STUDY OF COMMERCIAL OFF-THE-SHELF (COTS) REAL-TIME OPERATING SYSTEMS (RTOS) IN AVIATION APPLICATIONS.
V. Halwan, Jim Krodel · Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC) · 2002
Commercially available real-time operating systems (RTOS) are seen as candidates for use in airborne-embedded software systems by airframe and engine manufacturers, because of the perceived cost and time savings associated with using commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components. Software professionals have pursued the reuse model established in the hardware arena for using COTS hardware components when building a system. Hardware designs can be fabricated from subassemblies and other components. Software designers have not been as effective in establishing their own reuse for COTS software components. Nevertheless, software component reuse is still sought as a means for increasing software development productivity and reducing development costs and schedule times. This report takes a detailed look into the safety and certification issues of using a COTS RTOS in aviation applications. RTOS attributes are detailed and their safety-related properties are discussed along with considerations to address when integrating a COTS RTOS with an application in an aviation system.