Mitigating False Negatives in Harsh Electromagnetic Environments by Combining Complementary Error Detection Codes

Abstract

In our modern daily lives, more and more electronic systems are performing safety-critical tasks. For these systems, robust communication is crucial. Undetected corruptions of data (a.k.a. False Negatives) within these channels might lead to severe harm to humans or the environment. In order to detect corruptions, Error Detection Codes have since long been used. This letter assesses the resilience of a straightforward duplication mechanism against electromagnetic disturbances by simulating a harsh reverberating electromagnetic environment. The simulations reveal that simply duplicating the bits is not sufficient. By analysing the different fault mechanisms present in duplication, new Error Detection Codes are proposed. These new codes are derived from existing codes, with the explicit requirement to cover each other's vulnerabilities towards False Negatives. In this letter, the EMI-resilient codes are built based on a duplication methodology combined with a Hamming Double Error Detection Code. Due to the different coverage of failure mechanisms under the considered reverberating electromagnetic environment, the rate of False Negatives is significantly reduced.