to the executable code and back again. These enhancements, together with automated development and certification tools, DO-178B/C-certifiable real-time operating system platforms, and turnkey certification services, greatly reduce the time, cost and risk associated with developing, certifying, and deploying complex safety-critical avionics software.
About the authors:
. Tim King is the Technical Marketing Manager at DDC-I. He has more than 20 years of experience developing, certifying and marketing commercial avionics software and RTOSs. Tim is a graduate of the University of Iowa and Arizona State University, where he earned Master’s degrees in Computer Science and Business Administration, respectively. He can be contacted at tking@ddci.com.
. Bill StClair is currently Director, US Operations for LDRA Technology in San Bruno, California, and has more than 25 years in embedded software development and management. Bill was a member of the DO-178C OOT Subcommittee .He has worked in the avionics, defense, space, communications, industrial controls and commercial industries as a developer, verification engineer, manager and company founder. He is an inventor of a patent-pending embedded requirements verification system. He can be contacted at bstclair@ldra-usa.com.
Automated tools greatly reduce the time and cost associated with developing DO-178-compliant software. DO-178 certification, however, is still an expensive, time consuming and arduous process. To help expedite this process for avionics equipment makers, companies like DDC-I offer Eclipse-based development tools and RTOS platforms that have already undergone the most rigorous DO-178B Level A certification processes and been deployed in real-world commercial and military avionics systems. They also offer turnkey development and certification services for both DO-178B and DO-178C.
Figure: A DO-178C cockpit display hosted by the Deos RTOS
Conclusion
DO-178C is welcome news for developers of complex avionics software that must be certified to the highest levels of safety criticality. DO-178C simplifies the development process by embracing high-level modeling and object oriented techniques that enable designers to conceptualize and encapsulate their software at a higher level. It also streamlines the verification and certification process by providing bidirectional traceability that extends from the models and requirements to the executable code and back again. These enhancements, together with automated development and certification tools, DO-178B/C-certifiable real-time operating system platforms, and turnkey certification services, greatly reduce the time, cost and risk associated with developing, certifying, and deploying complex safety-critical avionics software.
About the authors:
. Tim King is the Technical Marketing Manager at DDC-I. He has more than 20 years of experience developing, certifying and marketing commercial avionics software and RTOSs. Tim is a graduate of the University of Iowa and Arizona State University, where he earned Master’s degrees in Computer Science and Business Administration, respectively. He can be contacted at tking@ddci.com.
. Bill StClair is currently Director, US Operations for LDRA Technology in San Bruno, California, and has more than 25 years in embedded software development and management. Bill was a member of the DO-178C OOT Subcommittee .He has worked in the avionics, defense, space, communications, industrial controls and commercial industries as a developer, verification engineer, manager and company founder. He is an inventor of a patent-pending embedded requirements verification system. He can be contacted at bstclair@ldra-usa.com.
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