Transport Canada issued a Technical Standard Order (TSO) authorization for the PU-3000 in March, making it the first avionics computer to use multicore processors certified to design assurance level (DAL) A, the highest level of assurance requirements imposed by civil aviation authorities for hardware and software on computers that perform life-saving communications, navigation, and surveillance functionality on an aircraft.

Embedded systems suppliers and avionics manufacturers have been working toward achieving such a safety-critical milestone for many years, as the majority of in-service avionics systems rely on single-core processors. While it can be used to host a range of applications from primary flight displays to flight management systems in one box, the TSO-approved PU-3000 as a flight director under TSO-C198 'Automatic Flight Guidance and Control System (AFGCS) Equipment,'according to a March 17 press release.