The "Who's Using Ada" Report - heavily revised version

The "Who's Using Ada" Report - heavily revised version

[Michael Feldman]

I distributed many copies of this at the Computer Science Conference this week,
where I was operating an exhibit sponsored by SIGAda. Many visitors to the
booth expressed plesant surprise at the growing acceptance of Ada, and said
that this list would help them win over their colleagues to taking Ada
seriously in their curricula. Outreach WORKS, folks!

Cheers to all -

Mike Feldman
(list follows sig)

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Michael B. Feldman
co-chair, SIGAda Education Committee

Professor, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
School of Engineering and Applied Science
The George Washington University
Washington, DC 20052 USA
(202) 994-5253 (voice)
(202) 994-5296 (fax)
mfeldman@seas.gwu.edu (Internet)

"The most important thing is to be sincere, 
and once you've learned how to fake that, you've got it made." 
-- old show-business adage
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The "Who's Using Ada" Report

Some Non-Defense Ada Applications
February 1993 

sources: Commercial Ada Users Working Group (CAUWG), 
AdaStrategies, Ada Anthology, published reports, 
vendor newsletters, etc.,

summarized by
Michael B. Feldman
Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
The George Washington University
Washington, DC 20052
202-994-5253 (voice)
202-994-5296 (fax)
mfeldman@seas.gwu.edu

Here is a list of non-defense Ada projects of which I am aware. Previous 
versions of this list were called " Non-Government" ; this one is called 
"Non-Defense". This is because the line between a purely commercial project 
and a government one is increasingly fuzzy, especially in Europe where the 
telecommunications industry is quasi-governmental and governments often own 
stock in companies.

In the U.S., two very large government but non-defense Ada projects are the 
FAA Advanced Automation system for air traffic control, and the NASA Space 
Station Freedom software. The U.S. projects on the list below are in addition 
to these two. Note that Lawrence Livermore National Lab is a Department of
Energy facility which points out that it was under no Ada mandate.

Any such list must have selection criteria. I prefer to focus on actual, 
fielded applications, and therefore I have not listed compilers, tools, reuse 
libraries, etc., of which there are many coded in Ada. Software development 
tools are interesting, but they are in a different category altogether from 
fielded systems.

The reader will note that many of these systems are in the aerospace and 
telecommunications domains, both in the US and elsewhere. Naturally this is 
not a coincidence; both domains require highly reliable software, and many of 
the companies involved have built upon their defense experience and chosen 
Ada for non-defense applications. On the other hand, one can see that Ada is 
also making inroads into other industries, especially banking and securities. 
There are also several "shrink-wrap"  products for personal computers.

Readers are invited to correct or add entries and send them to me. The CAUWG 
chair, Ben Brosgol, can be reached at brosgol@ajpo.sei.cmu.edu or 
(617) 270-0030; Ralph Crafts, the editor of Ada Strategies, a commercial 
Ada-oriented newsletter, and Ada Anthology, a summary of newsletter articles, 
can be reached at sst@mcimail.com or (304) 725-6542. The Ada Information 
Clearinghouse also keeps track of projects like these; reach them at 
adainfo@ajpo.sei.cmu.edu or (800) AdaIC11. Thanks to Tom Erickson and Xavier
du Joie of Alsys for their recent long list of additions to the list.

USA	Beech Aircraft: many flight-control subsystems for Beechjet 400A 
	and Beech Starship I (business jets) (see Rockwell)

USA	Boeing: 747-400 subsystem components of cockpit displays, 
	on-board maintenance systems, secondary flight controls

USA	Boneck Printing: job costing system, 40,000 lines, Janus/Ada

USA	CAE-Link: Space Station Verification and Training Facility/
	Shuttle Mission Simulator, Real-time, distributed simulators 
	(using OO methodology, no less!).  Silicon Graphics/Verdix

USA	Coulter: medical electronics, including hematology equipment.

USA	Crane HydroAir: braking systems for aircraft, Alsys.

USA	Design Aids: commercial frame-by-frame videotape editing system, 
	Janus/Ada

USA	Dimensional Media Systems: Doorway, hypertext "information 
	manager,"  MS-DOS, Meridian

USA	Dowell-Schlumberger: oil exploration simulation software, DEC

USA 	General Electric/Weirton Steel: hot steel rolling mill, 
	multiple MicroVax-en, DEC Ada

USA 	Genesis Software, Inc.: complete bill paying system, Wang VS, 
	Alsys; ported easily to VAX

USA 	HP: hardware CAD system for internal use in chip development.

USA 	Inviroplan: factory ignition monitoring system, Alsys.

USA 	LDS Hospital: medical decision support system, DOS, Alsys.

USA 	Lawrence Livermore National Lab (DOE): Nova fusion laser contol 
	system (world's largest laser), DEC Ada, MOTIF, multiple 
	VAXStations.

USA 	Lawrence Livermore National Lab: building security system: 
	access control, intrusion detection, window-based monitoring 
	and control, VAX/VMS.

USA 	MAN Truck and Bus Company: multi-state payroll system, 
	Janus/Ada (1982!)

USA 	Motorola: cellular phone switch testing system, Alsys, TeleSoft.

USA 	PC-based programmer for embedded medical products (company 
	refuses to be identified).

USA 	Reuters: transaction processing for Chicago Mercantile Exchange, 
	interfaces to commercial DBMS

USA 	Rockwell: Fokker F100 Multi-Function Display System, Irvine 
	Compilers

USA 	Rockwell: Advanced Railroad Electronic System (real-time tracking 
	and Global Positioning Satellite communications with trains)

USA 	Rockwell: Many system components for commercial aircraft control.

USA 	Rockwell: commercial Miniaturized Global Positioning Satellite 
	Receiver (MGR).

USA 	Rollins Leasing (national leader in truck leasing and vehicle 
	management): integrated fuel management system, Janus/Ada.

USA 	Shell Oil: geophysical seismic processing system (many different 
	computers).

USA 	Smiths (formerly Lear-Sigler): large embedded flight program for 
	Boeing-737 aircraft, XD-Ada.

USA 	Sundstrand: power supply ignition for Boeing-777, Alsys.

USA 	Trace Instruments: automatic test equipment for printed circuit 
	boards.

USA 	Wells-Fargo Investment Advisors (WFNIA): real-time investment 
	database system, DEC/VAX.

Australia 	CSA: ground stations for an L-Band car-to-satellite telephone 
	system in Australia.  Multiple sites, many processors linked 
	in real-time; Sun SPARC, Sun SPARCengine; SunAda, VADSWorks.

Canada 	Canadian Space Agency: satellite payload control system.

Canada 	Canadian Marconi: Global Positioning Satellite software for 
	Boeing 777.

Canada 	Eyepoint, Inc: Tunis Operating System in Ada.

Chile 	Empresa Nacional de Aeronautica (ENAER): real-time avionics 
	system, Data General/TeleSoft

Europe 	European Space Agency: ground station operator environment; 
	nearly all space station software

Finland  	Nokia Information Systems: online banking systems.

France 	CEA Caradache: simulator for nuclear reactor management, 
	HP9000-300, Alsys.

France 	CGA: Systems for mail sorting machines, Sun3-->68k, Alsys.

France 	Citroen/3FP: Programmed Robots Management System for automotive 
	production lines.

France 	CMG: turnkey signal processing, industrial automation.

France 	CSEE: Braking system for French High Speed Train (TGV), 
	VAX-->68k, Alsys.

France 	Euristic Systems: expert system to manage continuous data 
	acquisition, ApolloDomain network, Alsys.

France 	GEC Alsthom: fully-committed to Ada for railroad subsystems 
	including French high-speed train (TGV) network and Channel 
	Tunnel.

France 	SAPEX: industrial cutting of Airbus items, various computers, 
	Alsys.

France 	SEMA Group: software to control nuclear power plant, DOS, Alsys.

France 	Sextant Avionique: Global Positioning System for Aircraft, 
	VAX-->68020, Alsys.

France 	SIGLOS Industries: Manufacturing process control system 
	(monitoring system), DOS, Alsys.

France 	Strategies: CADWIN, PC-based CAD/CAM product, Alsys.

France 	SYSECA: new French air-traffic control system.

France 	Thomson-CSF: operational civilian Air Traffic Control systems 
	in Copenhagen, Kenya, Pakistan, simulators in Switzerland, 
	Ireland, more ATC systems coming.

France 	Thomson DOI/Mercier Bugatti: Braking system and landing gear 
	control system for Airbus 330 and 340.

France 	TOTAL (oil company): computer-assisted extraction of oil 
	products, bare 68020, Alsys.

Germany 	Alcatel SEL: satellite positioning, Sun-3-->80386, Alsys.

Germany 	Daimler-Benz (Mercedes): calculation of data for automobile 
	construction, HP9000-700, Alsys.

Germany 	Dermalog: identification of fingerprints, 
	PC-->Transputer, Alsys.

Germany 	Dornier: ARIANE 5 spacecraft, VAX/VMS-->68k, Alsys.

Germany 	dSpace: tools to control fast systems such as hard disks, 
	vehicle suspensions, robots, Alsys.

Germany 	ERNO Raumfahrttechnik: COLUMBUS part of Space Station Freedom, 
	HP9000-700, Alsys.

Germany 	Eurocontrol: air traffic control system, Sun SPARC, Alsys.

Germany 	Fichtel & Sachs/Univ. of Paderborn: Computer-Aided Mechatronic 
	Laboratory, various computers.

Germany 	Quelle AG (mail order company): mail order process simulation.

Germany 	Siemens AG: flight control agency emergency communication syste
m.

Germany 	Sietec: electron-beam lithography system, DOS, Alsys.

Holland 	Royal Dutch Post and Telecom: PC-based system for control and 
	monitoring of public telecommunication service, MS-DOS, Alsys.

Japan 	Nippon Telephone and Telegraph: videotex communication system, 
	mobile communication system, satellite communication system, 
	database management system; all commercially available.

Norway 	Norwegian Telecom: X.400 P7 implementation, supporting 
	electronic mail between computers through satellites, 
	various computers, Alsys.

Norway 	TeleServe: fault-tolerant (of class highly-available), real-time 
	SQL servers, for telecommunications applications. TeleSoft Ada.

Spain 	CESEL: radar and flight plan processing for Spanish air-traffic 
	control centers.

Spain 	Teice Control, SA: control system for 40 buildings in industrial 
	area of Madrid Airport (A/C, power supply, fire-detection, etc.)

Sweden 	ESAB: robotic welding stations for use in flexible manufacturing 
	systems, TeleSoft, Vax and 680x0.

Sweden 	SattControl: warehouse systems

Sweden 	Swedish Telecom: system for supervision of private-branch 
	telephone exchanges (PBX's)

Sweden 	Volvo: materials handling system (robotic parts carts), TeleSoft.

Sweden 	Color display element of hospital building control and monitoring 
	system: 1600 I/O channels, 200 dynamic color displays, lots of 
	tasking, Meridian.

Switzerland 	ABB Relays AG: power transmission, HP9000-700-->68k, Alsys.

Switzerland 	Click Informatik AG: control of air-conditioning and heating 
	systems, HP9000-700, Alsys.

Switzerland 	LinkVest: real-time stock exchange management system, VAX.

Switzerland 	Tegimenta AG: analysis system for medical diagnosis, 
	HP900-300-->68k, Alsys.

Switzerland 	Union Bank: Operations Control System to manage distributed 
	Vax-en.

UK 	Avantek: Access Mac (lets MS DOS disk drives read, write, 
	format Macintosh disks), Janus/Ada.

UK 	CORAL: DACMAN, simulation and data monitoring system for auto 
	engines, IBM PC, Alsys, Meridian.

UK 	Cray Systems Space Division: real-time training simulator 
	for satellite controllers.

UK 	Eurocontrol: Flight management system, Alsys.

UK 	GeoMatrix: PC demographics research system, Alsys.

UK 	Orbitel Mobile Communications: cellular phone base station, Alsys.

UK 	Process Plant and Chemicals: chemical process control systems, 
	DOS, Alsys.

UK 	Pulse Train Technology: software for interactive analysis of 
	consumer survey data (for marketing depts.), DOS and Unix, Alsys.

UK 	Univ. of Southampton, modeling of deep-sea ecosystem, 
	IBM 3090, Alsys.

UK 	Westinghouse Signals, Ltd.: Railways signaling system, 
	VAX-->68k, Alsys.