Commercial, Embedded Avionics

Rockwell Collins Selects AdaCore

By Tish Drake | May 3, 2011
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Rockwell Collins will use GNAT Pro High-Integrity Edition for DO-178B from AdaCore, of New York, to implement the Electronic Flight Instrument System/Engine Indication and Crew Alert System (EFIS/EICAS) Interface Unit, model EIU-7001. Rockwell Collins is using the GNAT Pro High-Integrity Edition for bare board PowerPC ELF as the cross-compilation environment for developing this new-generation software.

Rockwell Collins selected the GNAT Pro tool chain to port the existing Ada codebase from the aircraft’s previous display system to a modern processor, as the most efficient and lowest risk approach to system modernization.

The GNAT Pro High-Integrity Edition for DO-178B development environment includes several run-time libraries that are fully certifiable to DO-178B Level A requirements. For the EIU-7001display system project, Rockwell Collins has selected the Zero-Footprint (ZFP) run-time library, corresponding to a sequential Ada subset that eliminates both non-deterministic and complex language features. Use of this clearly-defined subset has significantly reduced the Rockwell Collins certification effort.

“We have a long and successful relationship with Rockwell Collins as an AdaCore customer, and we are pleased that their EUI-7001 display system project is using our GNAT Pro High-Integrity Edition,” said Robert Dewar, AdaCore President and CEO. “This product is well-suited for the highest levels of safety certification. It provides the full GNAT Pro Ada compilation system, accompanied by development and testing tools as well as a set of certifiable run-time libraries that can be used “as is” or tailored to the application’s requirements.”

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