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Yi Zheng
yzheng@qnx.com
Architectures for ISO 26262 systems with multiple ASIL requirements

To satisfy consumer demand while building better cars and controlling costs, automakers are consolidating multiple in-vehicle systems onto one board. This consolidation creates problems, however. In particular, automakers must find a way to incorporate into the same system components running consumer-grade applications, and components whose dependability and freedom from undesired interference must be rigorously engineered and proven.
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September 2014
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Chris Hobbs
CHobbs@qnx.com
Testing as a road to confidence-from-use

The role of testing in software-based systems has changed significantly in the past few years. The 2013 release of the ISO/IEC 29119 software testing standard reflects this change, though the move towards risk-based rather than requirement-based testing had already been adopted, either tacitly or explicitly, by most test groups. The testing of a software system can now be seen as a means of producing evidence of confidence-in-use rather than a demonstration of the correctness of the system.
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May 2014
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Tina Jeffrey
tjeffrey@qnx.com

Chris Ault
cault@qnx.com


Client-side Challenges of M2M-enabled Updates for Mobile Embedded Systems

The number and diversity of current and possible M2M implementations in cars make them an excellent paradigms for examining issues of software and firmware upgrades to mobile and embedded platforms. All things being equal on the server side and with the network infrastructure (they are reliable and secure), M2M-enabled updates to automotive systems present three major client-side challenges: safety-related components, limited computing resources, and connectivity.
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April 2013
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Chris Hobbs
chobbs@qnx.com


The Dangers of Over-Engineering a Safe System

Attempts to increase dependability of a specific component without considering the question of overall system dependability may lead to the introduction of new problems. We examine the effect on dependability of adding software error detection to a 2oo2 system, consider the benefits and adverse consequences of this addition, and suggest other approaches to improving dependability.
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April 2013
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Chris Hobbs
chobbs@qnx.com

Yi Zheng
yzheng@qnx.com


Protecting Software Components from Interference in an ISO 26262 System

Automobile safety often depends on the correct operation of software-based systems constructed from many different components. Good design requires that these components be isolated from each other on multiple axes so that they do not inadvertently interfere with each other. In this paper we present techniques that can help a) ensure that a system implements the component isolation required by ISO 26262, and b) demonstrate that this isolation has been implemented.
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March 2013
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Yi Zheng
yzheng@qnx.com

Chris Hobbs
chobbs@qnx.com

Ten Truths about Building Safe Embedded Software Systems

Obtaining safety certifications and approvals for safety-related systems and the larger systems, devices, components, machinery, and vehicles in which they reside is an arduous and costly undertaking. If the projects developing these systems are to be successful, manufacturers must look beyond the strictly technical challenges, and focus also on the environment and culture needed to develop safe software systems.
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December 2012
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Chris Ault
cault@qnx.com

Mark Pitchford
mark.pitchford@ldra.com


Using Dynamic Software Analysis to Support Medical Device Approval

Two key challenges facing medical device software manufacurer are a) demonstrating safety and b) obtaining approval by regulatory agencies. In this paper we look at how dynamic code analysis can support demonstrations of compliance with safety requirements, and key capabilities to look for in dynamic analysis tools. We conclude with tables mapping development activities with requirements in the IEC 62304 standard, and a short description of important OS characteristics.
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November 2012
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Grant Courville
gcourville@qnx.com
Choosing an OS for Embedded Train Control Systems

Trains are no longer run by men in overalls with lantern signals. They are controlled by software in embedded systems. In this whitepaper we look at some requirements of this software and discuss OS characteristics that support these requirements, in particular where real-time performance is needed and why, the importance of the OS for certifications to standards such as the EN 5012x series and IEC 61508, the OS architecture, and some OS features that support system dependability.
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October 2012
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Chris Hobbs
chobbs@qnx.com
Which OS for IEC 62304 Medical Systems?

This paper is for anyone who must select an OS for a safety-critical medical system. It provides information to help with estimates of the real cost of choosing a Linux or QNX OS. It lists requirements identified by standards such as IEC 62304, ISO 14971 and IEC 61508, and offers comparative estimates of the effort required to meet these requirements. These estimates are for initial certification and pre-approval, subsequent re-certifications following OS upgrades, and ongoing costs.
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August 2012
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Chris Hobbs
chobbs@qnx.com
Clear SOUP and COTS Software for Medical Device Development

Medical device manufacturers may be reluctant to use COTS (commercial-off-the-shelf) because it implies SOUP (software of uncertain provenance), and thus may compromise device safety and pre-market approval by regulatory agencies. If we make the distinction between opaque SOUP and clear SOUP, that is, SOUP for which source code, fault histories and long in-use histories are available, we will find that COTS software may be the optimal choice for many safety-related medical devices.
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September 2011
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Chris Hobbs
chobbs@qnx.com
Building Functional Safety into Complex Software Systems, Part II

Proofs that software systems meet standards for functional safety have depended on exhaustive testing. This method is inadequate for today’s multi-threaded systems, whose complexity precludes their being treated as deterministic systems in practice.

In Part II of this whitepaper series, we propose how a combination of procedural rigor, statistical testing, and design verification can be used to increase confidence in the functional safety of complex software systems.
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March 2011

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Chris Hobbs
chobbs@qnx.com
Building Functional Safety into Complex Software Systems, Part I

Proofs that software systems meet standards for functional safety have depended on exhaustive testing. This method is inadequate for today’s multi-threaded systems, whose complexity precludes their being treated as deterministic systems in practice.

In Part I of this whitepaper series we discuss the limits of testing of complex software systems, and some factors that should be weighed when deciding how to build complex software systems that must meet functional safety standards.
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January 2011

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Chris Hobbs
chobbs@qnx.com
Using an IEC 61508-Certified RTOS Kernel for Safety-Critical Systems

This whitepaper presents the characteristics of a safe kernel,and briefly describes the QNX® Neutrino® RTOS Safe Kernel, which has been certified to conform to IEC 61508 at Safety Integrity Level 3. The paper then describes some important support requirements for developing applications with safe kernels: a comprehensive tool suite, documentation and training.
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September 2010
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Chris Hobbs
chobbs@qnx.com
Protecting Applications Against Heisenbugs

Virtually-synchronous replication provides a mechanism that allows developers of mission- and safety-critical applications to reduce the impact of elusive and non-reproducible bugs—commonly known as Heisenbugs—in their applications.
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February 2010
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Chris Hobbs
chobbs@qnx.com
Fault Tree Analysis with Bayesian Belief Networks for Safety-Critical Software

The flexibility of Bayesian Belief Networks makes them particularly suitable for presenting a quantified safety case incorporating hard and soft evidence. This paper describes their application to one component of an overall safety assessment of the QNX Neutrino microkernel.
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January 2010
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Other whitepaper topics: Recent, Automotive, German Whitepapers, HMI + Graphics, Industrial, Medical, Multimedia + Acoustics, Networking, Operating Systems, Security + Defense, Safe Systems, Tools