Reconfigurable Integrated Fault Tolerance for Spaceborne Systems

Reconfigurable Computing (RC) is a technology in which the behavior of a processing system is changed by altering the hardware, rather than the software. This is achieved though the use of field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). RC is useful when a highdegree of both performance and flexibility is needed, and especially when size, weight, or power constraints preclude use of dedicated components for separate functions. The recent development of high-density, rad-hard COTS FPGAs means that RC now has thepotential to be used in spaceborne applications. SFC is currently developing an RC tool suite, called DERC (Development Environment for Reconfigurable Computing), which includes both hardware and software to support development of RC applications.RIFTSS will extend the capabilities of the DERC tools to include extensive support for fault tolerance. The DERC API and logic libraries will be extended to include fault tolerant functions, including configuration scrubbing, redundancy, voting, etc. TheDERC Debug Tool will be modified to allow deliberate fault insertion into a design under test. The RIFTSS tools will be tested by using them to implement a real-world, fault tolerant application.