READAPT: Reconfigurability and Adaptability in Safe and Secure Multicore Architectures for Mixed-Criticality Applications

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Latest revision as of 06:12, 2 April 2017

• Research Line(s): Timeliness and Adaptation in Dependable Systems (TADS)
• Sponsor: FCT
• Project Number: PTDC/EEI-SCR/3200/2012
• Total award amount: 83.9K Euros
• Coordinator: FCUL
• Partners: FCUL, GMV Portugal
• Start Date: Jun. 2013
• Duration: 24 months
• Keywords: Aerospace Systems, Mixed Criticality, Safety and Security, Reconfigurability Adaptability
• Team at FCUL: Researchers including José Rufino, João Pedro Craveiro, Jeferson L. R. Souza, Ricardo Correia Pinto, Rui Pedro Caldeira, Inês Gouveia, Diana Lopes

• Funded by:

Summary

Aerospace systems have strict dependability and real-time requirements, as well as a need for flexible resource reallocation and reduced size, weight and power consumption. As such, there is an increasing trend for mixed-criticality aerospace systems – multiple functions (avionics, payload), with differing importance and certification assurance levels, integrated in a shared computing platform. To implement this integration while still maintaining safety and fault containment properties, time and space partitioning (TSP) principles are employed – the onboard functions are logically separated into partitions. Robust temporal and spatial partitioning means that partitions do not mutually interfere in terms of fulfilment of real-time and addressing space encapsulation requirements.

The first steps in the application of TSP principles to aerospace applications were presented, through an academia/industry consortium, by READAPT’s partners, to the European Space Agency (ESA), who financed the development of a preliminary proof of concept and its later evolution towards an industry-grade prototype, within the scope of ESA’s Innovation Triangle Initiative programme. READAPT stems from those activities, where the original AIR architecture was designed. AIR fulfils the requirements for robust TSP, and foresees the use of different operating systems among the partitions, either real-time operating systems or generic non-real-time ones. Temporal partitioning is achieved through the scheduling of partitions in a cyclic sequence of fixed time slices. Inside each partition, processes compete with each other according to the native process scheduler of the partition.

In READAPT, we aim to build upon and evolve the AIR architecture, so that it becomes eligible to build reconfigurable, (self-)adaptable, safe and secure mixed-criticality TSP systems which take effective advantage of platforms equipped with multicore processors.

Multicore processors are becoming the standard in the computer hardware industry and, consequently, in aerospace embedded systems. Although the latest versions of processors deployed in space support multicore configurations, only one core is routinely enabled and used when highly-critical tasks are involved. When actively exploited, the employment of multiple processor cores can augment the capacity of a TSP system. This project aims to do so by introducing different levels of parallelism between tasks (processes) being executed in the system.

A space mission may routinely be subject to both foreseen and unforeseen changes in its operational and environmental conditions. Flexible reconfiguration and adaptation in the face of these changes is much important and has been proven to be able to prolong the lifetime of unmanned space vehicles by years. This project proposes to achieve (self-)adaptability by combining the multiplicity of processor cores with mechanisms to detect the aforementioned operational and environmental changes; adaptability mechanisms shall also be invokable through a direct order from ground control. We also aim adding the capability of reconfiguring the system, without interrupting or majorly interfering with its execution, either by changing its configuration parameters or by applying updates to the applications being executed.

Embedded computing systems, and in particular those found aboard of unmanned spacecrafts, must integrate input/output (I/O), which include sensors and actuators, and also in-vehicle (real-time) wired and wireless networks. This project proposes to integrate all the required I/O operations under a common event-based model, specifically designed for TSP systems. The overall functioning of a TSP system, and particularly the (self-) reconfigurability mechanisms, calls for a carefully studied and innovative integration of I/O functions. This integration shall preserve the intended timeliness, safety and security properties of a TSP system, and open room for a system-of-systems definition. This distributed operation approach caters to dependability purposes. Such mixed-criticality platforms, along with the new trend of dual-use of space vehicles (i.e. the same vehicle being shared by different organizations), bring to matter the issue of information security. We will address such issues in this project, approaching the application of the architectural principles of Multiple Independent Levels of Safety and Security (MILS).

Publications

• Rui Pedro Caldeira, Jeferson L. R. Souza, Ricardo Correia Pinto, José Rufino, “Methods and Tools for Assessment of Wireless Networks in Extreme Environments”, in IEEE International Conference on Wireless for Space and Extreme Environments 2015 (WiSEE), Miami, Florida, United States of America, Dec. 2015.

• Rui Pedro Caldeira, Jeferson L. R. Souza, Ricardo Correia Pinto, José Rufino, “A Tool for Real-Time Assessment of IEEE 802.15.4 Networks Through Fault Injection”, in Proceedings of the 7th Simpósio de Informática (INFORUM), Covilhã, Portugal, Sept. 2015.

• Jeferson L. R. Souza, José Rufino, “The Wi-STARK Architecture For Resilient Real-Time Wireless Communications”, ACM SIGBED Review, vol. 11, no. 4, pp. 1–6, Dec. 2014. Special Issue on 4th Embedded Operating Systems Workshop (EWiLi), Lisbon, Portugal

• Ricardo Correia Pinto, José Rufino, “Exploiting Non-intrusive Monitoring in Real-Time Embedded Operating Systems”, in Proceedings of the 4th Embedded Operating Systems Workshop (EWiLi) - Poster Session, Lisbon, Portugal, Nov. 2014, pp. 1–2.

• Jeferson L. R. Souza, Ricardo Correia Pinto, José Rufino, “Mechanisms to Enforce Dependability and Timeliness in Wireless Communications”, in Proceedings of the 2nd International IEEE Conference on Wireless for Space Applications and Extreme Environments (WiSEE), European Space Agency, Noordwijk, Netherlands, Oct. 2014, pp. 1–6.

• Ricardo Correia Pinto, José Rufino, “Exploitation of Non-intrusive Monitoring in Real-Time Embedded Systems”, in Communication at the Embedded and Real-Time Systems Session of the 6th Simpósio de Informática (INForum), Porto, Portugal, Sept. 2014, pp. 1–1.

• João Carraca, Ricardo Correia Pinto, João Pedro Craveiro, José Rufino, “Information Security in Time- and Space-Partitioned Architectures for Aerospace Systems”, in Proceedings of the 6th Simpósio de Informática (INFORUM), Porto, Portugal, Sept. 2014, pp. 457–472.

• Jeferson L. R. Souza, José Rufino, “Low Level Error Detection For Real-Time Wireless Communications”, in Proceedings of the 13th International Workshop on Real-Time Networks (RTN) - co-located with ECRTS, Madrid, Spain, Jul. 2014.

• Ricardo Correia Pinto, José Rufino, “Towards Non-invasive Run-time Verification of Real-Time Systems”, in Work-in-Progress Session of the 26th Euromicro Conference on Real-Time Systems (ECRTS), Madrid, Spain, Jul. 2014, pp. 25–28.

• André Guerreiro, Jeferson L. R. Souza, José Rufino, “Improving NS-2 Network Simulator To Evaluate IEEE 802.15.4 Wireless Networks Under Error Conditions”, in Proceedings of the 3th International Conference on Sensor Networks (SENSORNETS), Lisbon, Portugal, Jan. 2014, pp. 212–220.

• Jeferson L. R. Souza, José Rufino, “Analysing and Reducing Network Inaccessibility in IEEE 802.15.4 Wireless Communications”, in 38th IEEE Conference on Local Computer Networks (LCN 2013), Sydney, Australia, Oct. 2013, pp. 532–540.

• André Guerreiro, “Inaccessibility in Wireless Sensor Networks”, Master’s thesis, Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon, Oct. 2013.

• Kleomar Almeida, Ricardo Correia Pinto, José Rufino, “Fault Detection in Time- and Space-Partitioned Systems”, in Communication at the 5th Simpósio de Informática (INFORUM), Évora, Portugal, Sept. 2013, pp. 179–186.

• André Guerreiro, Jeferson L. R. Souza, José Rufino, “Improving NS-2 Network Simulator for IEEE 802.15.4 Standard Operation”, in 5th Simpósio de Informática (INFORUM), Évora, Portugal, Sept. 2013, pp. 432–443.

• João Pedro Craveiro, “Real-Time Scheduling in Multicore Time- and Space-Partitioned Architectures”, Ph.D. dissertation, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal, Aug. 2013. Defended in 2014

• João Pedro Craveiro, José Rufino, “Global Laxity-Based Scheduling on Multiprocessor Resource Reservations”, in 4th International Real-Time Scheduling Open Problems Seminar (RTSOPS 2013), Paris, France, Jul. 2013, pp. 12–13.

• Jeferson L. R. Souza, José Rufino, “Towards Resilient Real-Time Wireless Communications”, in 25th Euromicro Conference on Real-Time Systems (ECRTS 2013), Paris, France, Jul. 2013, pp. 29–32.

• João Pedro Craveiro, José Rufino, “Uniform Multiprocessor Periodic Resource model”, in 4th International Real-Time Scheduling Open Problems Seminar (RTSOPS 2013), Paris, France, Jul. 2013, pp. 14–15.

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