In today's technological society, security systems are not just an option but a necessity, especially in critical sectors such as medical and aviation. The main purpose of these systems is to avoid accidents, protect lives, and ensure smooth operation. This article explores what safety-critical systems are, how they are designed, and how they save lives in different domains.
A safety-critical system or a life-critical system is any system whose failure or failure could result in death, serious injury, or environmental harm.
Safety-critical systems are those that, if they fail, could result in significant injury or environmental damage. These systems often include hardware, software, and human operations that must work together seamlessly to protect people and the environment. “Every safety-critical system designed must ensure that its operation does not exceed the risk of one fatality per billion hours.”
When designing safety-critical systems, engineers typically use seven main reliability management methods, including operability systems, fault-tolerant systems, and others. in:
Operationability systems
: Systems that continue to operate despite control failures, such as elevators and some nuclear reactors. Fault-tolerant system
: The ability to maintain service even in the event of system failure is particularly important in aircraft autopilot systems. Safe fail-safe system
: Maintains a safe state when the system fails to operate, such as the pump-stop function of medical equipment. In the medical field, the failure of equipment such as heart-lung machines and ventilators can directly affect the life or death of patients, which requires these equipment to be highly reliable. Although medical device technical requirements go beyond failure avoidance, their primary mission is to stabilize the patient's vital signs. For example, when performing surgical operations, the robotic surgical system must have the ability to respond immediately and warn medical staff in time to avoid accidents.
With the continuous advancement of medical technology, the safety requirements of aircraft are becoming more and more stringent. Especially in the field of avionics, the industry must comply with strict standards to ensure the life safety of the system.
In the aviation field, flight safety is the most important aspect. Many systems must be designed with redundancy to ensure that if one system fails, other systems can still operate. For example, flight control systems are designed to remain in a safe state when communications fail, significantly reducing the risk of a major accident. Following standard procedures, all designs need to be reviewed and tested to ensure their safety.
In addition to medical and aviation, other industries also attach importance to the design of safety systems. These include nuclear engineering, oil and gas production, etc., where any small failure can lead to large-scale disasters. Therefore, these systems must adopt reliable safety design principles to ensure that they can cope with various emergencies, whether they are environmental disasters or equipment failures.
In today's high-risk environment, safety-critical systems are undoubtedly an important cornerstone of protecting lives. From medical to aviation to core functions in other industries, the effective operation of these systems can not only avoid accidents, but also save lives at critical moments. With the advancement of science and technology, these systems will become more intelligent and reliable, forming a comprehensive life support network. However, how can we further strengthen the security of these systems in the future so that everyone can obtain higher security in life?