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Here you can find our range of White Papers. Click on the image to open the PDF, and scroll down for the series Embedded Architectures Supporting Mixed Safety Integrity Software.

Building on FreeRTOS for Safety Critical Applications

FreeRTOS is a top choice for embedded developers of mission-critical applications. But are you taking advantage of its prototyping capabilities for safety critical applications?

This paper examines why it’s so straight forward to upgrade from FreeRTOS for safety critical applications, and how to get your project up and running the low cost, low risk way.

Download White Paper: Building on FreeRTOS for Safety Critical Applications


Free to Safe white paper

RTOS Security: SAFERTOS and Its Enhanced Security Module

What does security typically mean to an embedded system? It is well known that no one action will make an embedded device secure, just as there is no one security risk; security requires a multi-layered approach.

This white paper demonstrates how SAFERTOS and its Enhanced Security Module can be used to provide internal protection mechanisms to prevent, detect, and slow bad actors from gaining access to sensitive data, or gaining control of a system.

Download Whitepaper: RTOS Security


ESM white paper

SAFERTOS & IAR Embedded Workbench For RISC-V

RISC-V is an ambitious programme to develop a universal Instruction Set Architecture (ISA) that is suitable for all processors, from small embedded microcontrollers to fast high performance computers.

This whitepaper, written in partnership with IAR Systems, looks at the maturity of the RISC-V ISA and its use in safety certified products. The combination of IAR Embedded Workbench with SAFERTOS on the RISC-V ISA is explored as a safety solution for the future.

Download White paper: RISC-V White paper


risc-v white paper

Free Demos & Manuals

Download fully functional, time-limited SAFERTOS demos, plus manuals, datasheets, and more.

Download Centre

Safety Critical RTOS

It is becoming increasingly popular to tackle complexity by constructing the embedded platform from Functional Safety Components.

Issues discussed within this white paper include:

  • Adapting the RTOS for use with different technology;
  • Adapting the RTOS to satisfy different safety design standards;
  • Building a software architecture from Functional Safety Components;
  • Functional Safety RTOS architecture considerations.

This white paper focuses on the development and use of a Functional Safety RTOS, however the topics discussed can equally be applied to any embedded software component that requires functional safety certification.

This paper was created for, and presented at, Embedded World 2019.

Download White Paper: Safety Critical RTOS


Safety Critical RTOS White Paper

Coping with Complexity, Designing for Safety

With every new update, microcontrollers increase in power and features. An unfortunate side effect is the increase in complexity, requiring the developer to read and understand larger amounts of information. In safety critical applications this complexity poses a significant risk. How does the designer know if they have covered all eventualities?

This white paper will examine the advantages of using a safety certified processor to tackle complexity, and how to demonstrate completeness of design to a certification body using an STM32 embedded microcontroller and SAFERTOS, a safety critical Real Time Operating System.

“The SIL3 pre-certified SAFERTOS from WITTENSTEIN high integrity systems, based on the functional model of the FreeRTOS kernel, is a natural choice for STM32 safety applications requiring an RTOS.” – Laurent Desseignes, Microcontroller Ecosystem Marketing Manager, STMicroelectronics.

Download White Paper: Coping with Complexity

Complexity White Paper

Increasing Security in Medical Devices

Connected medical devices have many benefits – they offer opportunities for continuous monitoring, telemedicine and big data analytics to uncover hidden trends. With connectivity, there is always a risk that bad actors could gain access to medical devices, with potential life or death consequences.

As attacks evolve and get increasingly novel, aggressive, sophisticated and frequent, defences must be continually refined, improved, strengthened and hardened. But how should we do this?

This white paper addresses the first steps to take when developing security software for medical applications, through use of standards, the development life cycle, and common security mechanisms.

Download White Paper: Increasing Security in Medical Devices

Medical Device White Paper

Issues Affecting Automotive Software Developers

There has been an amazing growth of software used within automobiles in recent years, with cars quickly becoming super computers on wheels. The challenges facing engineers developing embedded software for automobiles are great, and cover a very broad range of issues.

This white paper introduces and discusses the issues that face embedded software engineers who are developing automotive software, including:

  • Types of Automotive Software
  • Safety Development Standards inc. ISO 26262
  • Security in Automotive Embedded Systems
  • Reusable Software Platforms inc. OSEK & AUTOSAR
  • Software Architecture Considerations
Download White Paper: Issues Affecting Automotive Developers

Automotive White Paper

Embedded Architectures Supporting Mixed Safety Integrity Software

We are proud to present our new series of White Papers focusing on mixed SIL software designs. Download the new White Paper today, and sign up to our newsletter to be notified of the next release in the series.

System designers are now faced with the challenge of providing safety and functionality as part of the same system. In many cases safety critical systems have to support feature rich graphical interfaces, responsive networking communications, diagnostics, data storage and much more. Due to the rigours of developing safety critical software the development costs are high and it would not be feasible to develop all the software used within the system to the highest safety level required.

This means that within a single system there may be several different levels of safety software.

Therefore the software within the system needs to be partitioned, grouping software of the same safety level together, and assuring that software from lower safety levels can not interfere with software relating to the higher safety levels. Partitioning allows the safety related software to be kept small and concise, whilst allowing the use of third party software modules, which shortens development times and lowers costs.


Mixed Safety Integrity Level White Paper

Paper 1:
Embedded Architectures Supporting Mixed Safety Integrity Software

This paper discusses in detail partitioning techniques used in mixed safety level embedded systems. Click the image to download the full White Paper

Download White Paper


Mixed Safety Integrity Level White Paper

Paper 2:
Using an MPU to Enforce Spatial Separation

This paper discusses techniques for achieving spatial separation or partitioning of software in an embedded system. Click the image to download the full White Paper

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Mixed Safety Integrity Level White Paper

Paper 3:
Checkpoints and Temporal Separation

This paper discusses techniques to achieve temporal separation or time based partitioning of software in an embedded system. Click the image to download the full White Paper.

Download White Paper