Integrating Multi-/Many-Cores in Avionics: Open Issues and Future Concepts

The demand on on-board computing power in the aerospace domain is increasing while multi-/many-core systems promise an overall performance enhancement. One of the main drivers is the accumulating set of functions in an avionic system, for example in the cockpit, flight navigation/guidance domain or image data processing. The upcoming obsolescence of single-core processors being replaced by multi-/many-core processors is addressed in recent research activities of the avionics community. Despite intensive research, there is still a lack of system design guidelines and experience how to transition existing applications from single-to multi-/many-core. This paper gives an overview on state-of-the-art methods, potential applications, and future concepts how to assess new avionics platform designs in a systematic way.