How to customize digital avionics but spend less

RTCA Special Committee 182 (SC-182) and the European Organisation for Civil Aviation Equipment (EUROCAE) Working Group 48 (WG-48) are jointly developing Minimum Operational Performance Standards (MOPS) for an Avionics Computer Resource (ACR). The ACR will be a generic resource, which will be loaded with partitioned software applications at the time of the aircraft system design to perform one or more specific aircraft functions. These functions could easily be upgraded, or new functions could be added, at a later time. The aim is to provide a means of reducing the development and modification costs of avionics by improving portability and streamlining the hardware and software qualification (certification) process. Different customers could install custom suites of avionic functions without the need for total recertification. Related avionics functions could be integrated to a higher degree than ever before. Assuming that various issues can be resolved, the ACR could be a major step in economically keeping up with new technology