I found the following article in an IT magazine. Rick, can you give me some feedback on this. Thanks

This article appeared in the March 1, 1999 issue of the magazine Design News.

EMBEDDED SYSTEMS MOSTLY PREPARED FOR YEAR 2000

Cambridge, MA - Ongoing Year 2000 research by Giga Information Group shows that the impact of the date rollover on embedded systems will not have the crippling effect many industry experts originally thought.

Embedded systems are processors that are part of any electronic product that isn't classified as a "computer." Examples of such products include medical devices, consumer electronics, printers, industrial control systems, and manufacturing equipment. Engineers and the companies that employ them use embedded systems extensively every day.

Giga Information Group has been researching the effect on embedded systems of the rollover from 1999 to 2000 for about two years. "What caused alarm in the beginning - the sheer number of embedded systems potentially affected by the millennium but - led to practical research on how different types of processors will be affected," says Alistair Stewart, senior Year 2000 analyst with Giga Information Group's IT Practices Service. "Many industries, especially those that are heavily regulated have done significant work in preparing for the Year 2000.

For example, in the medical device industry, a recent survey of the Health Industry Manufacturers Association members showed few devices that were not Year 2000 compliant. "That means that IV pumps will still pump and diagnostic tools will still help physicians diagnose," says Stewart.

The firm has also conducted extensive research on best practices in preparing embedded systems for the Year 2000 and has three recommendations. First, take an inventory of electronic equipment and systems to determine if they have the potential to be affected by the millennium rollover. Does the product or system have a man/machine interface for putting in or taking out dates? Does it have a secondary power supply like a battery that keeps time even when it is off? Does it have a communications port for sending or receiving data? These are general indicators that an item may be affected.

Second, rank which affected products and systems are most critical to your business. Third, work with the product and system providers to assess the date usage of the items, starting with the most critical items first.

Says Stewart: "Prepare for the Year 2000 rollover as you would for a winter storm. Expect inconveniences at worst, but not Armageddon."

Giga website is located at www.gigaweb.com

-- Anonymous, March 12, 1999

Answers

I am not Rick, but hopefully I can also offer some insight.

This article is very consistent with what has been found in the electric industry. Embedded systems, as defined above, don't just freeze up due to rolling over to 01/01/00. As a matter of fact, no one has ever found a single example of an embedded device, as defined above, that just halts operation due to the 12/31/99 rollover. Yes there are stories that this type of failure has been seen, but not a single one could be substantiated. If you think you have a real example, not just a story, just post the identifiying characteristics of the device (manufacturer, model number, chip/eeprom version, etc). I can verify it for you.

What we have found is the following. Devices that aren't Y2K compliant roll to many funny dates, mostly 01/04/80, but also 01/01/100, 01/01/19100, 01/01/;0, etc. The incorrect date may be displayed, other characters may shift off the display, however, the device keeps functioning. Always.

This is not to say that Y2K is not a problem in embedded systems. If the system communciates its date with another device, DCS or SCADA system, it is possible to affect overall system operation. This is also not to say that you shouldn't check stand alone embedded systems. You might be the one to find the exception to prove the rule (plus the legal/moral liability of not checking would be to high). The Giga best practice Y2K guidance above is basic but good. The Y2K issue is still a problem, however it not nearly as big problem that it could have been

I hope this helps.

-- Anonymous, March 14, 1999

Oops. My correct e-mail is y2kguru1@home.com

-- Anonymous, March 14, 1999

Bob, Your statement got my attention there. I do know of a device that depending on the firmware version, a y2k bug would have caused the primary function to malfunction to the point it would have been useless, but true, it did not cause the device to freeze up. I have seen a PC based MMI controlled device lockup, crash, etc. on y2k dates. Neither of these devices were installed in plant systems. Overall, I concur that embedded systems do no normally "crash" because of a y2k bug, and I too am not aware of such a beast (its a big workd though, and knowing programmers, even embedded system programmers, there's probably some obscure device out there that could "crash"). Thanks for giving a second opinion on this!

Regards, FactFinder

-- Anonymous, March 25, 1999