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EuroSim Embedder

Embedded EuroSim EuroSim has been design to make it easy for simulator developers to integrate their models into a hard realtime simulator. The key features are its extensive graphical user interfaces and powerfull realtime scheduler. Initially this was only possible on large and expensive servers, but over the years embedded computers became more powerfull and now even cellphones run dual core processors and have a gigabyte of memory. If application footprints are no longer extemely limited, than the benefits EuroSim has provided in the space market can now come available to general realtime application building, even for embedded applications.

Models in EuroSim are software applications, and in the end written in languages as for instance C and C++, so in fact EuroSim executes software hard realtime. Where it is normally notoriously difficult to write such software, EuroSim allows the user to graphically integrate the software pieces and set the realtime characteristics. It also provides a wealth of utility functions, like memory management, with hard realtime execution guarantees. Moreover, throughout the run it monitors the realtime execution and memory usage, and at the end provides a complete statistics feedback. EuroSim also allows the application development to utilize simulated realtime execution, such that it is possible to step through the scheduler execution, monitor every variable through execution from graphical interfaces, and even apply symbolic debugging. The MDL realtime scripting language can be used to stress software and inject errors in testing cycles, and the extensions on scripting languages as perl and python drive are main benefit in setting up the essential nightly regression testing.

Though all the capabilities were readily available to apply EuroSim towards realtime applications builder, the step from server type application to embedded solution still had to be made. The main issues to realise was that an embedded solution should be tailorable in capabilities and not rely on the environment to provide interfaces such as a filesystem or network interfaces. Even more important, an embedded EuroSim solution should contain the ability to develop the application on a powerfull server and cross generate it to its embedded variant that possibly runs on a different processor and operating system. These aspects have now been solved with Embedded EuroSim, as we cross build all the specifications developed on the host server together with the users application code and an embedded EuroSim kernel for a specific target, into a realtime application.

The approach has been applied successfully in the development of the Multiship Embedded Training for the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II. Of particular interest is that it allowed a large team of developers at Airbus and NLR to work in parallel and succeed in developing this unique appliation in a relatively short time span, with only a single target hardware system available. The paper Application of EuroSim in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Embedded Training solution explains also how on the basis of EuroSim capabilities the development of all the automatic verification could go hand in hand with the progress of development. This supported a short time span between the end of the development cycle and the end of final qualification. In addition to helping developers and testers, EuroSim was also essential in providing feedback to system engineering on essential parameters as memory and processor usage.

Status: Embedded EuroSim is currently in use as the basis for the Multiship Embedded Training application in the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II. Ports to a few target operating systems and processor architectures have been completed and others are in production, including processor architectures as PowerQuick 3 and Intel i686, as well as to operating systems as Integrity, Linux and Windows. EuroSim's ability to already run on various platforms, it's internal abstration layers built on years of experience, and its POSIX compliancy have thereby already proven it's value.

Procurement: Being an embedded product, this solution will always require tailoring to the needs of the customer. The delivery consists of a binary library with associated header files and documentation, as well as a demo program that shows the application usage and thereby contains the complete cross build setup. The price model is perpetual, with possible limitations to specific projects to reduce cost. The customer pays once for the delivery and is then free to produce as many embedded applications with that embedded library as desired within the constraints that are agreed in the license conditions. Ofcourse the cross building also requires a EuroSim development license on a host server, as Embedded EuroSim is an addon. The actual price for the Embedded EuroSim delivery depends on the desired functionality and operating system and its resemblance with already built and maintained versions. Please contact the EuroSim helpdesk for more information.



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