An open architecture for embedded systems: Hardware Open Systems Technologies

A major contributing factor to the high life cycle costs of military embedded systems is vendor lock resulting from Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) and prime contractor ownership of proprietary intellectual property. Most existing computing platforms are custom designs built from components that are not directly applicable to use on other military platforms. This paper describes the Hardware Open Systems Technologies (HOST) Standards and Specifications set which provides an open approach for a system level framework that can lower life cycle costs for military computing systems by leveraging Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) equipment, modular design, and industry standards.