Software Safety Assurance in Non-airborne GPS-based Landing Aids

Abstract

This paper investigates the software standard DO-278A from the RTCA according to assurance level 3 to provide a concept for approving software of ground-based navigation aids. For this purpose, related literature and standards were reviewed and evaluated for their applicability for proposing such a concept. The resulting approval concept shows our approach for conducting the development process according to DO-278A based on a traditional one and focusing on an activity schedule. Therefore, the paper offers preliminary considerations at first to show the relation between system and software development. In addition, corresponding standards that are related to the development are presented as well. The concept is segmented in three main phases for software planning, realization, and verification, which are subdivided and scheduled in specific activities. Each activity consists of an outline describing the contents expected by DO-278A and our approach to organizing them. This paper shows our conceptional approach to obtain an approval for software according to DO-278A. This concept is prepared to approve a radio navigation aid.