M
I'm not discussing "who will be blamed" in a subjective or popular sense. My topic is legal liability.
One reason that makers of life safety critical functions often don't choose to control them with off-the-shelf, consumer-type computer hardware is because the lack of assured continuous functionality, assured absence of hardware errors and validly determined MTBF leaves them exposed to liability.
Two reasons that makers of off-the-shelf, consumer-type computer hardware often include in the Terms and Conditions of Sale page in the owner's manual/flyer a statement that the subject hardware shall not be used for critical control functions, often specifically mentioning medical systems and nuclear operations, are: (1) to try to limit their exposure to liability; and (2) because the two named control-system types are subject to specific regulatory requirements, and such hardware makers don't want to be gigged for failure to systematically conform to those requirements.
I'm not a lawyer, so any discussion I offer on such subjects must not be regarded as legal advice. If this matters to you, consult your lawyer.
One reason that makers of life safety critical functions often don't choose to control them with off-the-shelf, consumer-type computer hardware is because the lack of assured continuous functionality, assured absence of hardware errors and validly determined MTBF leaves them exposed to liability.
Two reasons that makers of off-the-shelf, consumer-type computer hardware often include in the Terms and Conditions of Sale page in the owner's manual/flyer a statement that the subject hardware shall not be used for critical control functions, often specifically mentioning medical systems and nuclear operations, are: (1) to try to limit their exposure to liability; and (2) because the two named control-system types are subject to specific regulatory requirements, and such hardware makers don't want to be gigged for failure to systematically conform to those requirements.
I'm not a lawyer, so any discussion I offer on such subjects must not be regarded as legal advice. If this matters to you, consult your lawyer.
