ReDaML: a modeling language for DO-178C high-level requirements in airspace systems

Software development in critical airspace cyber-physical systems is challenging, mainly because of its safety-critical nature. Safety standards and regulations, such as DO-178C, provide guidelines for the development of software to ensure they adhere to the essential safety requirements in the certification processes. The requirements process proposed in the standard, which is responsible for developing the high-level requirements, is one of the most crucial steps in the life cycle since it serves as the basis for the subsequent processes. Having safety as a major concern, specifying safety requirements is of fundamental importance, allowing engineers to evaluate them and propose measures to mitigate the impact of a system failure, which can be catastrophic. In this paper, we present ReDaML, a domain-specific modelling language designed to support the development of safety-critical software systems, focused on the specification of high-level requirements in accordance with the DO-178C guidelines. Finally, a scenario of applying the approach to an UAS collision avoidance system is demonstrated.