Verification vs Validation: 2 key concepts in UAV certification

Verification vs Validation: 2 key concepts in UAV certification

In the past years, the drone market has undergone an extraordinary evolution in consumer sectors. In a market as demanding as this, it is essential that companies guarantee their customers maximum reliability and determinism in the final product.

This highlights the importance of two fundamental steps in design, development, and production: verification and validation.

Verification and validation processes in the UAS industry

Validation is a process where the product requirements are analyzed to confirm that it meets the needs of the market and for the application it is intended for. In this phase, the engineering team should work on the requirements of the equipment, considering whether these requirements are adequate for the objective pursued or not. During the validation, strict validation processes (ATP – Acceptance Test Procedure) are followed. These define tests for the different manufacturing stages, including Environmental Stress Screening (ESS) for early detection of failures. The results of these tests are reflected in the ATR (Acceptance Test Report).

Instead, the verification process is carried out to ensure that the product meets the specifications and previously established requirements. Verification can be done in different ways depending on the nature of the product. At Embention, we have an independent verification department, which is in charge of both software and hardware verification in the different phases of the design and development process. For this purpose, it has a development environment where requirements, tests, results … and all the necessary tools are included.

As part of its design verification, Embention pays special attention to environmental qualification testing. The DO160 and MIL-STD-810 standards, adopted by the FAA and EASA, are the most commonly used. These are test methods, which make it possible to measure the influence of the environment on products. These tests are performed in a controlled environment, in a laboratory, allowing to guarantee the resistance of the products to certain environmental conditions (temperatures, flight altitude, vibrations, etc.). Also, software verification follows the guidelines set by DO-178C. As a fundamental part of the software development standard, known as the V-Method, System Tests are performed to verify High Level Requirements (HLRs) and Unit Tests to verify Low Level Requirements (LLRs). This set of tests is run with each software release.

In other words, we could say that in a product design, we need to validated (we check that the defined requirements are correct) and verified (we check that the product meets the design requirements). On the other hand, a manufacturing unit with a unique Serial Number is only verified, allowing to ensure that the production process has been carried out correctly.

These strict processes are fundamental in the UAV industry, where organizations are continually innovating in order to adapt to new technologies. Thus, by means of verification and validation, it is possible to guarantee that the product conforms to the needs of the application, with a high quality in the final product and according to traceability needs, an essential element to tackle a UAV or eVTOL certification project.

The entire quality process in Embention is maintained thanks to the Embention Development Environment, implemented in all our departments. Thus, we can guarantee that our final products are top of the line and prevent any malfunction when putting the product into use.