DDC-I, a leading supplier of software for mission and safety-critical applications, announced a new MOSA-aligned SoC platform for edge processing applications. Based on the AMD Zynq Ultrascale+ SoC, the platform combines the Deos™ DAL A, FACE®-conformant, DO-178C safety-critical RTOS with TTTECH’s Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) implementation, the TSN-End Point IP Integration Kit. The combined SoC platform extends TSN backbone networks to the edge, providing a modular, scalable, SWaP-friendly endpoint control and sensor node, DCU (Data Concentrator Unit), or intelligent TSN interface solution for a broad range of avionics, land, and marine applications.
“Deos provides an industry-standard, open architecture, MOSA-compliant, RTOS environment that is ideal for extending real-time networking and multi-core processing to edge devices, providing a low-SWaP, low-latency, high-bandwidth, deterministic, cost-effective endpoint solution for sensor and control nodes,” said Gary Gilliland, Vice President of Marketing at DDC-I. “Ultrascale+ SoCs running Deos have a strong pedigree in both commercial and military markets, and when coupled with TSN, provide a flexible, high-performance, low-risk platform for a wide range of edge sensing and control, from fly-by-wire flight controls and mobile machinery to sensor fusion for 360º situational awareness.”
TSN is an IEEE networking standard used in automotive and industrial markets and is rapidly being adopted as a digital backbone standard for next-generation aerospace and defense systems. TSN ensures common, reliable, real-time, and low-latency data delivery across multiple platform providers. TTTECH provides 1 and 10 Gigabit TSN network IP that complies with the recently released IEEE 802.1DP TSN aerospace profile.
Extending TSN from the backbone to the edge, particularly with a safety-critical RTOS like Deos, enables developers to create SWaP-friendly, standards-based edge nodes that are modular, deliver higher performance, and increase functional density. These modular nodes provide an easier path to certification and maintenance as new capabilities are added. In avionics edge applications, bringing control and high-speed networking closer to the edge significantly reduces wiring weight and harness complexity by standardizing the wiring to fewer types while TSN’s higher bandwidth supports more devices per line. Overall, scaling the TSN network to smaller devices reduces size, weight, cost, and power consumption, reducing the need for intermediate data interface units.
Deos is highly scalable, from small footprint single-core applications to complex applications requiring multiple cores, enabling developers to start with a single-core Deos environment and migrate to a multi-core configuration seamlessly. Deos includes built-in multi-core synchronization, which is often needed in distributed control and redundant systems. To improve SWaP and streamline certification at the network edge, Deos uses a modular architecture that lets developers reuse the same OS component software modules, down to the binary level, from one certifiable project to the next. This ensures developers get a high-integrity RTOS proven through prior FAA and/or EASA processes.
The Deos reuse infrastructure also makes it easy for developers to take advantage of the latest processor technology. For example, if multi-core performance on the four Arm A53 Ultrascale+ cores proves limiting, developers can migrate their applications and other system-level software executables directly to AMD’s newer Versal 2 family, which features eight Arm A78AE primary cores, without recompiling. Where space constraints allow, developers can also migrate their applications to a MOSA-aligned card-level solution available from companies like North Atlantic Industries.
Development support for the Deos-hosted TSN platform includes TTTECH’s Ultrascale+ TSN development reference platform, which incorporates Deos, DDC-I’s Open Arbor development tools, and a TSN driver. The turnkey platform lets customers quickly start building a TSN endpoint controller/sensor node for safety-critical use cases. Deos takes full advantage of Ultrascale+ security features to deliver capabilities including secure boot, encryption, secure communications, and system updates. Further, if a secure TSN network is required, Datagram Transport Layer Security (DTLS) may be integrated via the Deos TLS (Transport Layer Security) module.
