Choice of design methodologies for demanding high intensity industrial control systems

There is now a marked increase in the use of computers and programmable electronic systems (PES) for industrial control systems. The principal reason for this is the increased functionality possible that enables systems to either do something that would otherwise be impractical with traditional techniques, or to increase efficiency. In such situations the overall safety of the operator, or the final product often depends on the correct functioning of the computer or PES, and therefore comes under the category of safety-critical computing. The authors discuss the nature of the problem and the choice of design methodologies