OnCore Systems Releases Certifiable Open Source OS for Digital Avionics Manufacturers; OnCore's MicroC/OS II RTOS Meets RTCA / EUROCAE DO-178B Certification Requirements.

Business/Technology Editors

HALF MOON BAY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 19, 2000

OnCore Systems Corporation, developer of the OnCore Systems Software Foundation, the most powerful embedded OS of its kind, today released a companion open source operating system product to meet the needs of digital avionics manufacturers requiring RTCA / EUROCAE DO-178B certification.

Certifiable MicroC/OS-II

MicroC/OS-II is a real-time operating system (RTOS) developed by Jean Labrosse, an embedded systems pioneer in open source software. His book, "MicroC/OS-II, The Real-Time Kernel" (ISBN 0-87930-543-6), has been widely sold and used as a valuable reference source by embedded engineers in over 45 countries. The MicroC/OS-II offering contains all of the services that one would expect from an industrial-strength, preemptive RTOS: semaphores, message mailboxes, message queues, event flags, interrupts, time delays and more. Each system call is fully described in detail in his book, and is published with a companion CD containing all of Labrosse's meticulously coded software modules. MicroC/OS-II has been ported to over 30 microprocessors.

OnCore partnered with Jean Labrosse's Micrium and Validated Software to create a full certification package of source code, build files and requirements, design, test and integration documentation to meet all requirements of avionics manufacturers seeking to obtain Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) RTCA/EUROCAE DO-178B certification. This certification package will support the industry's highest Level A certification.

Traditionally, avionics suppliers were forced down three unattractive pathways for certifying a real-time operating system (RTOS):

1.    Don't use an RTOS. Because an operating system is challenging to
      certify, many digital avionics firms have reduced the complexity
      of their project and used a simpler, easier-to-certify scheduler
      instead. This is a difficult strategy to maintain with the
      increasing market demands for higher levels of integration.

2.    Develop an RTOS internally. Many manufacturers, especially those
      requiring DO-178B Level A and Level B certification, have
      developed their own in-house RTOS. This is a significant
      investment, ranging into the millions of dollars, that only the
      largest of firms can afford.

3.    Use proprietary COTS RTOS. A few commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS)
      proprietary RTOS vendors have developed certification
      documentation packages for their binary software products. The
      lack of available source code and respective build files for
      their software has burdened a host of maintenance and control
      requirements that few software vendors can guarantee for the
      life of an airborne device.

OnCore's Certifiable Documentation Package for MicroC/OS-II removes all of these traditional barriers. It provides a robust kernel that enables multiple tasks and functions to be cleanly integrated. Its open source model allows engineers to review, contribute, and critique the RTOS, at a price that is a fraction of traditional costs. With the entire source code build environment being provided with the product, it can be easily integrated into existing avionics source code control systems, removing vendor dependence.

Delivering an Open Source RTOS to Safety Critical Market

"This is the first step toward enabling open source projects in safety-critical environments, states Chip Downing, OnCore System's President and CEO, and a veteran of numerous RTOS certifications. "With the appropriate review, controls, and management, avionics manufacturers can now begin to leverage this highly-critiqued body of software."

Pricing

The complete certifiable software and documentation package is immediately available from OnCore Systems and is aggressively priced to start at under $30,000 (US$), far below most COTS certifiable offerings.

About OnCore Systems

OnCore Systems Corporation is dedicated to connecting embedded designers to a larger world of operating systems technology. OnCore provides platforms for embedded, open system solutions, based upon proven technology foundations. OnCore Systems also provides software development tools and services to assist customers in meeting time-to-market demands. OnCore Systems, headquartered in Half Moon Bay, California, was founded in early 1999.

For more information about OnCore Systems Corporation and their products, please call [phone] or visit OnCore's web site at http://www.OnCoreSystems.com.