HOW DIAGNOSTIC COVERAGE IMPROVES SAFETY IN PROGRAMMABLE ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS

Programmable Electronic Systems (PES) are a potentially good solution for safety protection applications. But a PES must utilize special cir cuits and special architectures to reduce the chances of it failing da ngerously. There are several critical design parameters to measure the effectiveness of these systems. Diagnostic 'Coverage Factor' is one o f these parameters that affects all architectures. This paper explains the tools used to measure and verify the diagnostic capability of a P ES. (C) 1998 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.