Next generation COTS-commercial IP blocks in avionics

It is foreseen that intellectual property (IP) based system-on-chip (SoC) can be frequently used in avionics in the future. Today, this IP technology is the main choice for high volume consumer products. Nearly all essential building blocks for SoCs are IP blocks, or virtual components. These virtual IP components compose the future hardware subsystem and are used in avionics in the same way as commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) products are used today. This work discusses vital issues concerning the possibilities to use commercial IP blocks in avionics applications. Several items need to be explored before commercial IP blocks can be used in safety critical applications and harsh environments. Issues addressed in the paper include, specific needs for avionics applications, IP selection process, IP selection criteria, and IP qualification strategies for avionics. The work reported here is based on the early results from Soccer (SoC from civilian to armament re-use), which is a project within the Western European Union. The Soccer project aims to be the basis for the creation of a European military IP exchange network.