TTTech

TTTech Computertechnik AG is an Austrian company in the field of software and hardware for embedded systems. The company’s technologies and products are designed to improve the safety and reliability of networked computer systems in the transport and industrial segments. Networks and controls for the automotive industry are offered by TTTech’s subsidiary TTTech Automotive and products for mobile machinery as well as off-highway vehicles are offered by TTControl, a joint-venture company with HYDAC International GmbH.
TTTech Computertechnik AG is headquartered in Vienna, Austria. Besides, there are branch offices and sales representations in Gaimersheim (Germany), Brixen (Italy), Bucharest (Romania), Brno (Czech Republic), Yokohama (Japan), Shanghai (China), Seoul (Korea) and Andover, MA (United States).
History
1998 - 2001: Early years
TTTech originally emerged from the Vienna University of Technology and EU-funded research projects in 1998 and is based on over 30 years of research in Europe and the US. In 2000 TTTech changed from a limited liability company into a stock corporation, increasing its capital and finding first financial investors.
2002 - 2007: First projects, applications of TTP and continuous growth
TTP®, a core technology of TTTech, was first commercially deployed for railway signaling systems by Thales Rail Signalling Solutions in 2002. Furthermore, Nord-Micro decided to apply TTP for the Airbus A380 cabin pressure control system. In the automotive sector a SIRIUS concept car was developed in collaboration with Volvo.
A year later TTTech had already over 100 employees. 2003 was also the year austriamicrosystems delivered the third-generation TTP communication controller, the AS8202NF. Another important milestone was the signing of the IP license agreement by Hitachi and TTChip, securing the delivery of TTP silicon for automotive applications.
In 2004 DECOS, a project within the EU’s Framework Programme 6, started to develop a set of generic components within the frame work of the TTTech technology. A year later the Honeywell F124 jet engine with TTP made its first flight in Aermacchi M-346 trainer. Also, in 2005 year both Red Team robot vehicles, each equipped with TTTech products, completed the DARPA Grand Challenge under the Top 3.
In 2006 TTTech Computertechnik AG was ranked among Europe’s 500 for five consecutive years and the strategic financial investor firstVentury invested 20 million Euros in TTTech, AUDI AG acquired a minority participation of less than 25% in TTTech. In the same year Hamilton Sundstrand Corporation selected TTTech to support development of electric and environmental control systems on Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
TTTech received the AS9100 quality management certification for the development of safety-critical applications in the aerospace industry in 2007. In the same year ATHENA Wien Beteiligungen (Wiener Wachstumsfonds) made an investment of about 4 million Euros to acquire a participation in TTTech. Since 2007 TTTech also provides TTP support for Altera Corporation's Cyclone II and Cyclone III FPGAs. That year Hamilton Sundstrand chose TTTech to support the development of a TTP-based data communication platform for the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner and TTTech Automotive started a project with the AUDI AG subsidiary AEV, where the PEGASUS concept car with FlexRay-based electronics architecture was developed.
2008 - current: Introduction of TTEthernet and further expansion
Now reaching 200 employees, TTTech released TTEthernet® in 2008, a new scalable real-time Ethernet platform for control systems. One of the first projects regarding TTEthernet was NASA’s Orion spacecraft. TTTech also contributed solutions for the completion of the Power On sequence for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner in 2008 and the electronic control unit TTC 200 was certified for applications up to SIL 3.
In addition, 2008 was also the year TTTech formed the joint-venture TTControl together with HYDAC International GmbH for selling and distributing their solutions and products for the off-highway market.
In 2009 the Boeing 787 Dreamliner took its first flight with TTTech solutions and TTTech Automotive provided FlexRay-based tools and services for topology consulting and architecture optimization for Audi A8. In addition, NASA and TTTech signed a "Space Act Agreement" to partner in the design of highly dependable integrated embedded systems.
TTTech received the Dun & Bradstreet Rating 1 distinction, certifying that the company has the highest level of creditworthiness in 2010. The same year Vector and TTTech Automotive became partners in the development of software for electronic control units, leading Audi to choose AUTOSAR Software from Vector and TTTech Automotive. Further EADS and TTTech signed a licensing contract for AFDX® (AFDX is a registered trademark of Airbus Operations GmbH) and Parker Aerospace selected TTTech’s advanced communication solution TTP for fly-by-wire actuation platforms.
In 2011 Rockwell Collins selected TTTech’s TTP for their CSeries aircraft program. In addition TTTech Automotive provided a safety control unit for the Akasol Engineering battery system. In the same year TTControl, a joint-venture company of TTTech Computertechnik AG and HYDAC International GmbH, launched a product family of robust operator interfaces.
2012 saw a range of activities from TTTech: The company provided commercial off-the-shelf products based on TTP for the flight control computer of the Embraer Legacy 450 and Legacy 500. AUDI AG became a development partner for TTTech’s TTX-DataLogger, an open and scalable tool for vehicle testing. TTTech also developed a ruggedized 24-port switch for high availability and safety requirements. Casagrande further selected TTTech’s joint-venture with HYDAC, TTControl, as a provider for electronic control systems and operator interfaces for their new XP generation of drilling machines. In addition TTTech became the first high-tech company and Vestas supplier to be awarded with the WindMade certification label. The company was further awarded as one of the national winners in the Austrian “Jobs Through Innovation” competition.
Markets
Automotive
For the automotive market TTTech’s subsidiary TTTech Automotive offers modular hardware, software and effective system solutions and develops testing devices for bus systems and tools for measuring, logging and analysis. Partners include Audi, Bosch, Continental, Delphi, Denso, Magna, PSA Peugeot Citroen, Renault, Subaru and VW. A close technical cooperation with Audi exists since 2001 and TTTech’s technology has been used in Audi A7, Audi A6 as well as Volvo C30 vehicles.
Aerospace
Products for the aerospace sector include airworthy embedded COTS components, design tools and consulting to major OEMs and system integrators. TTTech’s aerospace business unit also works on the next generation of integrated modular electronics architectures and distributed control systems. The products and networks (AFDX, TTP, TTEthernet) are applied in aircraft like Airbus A380, Boeing 787, Aermacchi M346, Lockheed Martin F-16, Bombardier CSeries, Bombardier Global 7000/8000, Embraer’s Legacy 450/500, NASA Orion MPCV and MPCV-SM and others.
Off-Highway
TTTech is present in the off-highway market through TTControl, a joint-venture of TTTech Computertechnik AG and HYDAC International GmbH. TTControl offers electronic control systems and operator interfaces for mobile machinery and off-highway vehicles such as municipal vehicles, construction machinery and aerial platforms. Solutions include electronic control, visualization, I/O modules and safety consulting services. TTControl implemented projects for municipal vehicles from LADOG, snow groomers from Prinoth, drilling machines from Casagrande as well as aerial platforms from BLUELIFT amongst others.
Industrial
TTTech designs deterministic distributed platforms and real-time Ethernet networks for SIL-certifiable systems in industrial applications. The products simplify the design of safe, highly available and fail-operational systems in industrial domains. Ethernet solutions have been delivered for improving the reliability and productivity of wind turbines. Reference customers further include Thales Rail Signalling Solutions for the design of electronic interlocking systems as well as Berlin Heart and Eaton Hydraulics.
Products
TTTech is a supplier of dependable networking solutions based on time-triggered technology and modular safety platforms. Offered products and solutions for the various markets include:
* Electronic control units (customized ECUs, general purpose ECUs), testing tools (data logging, signal routing, fault injection, EMC testing) as well as AUTOSAR safety software and automotive Ethernet for customers in the automotive segment.
* Flight and rugged hardware (switches, end systems, TTP flight hardware), development and test equipment (systems, switches, end systems) and software (middleware, tools) for the aerospace market.

* Electronic control units (safety certified controllers, general purpose controllers, I/O modules), visualization/HMI interfaces (rugged operator interfaces, panels, keyboards) as well as software development (remote assistance, development and testing tools) through TTControl for mobile machinery and off-highway clients.
* Deterministic Ethernet switches (rugged switches, certifiable safety switches), rugged boards, rugged endpoints, development and test equipment (systems, switches, end points) as well as software (middleware, tools) for industrial, energy production and railway markets.
Solutions for the various markets generally include TTEthernet products, AFDX products and TTP products.
Technologies
Among TTTech’s core technologies are TTEthernet and TTP.
TTEthernet
TTEthernet is a flexible and open, real-time Ethernet technology platform. It is based on the academic TT-Ethernet project, a joint research project between TTTech Computertechnik AG and the Vienna University of Technology. TTEthernet is the industrial further development of the academic TT-Ethernet research. It expands classical Ethernet services to meet time-critical, deterministic or safety-relevant conditions. TTEthernet is compatible with IEEE 802.3 standards and it can be integrated with other Ethernet networks.
TTP
TTP stands for Time-Triggered Protocol and is an open and modular control system platform technology that supports the design of upgradeable, reusable and easy-to-integrate systems. It was originally designed at the Vienna University of Technology. Since 1998 TTTech has taken over the further development of TTP, providing software and hardware solutions for this data communication protocol.
Research
TTTech spends around 50 % of its gross performance on research and development as well as 15 % on research and predevelopment.
In addition, the company participates and initiates a variety of research projects in Europe as well as worldwide. TTTech also cooperates with the Real-Time Systems Group at the Vienna University of Technology, headed by TTTech co-founder professor Hermann Kopetz. The research focus of this group is on distributed, fault-tolerant hard real-time systems.
Memberships and Awards
TTTech has been a member of the TTA-Group since the establishment of the consortium in 2001. The TTA-Group is a cross-industry community for technical and market development of safety-related architectures and time-triggered networks.
In 2012 TTTech became a member of SafeTRANS, a competence cluster uniting the know-how of its members regarding research and development in the field of complex embedded systems for the transportation industry.
Further cross-industry memberships of TTTech include WindMade as well as ASAM (Association for Standardization of Automation- and Measuring Systems).
TTTech Automotive is a premium member of the AUTOSAR and the FlexRay Consortium as well as a member of JASPAR (Japan Automotive Software Platform Architecture) and OPEN Alliance SIG amongst others.
In the aerospace sector, TTTech holds memberships with AAI (Airline Avionics Institute) and EUROCAE (European Organisation for Civil Aviation Equipment).
Regarding off-highway and mobile machinery, TTTech is a member of CiA (CAN in Automation) and the CODESYS Automation Alliance.
In 2012 TTTech has been awarded as one of the national winners in the Austrian “Jobs Through Innovation” competition for the sustainable creation and preservation of jobs on basis of its research and development work. Furthermore, in the same year, TTTech became the first high-tech company and Vestas supplier to be awarded with the WindMade certification label as the company obtains 78 % of its power demand from wind energy.
Controversy
In 2004, Joseph Mangan, a former employee of TTTech, created controversy surrounding TTTech's products on the Airbus A380 by asserting that there was danger that microprocessors in the plane could result in sudden decompression. According to EADS, all parties have ensured through the most varied control channels that there is no safety deficit with regards to the scenario as described by Mangan.
TTTech documents were reviewed and approved by EASA and FAA. The review process proved Mangan's allegations to be wrong and was successfully finished in late 2006 when the Airbus A380 including the internal communication system and the microprocessors of the cabin pressure control system by TTTech was certified by EASA and FAA.

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