Red Earth was commissioned to design a PCB for an Emergency Passenger Oxygen System intended to replace existing aircraft systems. The purpose of this system is to allow slower descent to, and cruise at, higher altitude following a cabin depressurisation event on the aircraft.
Red Earth’s experienced in-house team covered all aspects of the development – electronics design, software design and certification. This was bolstered by the addition of specialists in Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) aspects of electronic circuit design. External test houses were engaged for EMC emissions/susceptibility testing because of the specialist equipment and test chambers required. The development of this aerospace product for flight was governed by three main standards:
- DO-254: “Design Assurance Guidance for Airborne Electronic Hardware”
- DO-178C: “Software Considerations in Airborne Systems and Equipment Certification”
- DO-330: “Software Tool Qualification Considerations”
Compliance with the standards was assured by the involvement of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), with all relevant documents and engineering data being submitted by Red Earth for review and approval.
