5G Technology, Virtualization, and Containerization Technologies Deliver Safe and Secure Train Systems

Cutting-Edge Virtualization Technology from Wind River Supports Development of ARINC 653–Compliant Multi-core Systems at Lower Cost and Risk The global aviation industry is on the cusp of transformation. Aircraft manufacturers are facing a constant increase in demand for connectivity and capabilities that reduce pilot workload and increase situational awareness. To meet these new requirements, they adopt increasingly sophisticated innovations in products and services. The result of the increased capability of these systems is a corresponding increase in the amount of software deployed. How can manufacturers manage the costs of aircraft design and upgrade? How can they adhere to size, weight, and power (SWaP) and performance requirements when implementing new capabilities under existing regulations?

Workload Consolidation Extends System Functions to Gain Cost Savings and Data Analytics and Meet High Safety and Security Standards As global manufacturers face increasing competition, optimizing the efficiency, productivity, and quality levels within their processes or discreet manufacturing facilities is becoming a matter of business survival. Existing factory infrastructure is aged and inefficient, often using multiple separate systems based on software platforms as old as the buildings they operate in. How can a manufacturing company significantly reduce the cost and complexity of system management, maintenance, safety, and security? Additionally, how can factory personnel monitor and measure processes as they occur, obtain real-time data analytics, and take action immediately when intervention is required?

Delivering State-of-the-Art Functionality While Keeping Software Complexities Under Control with Minimal Impact on the Testing Process Software drives the electronic control units (ECUs) that power everything in the car, from dashboard instruments to safety features to power train components to in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) systems. The functions performed by ECUs are also becoming increasingly sophisticated and complex. New features and capabilities such as adaptive cruise control, digital instrument clusters, and car-to-car or car-to-fleet communication are great for consumers, but they add complexity to an already difficult software development and testing process. Each ECU also has its own infrastructure components (such as power supply, bus, and diagnostics) and its own requirements with regard to functionality, safety, security, and dynamic behavior, requiring the use of multiple platforms and toolsets for development and testing. In addition, ECUs may have differing Automotive Safety Integrity Levels (ASILs) and ISO 26262 requirements. Selecting from among the array of proprietary and open source development, testing, and management options further complicates matters. How do you test and debug with all these permutations and complex interactions and interdependencies? How do you meet certification requirements in this environment?

Virtualization for Heterogeneous Applications, from Sensors to Systems and System-to-System The defense industry is broadening its focus from connected warfighters to connected operational environments that integrate air, space, land, sea, and cyber capabilities. This system-of-systems (SoS) approach brings together heterogeneous capabilities from across complex combat environments. The seamless interoperability between systems and applications is key, from ground stations all the way to the aircraft and beyond. How can the military system suppliers standardize all links in the command, control, communications, computer, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR) chain, from sensors to system-to-system communications? How can they secure the overall platform against cybersecurity threats? And how can they upgrade capability depending on operational requirements?

Computer Vision Changes the Scope of Industrial Robotics THE CHALLENGE The first industrial robot was invented in 1954 and was installed seven years later in a General Motors factory for spot welding and die-casting. Since then, robotic technology has been used in industries from manufacturing to agricultural farming as a means to increase efficiencies, lower costs, and increase revenues. These robots are usually designed to work independently, executing pre-scripted tasks in spaces protected from human interference. They have increased factory productivity but have limited capabilities. Cobots, or collaborative robots, are a new step in industrial robot technology. Unlike most robots, which act as replacements for human workers (and often operate in cages to prevent injury to workers), cobots are designed to work sideby- side with their human counterparts, even collaborating on the same task. How do these robots gain new abilities that can increase their operational value while remaining safe and secure as they operate in a factory near humans? THE APPROACH One way to increase robotic abilities in a safe and efficient manner is to use an innovative new technology: computer vision. This technology enables a robot, or computer system, to use a camera or scanner to transform multidimensional inputs into data it can process, “perceiving” its surroundings and mimicking sight. Computer vision coupled with machine learning gives the computer increased technical abilities and the opportunity to perform more complex tasks. Robots accessing computer vision gain abilities beyond scripted tasks and can augment the abilities of their human coworkers by participating in their labors or by using technologies such as infrared imaging to see and report on things invisible to the human eye. This technology dramatically increases the potential for robotics in industry, creating avenues that would not otherwise be viable. For example, using an AI-enabled cloud, connected robots could recognize objects faster and send collective messages, notifying or warning humans of situations that they could not see. They could also aid in quality control, as they could be able to recognize the condition of products when compared against the expected visual representation. Similar advantages could pertain to agricultural production. Independent robots using computer vision could differentiate between product quality levels; for example, the robot could use imaging types in both visible and ultraviolet light to detect below-surface discrepancies and extract a higher profit from varying products by identifying food grades. It could even warn for diseases, such as peach leaf curl on trees, that would significantly reduce productivity if not treated. THE RESULT Currently, industrial robots harbor many potential safety dangers, as they have no awareness of their surroundings other than what is provided by sensors; this could cause serious harm to people working nearby or alongside them. However, with the addition of new sensing technologies, robots could be used in closer proximity to humans and in more confined spaces, so that factory workers and robots would be able to safely work in tandem. Both the production capacity and the safety of the factory could increase. Robots could perform more complex tasks, and they could operate in a disordered space by recognizing the objects they should interact with. Wind River offers solutions that incorporate the latest ROS 2 framework, so developers can focus on application development, leading to more innovative robotics. Compute and partitioning capabilities can protect safety applications while providing the high performance that is important to enhance further collaboration between humans and robots. To learn more contact our sales inquiry desk.

THE CHALLENGE Industrial companies create the products and services that drive daily life for businesses, consumers, and economies, but in a competitive business world they need to produce innovative products in an efficient and cost-effective way. To give a few examples: It is essential to modernize equipment on the manufacturing floor to increase both speed and economy of production. Meanwhile, expanding the capabilities of industrial robots to better collaborate with humans and be mobile means that, with quicker access to data, they can increase production performance and also be functionally safe and secure while operating within the factory. And to expand energy production with technologies such as wind farms, for more reliable and economical energy production, intensive monitoring and control of equipment in often remote landscapes is vital. How can industrial equipment companies keep pace with the push to economize and modernize, to be more data-centric, and to provide safety and security in the face of constant innovation? THE APPROACH One technology that shows promise for increasing security, cost-effectiveness, performance, and actionable data is 5G technology. 5G is the fifth generation of mobile networking technology, following 4G and working on the same principles. Yet 5G NR (New Radio) air-interface technology will provide higher levels of scalability and flexibility that will enable much broader functionality for industrial segments (not to mention the public) to utilize. 5G wireless technology will provide improved speed, reduced latency, and the ability to connect more devices at once. Additionally, 5G will bring a new level of wireless service that merges all the basic functions of previous wireless generations and delivers new networking technology offering the type of wireless coverage and new use cases that will stir the imagination.