Designers of software intended to run in airborne systems have many things to consider that are different than designers of other safety systems. The highest level of safety is required. Governmental authorities regulate the systems associated with these devices and the software that runs on them.

Agencies like the FAA in the United States or the EASA in the European Union verify and rely on conformance to the DO-178C and related RTCA standards. Governmental authorities impose these standards on device manufacturers that intend to sell their equipment to aircraft manufacturers and other devices used to ensure civilian safety.

While the military and space industries do not require these stringent standards, they do recognize these and similar standards and often expect their suppliers to conform to these standards, as well.

While certain aspects of industry have defined specific standards for governance (for example, nuclear power), most suppliers for manufacturing have settled on the standard IEC 61508 (Functional Safety of Electrical/Electronic/Programmable Electronic Safety-related Systems) to manage the implementation of complex safety requirements. IEC 61508 guides all aspects of equipment development, including software developed by OEMs and suppliers and third-party and open-source software. This guidance is comprehensive and can be challenging to manage when third-party software is involved.

As a trusted supplier to industrial OEM, Tier 1, and 2 suppliers, Siemens Embedded has the products, services, and expertise to supply safety-certified products and high-quality open-source software, backed with the necessary evidence to be deployed in these highly demanding systems.

Third party software components that might be used in a medical device are not normally developed to medical software standards, and the use of this software must be justified from a risk analysis perspective. However, Mentor Embedded can provide proprietary software products such as Nucleus SafetyCert pre-certified to the medical software safety standard IEC 62304, along with an evidence package that satisfies the requirements of medical functional safety. On top of these products, Mentor Embedded can provide services and support to target this software to a medical device, and limit the regulatory headaches that using off-the-shelf software can bring to medical device developers.