Development of Safety-Critical Software Systems Using Open Source Software -- A Systematic Map

The popularity of Open Source Software (OSS) has increased the interest in using it in safety critical applications. The aim of this study is to review research carried out on usage of open source code in development of safety-critical software and systems. We conducted a systematic mapping study through searches in library databases and manual identification of articles from open source conferences. We have identified 22 studies about using open source software, mainly in automotive, aerospace, medical and nuclear domains. Moreover, only a few studies present complete safety systems that are released as OSS in full. The most commonly used OSS functionalities are operating systems, imaging, control and data management. Finally most of the integrated OSS have mature code bases and a commit history of more than five years.