The aerospace industry is undergoing a major metamorphosis. As
air travel gets more popular and affordable, there is an essential need for
highly efficient avionics systems across commercial, business, military and UAV
programs that are compliant as per DO-254, DO-178B, DO-178C, DO-160 and
ARP-4754 standards. Compliance with FAA and EASA addresses the business needs
of aerospace companies across hardware, software and system and mechanical
engineering systems that is crucial for ensuring airworthiness of critical
avionics systems.
Verification and Validation Services
Technology partners work in close association with manufacturers
and provide various compliance services:
· EUROCADE ED-12C/RTCA, DO-178B and DO-178C
compliant model based design and software architecture development
· Design and verification for FPGA, ASIC and
SoC components in compliance with DO-254 guidelines
· System-level design, verification and
validation in compliance with ARP-4754 guidelines
· Tools qualification in compliance with
EUROCADE ED-215/RTCA DO330
· Object-oriented
technology based development and verification complaint with EUROCAE ED-217/RTCA DO-332
DO-254 Certification Requirement
To meet the high quality, on-time delivery, low total-cost-of-ownership,
high value addition and exceptional customer service requirements, compliance
to the hardware and software standards set by RTCA and FAA becomes inevitable.
The DO-245 or Design Assurance Guidance for Airborne Electronic Hardware provides
manufacturers guidance for the development of electronic hardware that is the
foundation of critical avionics systems. Recognized by the FAA, the DO-245
certification encompasses critical avionics hardware across FPGAs, PLDs, and
ASICs.
As avionics hardware need to incorporate high precision due to
the nature of the systems they are part of, the DO-245 certification lays down
5 levels of compliance that defines the effect of failure hardware will have on
the operation of the aircraft. While level A failure is the most stringent,
having a catastrophic effect on the efficiency of the aircraft, failure of
Level E hardware will not affect the safety of the aircraft but is nevertheless
important for good performance. Capturing the requirements and tracking them
throughout the design and verification process is an important aspect of the
DO-254 certification process, which incorporates a Plan
for Hardware Aspects of Certification, Hardware Verification Plan, Top-Level
Drawing and Hardware Accomplishment Summary.
DO-254 Certification
With avionics system manufacturers developing a host of hardware
and software systems that are used in various parts of the aircraft, they need
to be certified as per the DO-254 compliance guidelines. By teaming up with technology partners who are
competent in handling the DO-254 life cycle, avionics system manufacturers can
meet the required compliance needs within a short time-frame. These technology
partners provide support for all phases including SOI-1 to SOI-IV and ensure an
accelerated process with high efficiency. Using tools like Modelsim10.2C,
Libero11.2, DOORS, Clear-Case, Clear-quest, technology partners are able to offer
a range of services for DO-254 certification including:
· Development of scripts to
switch functional and post-layout
simulation
· Test bench skeleton creation
· Integration of all BFMs
·
Assertions to monitor timing requirements of interfaces
Certification Process
The certification process encompasses the following:
1. Planning: The planning phase is crucial in the DO-254
project life cycle as it defines how all aspects of the project will achieve the
DO-254 compliance. The
hardware manufacturer declares the approach towards the certification by
presenting the plan for hardware aspects of certification to the FAA. In this
plan, the manufacturer presents its approach and how DO-254 is implemented as
part of the SOI 1.
2. Requirements Gathering: Requirements capture is vital to
the success of the DO-254 program. This phase captures requirements starting
from components requirements to system requirements.
3. Design: The design
phase involves development of a high-level design concept that can be assessed
to determine if the resulting implementation will meet the requirements. The
actual designing using HDL coding begins in this phase.
4. Validation and Verification
Process: First the validation process is
done which provides assurance that the requirements are correct and complete
with respect to system requirements allocated to the hardware. Next, the
verification process is conducted which provides assurance that the hardware
implementation meets all of the requirements.
Ensuring High Airworthiness
Guidelines like the DO-254 provide design assurance of airborne electronic hardware
through the entire life cycle: from conception to certification to ensure high
airworthiness and the success and safety of the avionics industry.
