BAE Systems has introduced a second generation of its CsLEOS real-time operating system for safety-critical systems, aimed at avionics and mission processing applications.
CsLEOS, introduced last year, is used in a new flight control computer for the Boeing C-17 transport, fly-by-wire system for the Sikorsky H-92 helicopter and vehicle management system for the Northrop Grumman X-47A Pegasus unmanned combat air vehicle demonstrator.
Second-generation CsLEOS introduces built-in fault tolerance and supports the OpenGL graphics standard, which allows the same processor to run flight-critical applications and generate graphics for cockpit displays, says product manager Milan Dedek. The next step will introduce Internet Protocol and Posix communications standards, allowing CsLEOS to be used in communication and identification systems. A fourth step will introduce the Corba database standard, allowing the system to be used for network-centric processing.
CsLEOS uses the ARINC 653 application programming interface (API) to provide "brick wall" partitioning between different applications running on the same processor. API extensions in the second-generation operating system guarantee the response of each application to a fault. "The designer can set a fast restart for one application, such as engine controls, and slower for another," says Dedek. "Each application can respond differently to the same fault."
Second-generation CsLEOS retains the DO-178 Level A certification capability that allows the real-time operating system to be used in commercial flight-critical applications. These could include unmanned air vehicles required to fly in civil airspace, he says.
Source: Flight International