 | This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. The specific problem is: getting rid of unexplained bulleted lists; toning down intensity of inscrutable jargon; proofreading (especially for capitalization). (January 2021) |
| Abbreviation |
|
|---|---|
| Latest version | April 19, 2000 |
| Organization | |
| Domain | Aviation electronics |
RTCA DO-254 / EUROCAE ED-80, Design Assurance Guidance for Airborne Electronic Hardware is a document providing guidance for the development of airborne electronic hardware, published by RTCA, Incorporated and EUROCAE. The DO-254/ED-80 standard was formally recognized by the FAA in 2005 via AC 20-152 as a means of compliance for the design assurance of electronic hardware in airborne systems.[1] The guidance in this document is applicable, but not limited, to such electronic hardware items as
- Line Replaceable Units (quickly replaceable components)
- Circuit board assemblies (CBA)
- Custom micro-coded components such as field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), programmable logic devices (PLD), and application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), including any associated macro functions
- Integrated technology components such as hybrid integrated circuits and multi-chip modules
- Commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components[2]
The document classifies electronic hardware items into simple or complex categories. An item is simple "if a comprehensive combination of deterministic tests and analyses appropriate to the design assurance level can ensure correct functional performance under all foreseeable operating conditions with no anomalous behavior." Conversely, a complex item is one that cannot have correct functional performance ensured by tests and analyses alone; so, assurance must be accomplished by additional means. The body of DO-254/ED-80 establishes objectives and activities for the systematic design assurance of complex electronic hardware, generally presumed to be complex custom micro-coded components, as listed above. However, simple electronic hardware is within the scope of DO-254/ED-80 and applicants propose and use the guidance in this standard to obtain certification approval of simple custom micro-coded components, especially devices that support higher level (A/B) aircraft functions.[1][3]
The DO-254/ED-80 standard is the counterpart to the well-established software standard RTCA DO-178C/EUROCAE ED-12C. With DO-254/ED-80, the certification authorities have indicated that avionics equipment contains both hardware and software, and each is critical to safe operation of aircraft. There are five levels of compliance, A through E, which depend on the effect a failure of the hardware will have on the operation of the aircraft. Level A is the most stringent, defined as "catastrophic" effect (e.g., loss of the aircraft), while a failure of Level E hardware will not affect the safety of the aircraft. Meeting Level A compliance for complex electronic hardware requires a much higher level of verification and validation than Level E compliance.
- ^ a b AC 20-152, FAA, Office AIR-100, 2007.
- ^ DO-254. p. 3.
- ^ DO-254. p. 5.
For a simple hardware item, extensive documentation of the design process is unnecessary. The supporting processes of verification and configuration management need to be performed and documented for a simple hardware item, but extensive documentation is not needed. Thus, there is reduced overhead in designing a simple hardware item to comply with this document. The main impact of this document is intended to be on the design of complex hardware items.