Nasa and Rockwell Collins to develop software analysis tools for commercial aircraft

Nasa has teamed up Rockwell Collins to develop new software analysis tools for the future commercial aircraft to verify the safety of flight critical systems.

Under the one-year contract, Rockwell Collins will develop a set of software analysis tools, conduct demonstrations, and will provide recommendations to Nasa.

According to Rockwell Collins, the complexity of avionics systems is increasing due to the addition of new capabilities that reduce carbon emissions, increase navigation performance and prepare for the FAA NextGen airspace initiative.

As a result, there is a need for new methods for analysis that will ensure that the system will operate safely under all conditions, the company said.

Rockwell Collins Advanced Technology Center vice-president John Borghese said that complex avionics systems can literally have billions of modes and states.

"By incorporating formal mathematical verification, also known as formal methods, we can detect and remove software bugs and security vulnerabilities early in the development process when it’s less costly to correct errors," Borghese said.

Rockwell Collins leadership in formal methods started more than a decade ago with basic research into the methodology and tool development.

Recently, Rockwell Collins secured a $16m contract from Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) programme, High-Assurance Cyber Military Systems (HACMS), to develop new formal methods tools to provide cyber security solutions for unmanned aerial vehicles.

Rockwell Collins is engaged in the development and deployment of communication and aviation electronic solutions for both commercial and government applications with a global service and support network in 27 countries worldwide.

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Image: Under the contract, Rockwell Collins will develop a set of software analysis tools, conduct demonstrations, and provide recommendations to Nasa. Photo: courtesy of Suzanne T.