Mentor Graphics and Altera Partner on DO-254

(Business News & Technology News, 20 Aug 2008)

Supporting the growing number of avionics and military applications requiring DO-254-certifiable components, Altera Corp. and Mentor Graphics Corp. are working together to develop tools and methodologies for use in creating DO-254-certifiable intellectual property (IP) that targets Altera's field programmable gate array (FPGA) and HardCopy application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) solutions. Mentor will also join Altera's DO-254 Global Partner Network to establish design and verification best practices for DO 254-certifiable IP development and integration flows.

Under this initiative, Mentor will leverage its expertise and design and verification solutions in the development of DO-254-certifiable IP. The primary tools in Mentor's DO-254 suite include HDL Designer, Precision Synthesis, ModelSim, Questa, the 0-In suite of formal verification tools, and a new solution for automating requirements traceability. Mentor also offers DO-254 compliance training, design methodology assessments, and consulting services, including a DO-254 Jumpstart package aimed at establishing advanced verification methodologies for DO-254 designs.

"DO-254-certifiable IP is a huge productivity gain for our customers who have to comply with the DO-254 standard," says Amr El-Ashmawi, Senior Business Unit Manager of Altera's military/aerospace market. "Now instead of having to reverse engineer or re-develop a commonly used component, companies can actually reap the productivity benefit of off-the-shelf certifiable networking and processor IP, with the confidence of knowing that it supports the design assurance needs of their flows and thus does not present a certification risk."

Altera, through its DO-254 Global Partner Network, currently offers a safety-critical version of its Nios II embedded processor. The certification aspects of this core were developed by HCELL Engineering using Mentor tools.

"Dealing with COTS IP under the guidance of DO-254 has been one of the industry's biggest challenges to date. I'm excited to see vendors like Altera and Mentor taking the initiative to address a very important aspect of these flows to make COTS IP compliant with DO-254. Their efforts could save hardware applicants a lot of resources and frustration," says Tammy Reeve, President of Patmos Engineering Services, a firm that acts as a certification authority under the guidance of the FAA.

"Working with Altera on DO-254-certifiable IP is the next step for us in supporting the needs of this market," says Michelle Lange, DO-254 Program Manager, Mentor Graphics. "Mentor has been investing in solutions for DO-254 certification for several years. This initiative lets us leverage both our methodology expertise and tools to not only provide the industry with high-quality IP but also the tool and methodology guidance that many are seeking."

Click here for more information on Altera's DO-254 Global Partner Network

Click here for more information on Mentor's DO-254 offering

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