An automated technique to provide software applications with SEU detection capabilities: basic principles and preliminary results

International audienceIn this paper is described a purely software technique allowing to detect SEUs occurring in processor-based digital architectures. Error detection mechanisms (variable replication, inclusion of flags, ...) are added to the targeted program, through its transformation in a new one, having same functionalities but being able to identify bit-flips arising in memory areas as well as those perturbing the processor's internal registers. Experimental results issued from fault injection sessions performed in complex DSP intended to be used in an instrument of a satellite, provide objective figures about the efficiency of the proposed technique