Demand for greater intelligence is increasing in the devices we use every day. As embedded systems become ubiquitous, they will be required to operate as high-integrity systems in delivering expected services.

Although a high level of reliability has been achieved for expensive applications like airplane avionics, these practices are too restrictive for building complex systems operating within a changing networked environment, and too expensive for use in broader applications for consumers and business.

In order to deliver a new generation of high-integrity real time applications, a more flexible, architecturally neutral implementation strategy is needed. The key to providing this flexibility is the development of architecturally neutral, real-time middleware technologies that support high-integrity systems.