LDRA, the leader in standards compliance, automated software verification, source code analysis and test tools, and Konatus, LDRA's engineering partner in Brazil, today unveiled the details of the flight system control safety testing methodology that contributed to the launch of Embraer's next-generation E2 jet aircraft months ahead of schedule.

Experts in aviation control system safety requirements and certification methodologies, the Konatus engineering team deployed LDRA's comprehensive safety verification tool suite to optimize testing, mitigate certification risks and dramatically reduce Embraer's safety verification schedule for the E2 aircraft maiden flight in May 2016. The E2 family of aircraft represents a major upgrade to Embraer's commercial aviation jet series first introduced more than a decade ago.

“Being able to roll out our new family of E2 jets ahead of schedule is an important milestone in Embraer's commercial aviation strategy,” said Marcos Gritti, Manager of Flight Control Systems at Embraer. “The LDRA and Konatus teams and technology were instrumental in helping us with the large volume of test cases needed to ensure the aircraft's safety prior to the E2's first flight.” 

LDRA and Konatus began working with Embraer in early 2013 to establish a safety standards and compliance methodology for the E2 aircraft family using the LDRA tool suite for software requirements, team task management, flight control system safety assessment, verification, and validation. The E2 is Embraer's first civilian aircraft project that implements “Fly-By-Wire” software fully developed internally and tested with the LDRA tool suite for certification for DO-178C — the primary standard for commercial avionics software development.

Results and technical details of the LDRA and Konatus involvement with Embraer's E2 project include:

• 93% reduction of test case execution time — from hours to minutes

• Tens of thousands of test cases imported

• Generated source code and test case from SCADE Suite (often used for safety-critical embedded control applications) imported for automated regression testing on target hardware

• Highly automated and optimized target integration for scalability and performance

• Compatibility with integrated development environments (IDEs) including Green Hills Multi

• Deployment of tools and automation for verification of auto-generated code and hand-generated code

• Qualification packages included a customized coding standard based on MISRA, structural coverage, and unit/low-level test

“The LDRA and Konatus teams congratulate Embraer for the successful launch of the E2 jet,” said Ian Hennell, Operations Director at LDRA. “We are very proud to be involved in such a meaningful way with this important aerospace industry milestone, and we look forward to continuing to contribute to Embraer's success.”