MOTIVATION AND OBJECTIVES
---------------------------------------------
In the 4th Software Challenges in Aerospace symposium, we will again bring together experts at the intersection of aerospace and computer science. We will focus on software for flight operations (both on the vehicle and ground), and place a priority on the design and analysis of software-intensive aerospace systems for safety assurance. The goal of this symposium is to foster innovation and discussion across the divide between the two academic communities. We place an emphasis on demonstrable research on real-world applications, with clear extensions to aerospace software.
 
Papers will appear in the 2017 SciTech proceedings http://www.aiaa-scitech.org/ . Select papers from the first symposium were invited to extend their papers for a special issue of the Journal of Aerospace Information Systems.
 
We invite papers of the following types:

Papers that clearly describe gaps in the capabilities or policies related to aerospace software, and that illuminate frontiers where research will be necessary in order to make progress.

Papers which push the boundaries and deliver results in software-intensive systems, highlighting techniques that enable the intelligent and efficient management of system complexity.
 
 
THEMES
---------------------
The topics covered by this workshop include, but are not limited to, the following:
 
Software Synthesis for Aerospace
    model-based approaches to software and software-intensive system design
    compositional and hierarchical design approaches for reducing and managing complexity
    approaches to building intelligent and adaptive systems within a safety-critical framework
    the generation of code that is correct-by-construction
    the design of maintainable systems
 
Software Analysis for Aerospace
    verification and validation for safety-critical software systems
    security analysis for aerospace communications
    compositional analysis of code for scalability
    automated testing techniques
    statistical techniques (including data mining and learning) for program and software behavior analysis
 
Aerospace System Integration
    architectures for safety-critical aerospace systems containing software, hardware and people
    approaches to, benefits of, and limitations of Integrated Modular Avionics frameworks
    human-computer interaction including intelligent cockpits/control towers
    adaptive airspace implementations
 
Aerospace Software Policy and Implementation
    the certification of software systems, including DO-178, DO-278, and safety-case based approaches
    decision-making in air systems, including both autonomy and human factors issues
    creating and maintaining a skilled workforce for aerospace software
 
 
SUBMISSIONS
---------------------
Submissions may be made at the AIAA SciTech 2017 website, located here: www.aiaa-scitech.org.  Once you have authenticated to Scholar One, choose ‘Software’ as the topic, and ‘Software Challenges in Aerospace Symposium’ as the subtopic.
Papers will initially be accepted based on a draft manuscript, due no later than June 6th, 2016.
 
We invite three kinds of papers, full-length technical papers (6-10 pages) and short ideas papers and practical experience reports (4-5 pages) in the AIAA conference format. (The author’s kit can be found at https://www.aiaa.org/Secondary.aspx?id=4597 ). To encourage thorough and appropriate citation, the references section will not count against the page limits. In both cases, the program committee will assess the papers for originality, importance of the contributions, the quality and clarity of the writing, and the consideration of the current state of practice. Each submission will be reviewed by at least three members of the committee.
 
Technical papers should describe original and unpublished concepts and results at the intersection of aerospace and computing. These papers should have solid and complete evaluations and contribute to knowledge at the frontier.

Ideas papers will allow the authors to present and get feedback on novel ideas and on promising work that has not yet been fully evaluated. These papers should focus on inspiring new directions, and/or provocative ideas.

Practical experience reports are papers by authors who have attempted to implement software in realistic aerospace contexts. These papers should discuss implementation details and results, and hopefully contain recommendations for future implementation.
 
Accepted full-length technical papers will be presented at the conference as 20-25 minute talks during the AIAA SciTech meeting in a special track during January 2016. Depending on the number and quality of submissions, accepted short idea papers may be presented as full talks or as part of a panel discussion.