For many years, Embedded Office has been a partner of elobau sensor technology, a provider of non-contact sensor technology and operator controls. During the development of a new electronic safety switch (ESS) for the protection of employees in industrial environments, the Wangen-based specialist for safety-critical embedded applications supported Elobau in developing IEC61508-SIL3-compliant software.
The challenge for elobau involved developing a safety integrity level (SIL3) safety component with dual-channel architecture. In addition, radio-frequency identification (RFID) in a safety-related application saw elobau using new technology, which, in conjunction with sophisticated dual-processor system architecture, rendered the repeated adjustment of the hardware and software necessary over the course of the project. Thanks to the highly automated tracking and checking of the requirements introduced by Embedded Office, it was possible to detect the influence of changes early and to take these into account. The consistency of all the documents generated is guaranteed at all times, since these are generated from a coordinated environment.
On account of the sensors compact design, only minimal cross communication between the two processes was possible. Working closely together Elobau and Embedded Office devised a solution and implemented effective cross communication.
In this project, Embedded Office introduced a complete environment and tool support system for developing the IEC61508-compliant software. This included the generation of the design documents, the requirements management vis-à-vis the software and the end-to-end traceability from the specification by elobau to the design documents and source code through to the test documentation. Added to this, came the development of source code and tests, the tool qualification and the generation of additional documents necessary for the certification. Embedded Office also provided support for the system analysis in the event of unknown processes. What is more, the company was able to draw on its extensive experience in the field of dual-processor systems that it had gained in various aviation projects.
Frank Bummele, Head of Development for Electronics at elobau sensor technology is delighted about the highly constructive cooperation in all the project phases said:” We value Embedded Office as a reliable regional partner who, in the face of what can often be unavoidable changes as regards the development requirements, do not simply bury their head in the sand, but who instead get on with the task of devising a new solution as quickly as possible.”
”I am proud that elobau puts its trust in Embedded Office and that we have this opportunity to support the company with the development of its software and ongoing software maintenance. What is more, I was really impressed by the constructive cooperation with the employees from elobau in all the project phases.” explained Michael Hillmann, managing director of Embedded Office