First RTOS to earn UL/IEC 60730 & 60335 safety certification

Jason R. Smith, Staff Engineer, UL, comments: “ThreadX is the first RTOS to achieve UL recognition to the standards UL 60730-1, CSA E60730-1, IEC 60730-1, UL 60335-1 and IEC 60335-1. We are excited that Express Logic now is able to apply the UL mark to its products, giving home appliance manufacturers confidence that they can use ThreadX and be assured of its compliance with these important safety standards.”

Today, as electronic control systems are incorporated into many applications, the requirements of reliability and safety are increasingly important to system design. Along with IEC/UL 60730-1, which has requirements for 'Controls Using Software' in its Annex H, the IEC 60335-1 standard describes the requirements for 'Programmable Electronic Circuits' in its Annex R. IEC 60730 Annex H and IEC 60335-1 Annex R address the safety of MCU hardware and software used in appliances such as washing machines, dishwashers, dryers, refrigerators, freezers and ovens.

Express Logic’s ThreadX RTOS is a priority-based, fully preemptive RTOS for embedded systems in medical, industrial, consumer and automotive applications. ThreadX has been deployed in over 2bn electronic products and has been certified for use in many safety-critical systems. ThreadX has achieved TÜV-Saar certification to the highest SIL4 risk levels in both industrial safety’s IEC 61508 and medical’s IEC 62304 standards. Such commendation further validates the quality and rigorous development and maintenance process for the ThreadX software. Building on the UL1998 foundation, additional requirements addressing the issues of software safety in programmable components for home appliances have now been added to the latest editions of the UL 60730/60335 standards. ThreadX is the first to have satisfied those new requirements.

“We designed ThreadX to be deterministic and rock-solid reliable, making it possible to meet these demanding software safety standards. We are proud to be the first RTOS recognised by UL to have achieved compliance to the UL 60730-1 and UL 60335-1 standards for household appliances and software," adds William E. Lamie, President, Express Logic.

ThreadX is available from Express Logic in full source code form at license prices starting at $12,500.