On the Design of a WebAssembly Interpreter for Safety Critical Avionics Applications

Kurzfassung

Prior work motivates the use of WebAssembly (Wasm) as executable format for application in avionics. However, being a virtual Instruction Set Architecture (ISA), no hardware can directly run Wasm. Instead, an interpreter software is required to execute it, by converting Wasm instructions into a given processor's native machine code. While there are dozens of Wasm interpreters available, none of them was designed for safety critical avionics applications. As such, they defy various design principles and assumptions found in applicable standards for airborne software such as ED-12C/DO-178C or ED-217/DO-332. This paper explores the design space for an interpreter tailored to avionics systems, providing the rationale behind design decisions and requirements deemed paramount for eventual certification.