Flight Safety Certification Implications for Complex Multi-Core Processor Based Avionics Systems

Weight is fuel and cost. In the future the quest to continue integration and leverage modern powerful compute fabrics is a central goal of modern avionics architectures combined functional integration to create emergent new functionality. Additionally, cost savings in aerospace lead to the need of having to use commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS)computing architectures. This paper provides a brief overview of issues in using COTS electronics with focus on multi-core processors (MCP)in avionics architectures, their requirements and describes what standards and processes need to be followed. The paper suggests potential support items - certification package - for use of multicore architectures in safety-critical avionics architectures.