LynuxWorks provides DO-178B/C certifiable ARINC-653 and POSIX-conformant RTOS for faster time-to-market for certified safety-critical systems
AVIONICS USA 2009 CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITION (BOOTH 504)- SAN DIEGO, June 1, 2009—LynuxWorks™, Inc., a world leader in embedded software, today announced that Avidyne®, a leading provider of integrated flight-deck systems for general aviation aircraft, selected LynxOS®-178 as the embedded real-time operating system (RTOS) for Avidyne’s next-generation Entegra™ Release 9 Integrated Flight Deck.
LynxOS-178 is a commercially available operating system and that enables manufacturers of DO-178B/C systems to get to market faster and with lower overall costs and risks associated with certifying FAA safety-critical flight systems. LynxOS-178 is a known certifiable RTOS package that allows avionics customers to achieve the highest degree of assurance and DO-178B/C certification to meet unique FAA requirements.
Avidyne’s Entegra Release 9 flight-deck systems include dual, triple, or quad Integrated Flight Displays (IFD) for general aviation and light business aircraft. The fully integrated design of Entegra Release 9 makes it ideal for high-performance singles, piston twins, turboprops, and light jets.
“LynxOS-178 provided us with a combination of essential advantages that other software providers could not match,” said Tom Neufelder, Avidyne’s Vice President of Engineering. “Specifically, ARINC 653 partitioning that allows us to integrate DO-178 Level B applications functionally next to Level D applications within the same machine, POSIX® API, a software tool chain based on industry standards, and an artifact package that now even includes an RSC (Reusable Software Component) which significantly reduces our product’s certification burden.” Avidyne is also able to protect its software investments going forward as LynxOS-178 is based on open and industry standards, such as POSIX and ARINC.
“Until fairly recently, advanced integrated flight deck systems such as Entegra generally weren’t available for smaller general aviation aircraft due to their cost, complexity, size, and weight,” said Steve Jacobson Vice President of Product Management at Avidyne. “LynuxWorks is playing a critical role in bringing our next generation state-of-the-art integrated display capability to market. We are able to leverage man-decades of safety critical LynuxWorks technology and integrate it within our avionics system design expertise. In essence, we are using the same core software technology that companies like Rockwell Collins use for larger commercial and military avionics systems. With LynxOS-178, we can apply the very same technology to provide unsurpassed value and reliability for our own customers and assure confidence that safety-critical applications will never be compromised.”
“We’re enthused about working with Avidyne and in LynxOS-178 playing a supportive role in their success,” said Joe Wlad, director of certification, services and marketing at LynuxWorks. “Leading military and commercial aviation suppliers are transitioning from in-house or proprietary operating systems due to their inherent life cycle costs, technical and business risks, and limited functionality, all of which restrict product growth and hit the corporate bottom line. Instead, customers are selecting our open POSIX/ARINC technology, which has demonstrated to accelerate the development of safety-critical products. Further, our reusable software component (RSC) acceptance by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) provides vendors, like Avidyne, with a huge advantage in getting their products certified in a timely manner.
About ARINC 653
ARINC 653 is an abbreviation for the ARINC Specification 653: Avionics Application Standard Software Interface, published July 15, 2003. The ARINC 653 specification for system partitioning and scheduling is often required in safety- and mission-critical systems, particularly in the avionics industry. It defines an APplication EXecutive (APEX) for space and time partitioning that may be used wherever multiple applications need to share a single processor and memory, in order to guarantee that one application impact another in the event of application failure. Each partition in an ARINC 653 system represents a separate application and only employs memory space that is dedicated to it. Similarly, the APEX allots a dedicated time slice to each, thus creating time partitioning. Because the ARINC 653 specification forces applications to be isolated, ARINC 653 conformance can be a step toward DO-178B/C certification. In some cases, ARINC 653 conformance makes it possible for DO-178 certified applications of different levels to run isolated from each other on the same computer. ARINC standards allow aircraft manufacturers to ensure that new installations are compatible and interchangeable. A study called “The Economic Impact of Avionics Standardization on the Airline Industry,” from Georgia State University’s Aviation Policy Research, Aviation and Transport Studies, estimates annual savings by the airlines industry of more than $291 million annually through the use of ARINC standards.
About Reusable Software Component (RSC)
Software reuse is an important aspect of controlling these software costs as well as improving time-to-market and quality of software systems, especially where the system needs to go through a rigorous certification process. LynxOS-178 is the first and only embedded operating system earn an Advisory Circular AC 20-148 acceptance letter from the FAA. With RSC approval, embedded systems integrators and developers can consider the operating system portion of the safety-critical software code and supporting DO-178B/C artifacts for reuse in other system designs with other software components without the need for full recertification. As a result, integrators and developers can significantly reduce the time and cost of achieving FAA certification and further reduce the risk involved in redevelopment efforts across multiple safety-critical systems.
About LynuxWorks
LynuxWorks, a world leader in the embedded software market, is committed to providing open and reliable real-time operating systems (RTOS) and software tools to embedded developers. The company’s LynxOS family of operating systems offers open standards with the highest level of safety and security features, enabling many mission-critical systems in defense, avionics and other industries. Additionally, LynuxWorks’ BlueCat Linux provides the features and support of embedded Linux for companies wanting to use open source technology for their embedded applications. The Eclipse-based Luminosity IDE gives a powerful and consistent development system across all LynuxWorks operating systems. Since it was established in 1988, LynuxWorks has created technology that has been successfully deployed in thousands of designs and millions of products made by leading communications, avionics, aerospace/defense, and consumer electronics companies. LynuxWorks’ headquarters are located in San José, CA.
About Avidyne Corporation
Avidyne’s continuing leadership in innovation and its Flying Made Simple™ system design make flying safer, more accessible and more enjoyable for pilots and their passengers. The company’s expanding line of products include the industry-leading Entegra integrated flight deck systems for new and existing aircraft, datalink-capable EX5000 and EX500 multi-function displays and the dual-antenna TAS600 series of active traffic advisory systems, the MLB700 broadcast datalink receiver, the MLX770 world-wide datalink transceiver, and the TWX670 Tactical Weather Detection system. Headquartered in Lincoln, MA, the company has facilities in Columbus, OH, Melbourne, FL, and Boulder, CO.
LynuxWorks is a trademark and LynxOS and BlueCat are registered trademarks of LynuxWorks, Inc. Other brand or product names are registered trademarks or trademarks of the respective holders. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.
Avidyne and FlyingMade Simple and Entegra are trademarks of Avidyne Corporation. All other products or services are identified by trademarks or service marks of their respective owners.