Cert-Kit validates safety-critical software applications

18th February 2014

Nat Bowers

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Using the µC/OS-MPU real-time kernel as a pre-certified component, the µC/OS-MPU Cert-Kit for LPC32x0 from Embedded Office facilitates the development of safety-critical applications and considerably reduces the certification process. It is suitable for developing safety-critical devices according to the IEC62304 (medical devices) and IEC61508 (industrial applications) standards.

Providing everything needed to create an executable application, the kit includes: the certified source code; various software manuals such as safety, target integration, user, reference and system manual; validation software (including reference board support package); and the TÜV certificate pertaining to the type approval.

The pre-certified software component offers an extensive range of operating system services for safety-critical projects. These include: semaphores; mutual-exclusion semaphores; event flags; message mailboxes; message queues; memory management; task management; SW timer management; and a stack monitor. Additionally, by regulating changes to the configurations, the Cert-Kit allows all the services to be adapted to the project requirements and protects the memory areas of processes against write accesses from other processes.

The certification is based on the 32-bit ARM microcontrollers of the LPC32x0 family from NXP Semiconductors, using the GNU Compiler Collection to serve as the development environment.

Thomas Amann, Managing Director, Embedded Office, comments: “The development of safety-critical software plays a central role in ever-more embedded systems across all sectors. The certification of such software is however a complex and drawn-out process. With the µC/OS-MPU Cert-Kit for LPC32x0, we are offering a pre-certified component that supports manufacturers of safety-relevant systems in standard-compliant development and which paves the way for a swift and reliable certification of the end product."