Here are a few examples of long-lived systems we have personally encountered over the years:
- In 2009, Phillip started working on a project that involved redesigning the hardware for a product that was designed in the 1960s. The processor required to build and repair those systems were no longer being produced, so the team was replacing the electronics with an equivalent design using an FPGA and passives.
- In another effort, the team debugged and fixed software from the 1960s whose only surviving copy was a paper copy of the assembly in a three ring binder. The same software is still being used on fighter jets today.
- We had a prospective client who was looking to redesign industrial embedded systems that were designed by his grandfather and are still actively used by customers all around the United States.
- Voyager I and II have been in operation for 40+ years, even receiving fixes for problems encountered in recent years.
- Hubble has been operating since 1990, and has received a number of updates in that time.
Note
If you have any examples we can add to this list, please let us know.