Systems and Methods Providing Data Module and Processing Platform Integration

• US 20120233447A1
• Filed: 03/10/2011
• Published: 09/13/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/10/2011
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Raytheon Company (Rtx Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Raytheon Company (Rtx Corporation)
• Inventors: Fitzgerald, Patrick N.
• Application Number:
  US13/045,324
• Publication Number:
  US 20120233447A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/36 Software reuse
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/63 Image based installation; Cloning; Build to order
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/45533 Hypervisors; Virtual machine monitors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/545 where tasks reside in different layers, e.g. user- and kernel-space

Abstract

A system includes a data module with a data bus interface to a host processing platform. The data module has a data resource hardware component, and a non-volatile memory storing an Operating System (OS) image. The non-volatile memory is in communication with the data bus interface to the host processing platform. The OS image, when executed by the processing platform, exposes a control Application Programming Interface (API) thereby providing access to the data resource hardware component.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a data module with a data bus interface to a host processing platform, the data module comprising;

a data resource hardware component; and

a non-volatile memory storing an Operating System (OS) image, the non-volatile memory in communication with the data bus interface to the host processing platform;

wherein the OS image, when executed by the host processing platform, exposes a control Application Programming Interface (API) thereby providing access to the data resource hardware component.

2. The system of claim 1 in which the data module comprises a sensor module.

3. The system of claim 2 in which the data resource hardware component includes a video camera.

4. The system of claim 1 in which the data module is selected from the list consisting of:

a sensor module

an adapter for a legacy device;

an auxiliary processor module;

a communications interface module;

a geo-location module; and

a data storage module.

5. The system of claim 1 in which the data bus interface comprises at least one of the following:

a Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface, an IEEE 1394 bus interface, and an Ethernet interface.

6. The system of claim 1 in which the data bus interface includes a Wide Area Network (WAN) interface with an encapsulator to packetize data from the data resource hardware component.

7. The system of claim 1 included in at least one of an aircraft, a land vehicle, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), and a stand-alone system.

8. A system comprising:

a host processing platform with a plurality of data module interfaces, the host processing platform further comprising;

a virtualization platform that receives a first Operating System (OS) image via one of the data module interfaces and runs the first OS image independently of a host OS, the server accessing resources of a first data module through an Application Programming Interface (API) exposed by the first OS image.

9. The system of claim 8 in which the virtualization platform includes an environment that loads the OS image and runs the OS image separate from a control application for the data module, the control application for the data module running on top of the host OS.

10. The system of claim 8 in which the module interfaces comprises at least one of the following:

a Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface, an IEEE 1394 bus interface, and an Ethernet interface.

11. The system of claim 8 in which the virtualization platform includes resources to run a second OS image from a second data module independently of the host OS and independently of the first OS image.

12. The system of claim 8 further comprising:

a first application configured to run within the host OS and to interact with the first OS image to control the first data module.

13. The system of claim 8 further comprising:

a human interface displaying functional options corresponding to data module functions; and

a system management interface configured to control addition and removal of the first data module.

14. The system of claim 8 in which the data module interfaces comprise Wide Area Network (WAN) interfaces and a de-encapsulator to receive communications over the WAN.

15. The system of claim 8 further comprising an additional host processing platform with an additional virtualization platform in communication with the host processing platform over a network, the host processing platform and the additional host processing platform sharing data from the first data module.

16. The system of claim 8 included in at least one of an aircraft, a land vehicle, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), and a stand-alone system.

17. A method for using a first data module with a first host processing platform, the method comprising:

interfacing the first data module with the first host processing platform;

uploading a first Operating System (OS) image from non-volatile memory in the first data module to a virtualization platform in the first host processing platform;

running the first OS image in the virtualization platform so that the first OS image is isolated from a host OS, the first OS image exposing an Application Programming Interface (API);

accessing data and control functionality of the first data module using a first application running on the host OS, the first application interacting with the exposed API using a standard network protocol.

18. The method of claim 17 further comprising:

interfacing a second data module with the first host processing platform;

uploading a second OS image from non-volatile memory in the second data module to a virtualization platform in the first host processing platform; and

running the second OS image in the virtualization platform so that the second OS image is isolated from a host OS and from the first OS image.

19. The method of claim 17 further comprising:

interfacing a second host processing platform with the first host processing platform over a network; and

sharing the data and control functionality of the first data module between the first host processing platform and the second host processing platform.

20. The method of claim 17 in which interfacing the first data module with the first processing platform comprises:

connecting the first data module and the first host processing platform over a Wide Area Network.