The Next Generation of Open-systems Embedded Computing Standards

Published in Military & Aerospace Electronics
Written by John Keller

The Sensor Open System Architecture (SOSA) technical standard for embedded computing hardware and software is moving beyond its initial promises of reducing development and integration costs and time to field for military electronics designs, and is beginning to provide tangible benefits for early adopters who are seeing the new standard take hold in a big way.

The Open Group in San Francisco published the Technical Standard for SOSA Reference Architecture, Edition 1.0, in fall 2021, which paves the way for embedded computing companies to prove by documentation that they meet SOSA's guidelines -- not merely claim to be in alignment with the spirit of the new standard.

Now the embedded computing industry has a plan to follow, and later this year will have established procedures for certifying computing components as conformant with SOSA guidelines with a conformance test suite that will evolve over time to cover components ranging from chassis and enclosures, to power conditioning and control, and eventually to software components.

The aim of SOSA

"Right now SOSA is probably the most influential standard out there," says Steve Edwards, director of secure embedded computing solutions for the Curtiss-Wright Corp. Defense Solutions division in Ashburn, Va. "It is the one that is most active, and that has involvement from the government -- particularly the Army and Air Force -- and SOSA is starting to incorporate some other industry standards."

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