Methods and tools for reducing certification costs of mixed-criticality applications on multi-core platforms: the RECOMP approach

abstract

The current trends in embedded systems are driving the integration of more functions in one processing element. At the same time, multicore architectures are increasingly used to improve performance, reduce costs, power consumption and size. Safety-critical applications are developed according to certification standards, which, depending on the criticality level, dictate the development processes and certification procedures that have to be followed. Functions of different criticalities have to be separated, both temporally and spatially, otherwise a low-criticality function can corrupt a high-criticality function. Separation is difficult to achieve in multicores, which leads to very high certification costs: all the functions on a multicore have to be developed as if they are of highest criticality. The RECOMP (Reduced certification cost for trusted multicore platforms) project aims at reducing the certification costs of mixed-criticality applications on multicore platforms, and addresses several industries, including industrial automation, automotive and avionics. The reduction in certification costs is achieved through (1) the use of separation solutions among mixed-criticality functions, through a combination of communication infrastructure, hardware, operating systems and middleware, methods and tools and component models, such that the required independence is achieved; (2) reducing the need for tool qualification, which is very expensive, by performing a tool-chain analysis of the tools used to develop a particular system; (3) methods and tools which reduce development costs and assist the designers in the certification lifecycle. This paper presents the RECOMP approach to safety-critical multicore systems, with a focus on methods and tools.