Sensor application integration framework (SAIF)

• US 7,149,660 B2
• Filed: 02/17/2005
• Issued: 12/12/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 02/17/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Original Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Inventors: Peters, Marc A., Kuehn, Dennis L., Mott, Michael R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tsai, Carol S. W.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Huynh, Phuong
• Application Number:
  US11/060,146
• Publication Number:
  US 20060195299A1
• Time in Patent Office: 663 Days
• Field of Search: 702/188, 702119-123, 702/127, 709230-232, 709/236, 719/315, 719/316, 719/328
• US Class Current: 702/188
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/025 for remote control or remote monitoring of applications

Abstract

Methods and apparatus are provided for standardizing an interface infrastructure between sensor devices and client applications. The apparatus comprises a Sensor Application Integration Framework (SAIF) in the form of an application program interface (API) transport layer between sensor devices and client applications. Sensor services are registered in the SAIF API as interface definitions, and the client applications search the interface definitions corresponding to desired sensor services. An interactive handshake of messages and data between client applications and sensor services is implemented via the SAIF API by means of standard communication protocols such as XML. The SAIF API abstracts the details of the underlying sensor hardware from the client application, and can therefore function as a standard interface for sensor simulation, for sensor emulation, and for an active sensor device. The SAIF API hardware and associated software are generally compatible with commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) technology.

Claims

1. A method of standardizing the interface between a sensor device and a client application, the method comprising the steps of:

registering the interface definitions of the sensor device services in a sensor interface infrastructure that is implemented in a form of an API in a transport layer of an OSI model;

selecting one or more of the registered interface definitions of the sensor device services by the client application;

sending command and control messages from the client application to the sensor device;

sending status information from the sensor device to the client application in response to the command and control messages;

sending sensor data from the sensor device to the client application; and

sending data from the client application to the sensor device in response to the sensor data, wherein standard communication protocols are used for the interactive interchange of messages, status information, and data between the sensor device and the client application.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein a standard communication protocol is extensible markup language (XML).

3. The method of claim 1 wherein a standard communication protocol is Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP).

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the standard communication protocol is Universal Description, Discovery and Integration (UDDI).

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the standard communication protocol is Web Services Definition Language (WSDL).

6. A system for standardizing the interface between a sensor device and a client application, comprising:

a sensor device having services identified by interface definitions;

a client application having look up capabilities for selecting sensor device services;

a sensor interface infrastructure that is implemented in a form of an API in a transport layer of an OSI model configured to transfer messages and data between the sensor device and the client application, wherein the client application selects a sensor service by accessing the corresponding interface definition in the interface infrastructure, and wherein messages and data are interactively transferred between the client application and the sensor device via the sensor interface infrastructure by means of standard communication protocols.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein a standard communication protocol is extensible markup language (XML).

8. The system of claim 6 wherein a standard communication protocol is Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP).

9. The system of claim 6 wherein a standard communication protocol is Universal Description, Discovery and Integration (UDDI).

10. The system of claim 6 wherein a standard communication protocol is Web Services Definition Language (WSDL).

11. The system of claim 6 wherein the sensor device hardware and associated software are compatible with commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) technology.

12. A universal infrastructure for integrating a sensor device with application software, comprising:

a sensor interface infrastructure that is implemented in the form of an API in a transport layer of an OSI model for transferring messages and data between the sensor device and the application software, the transport layer configured to receive interface definitions from the sensor device corresponding to available sensor device services, and the transport layer further configured to receive requests for sensor device services from the application software;

wherein the service requests are matched with the corresponding interface definitions in the transport layer, and wherein the transport layer transfers messages and data interactively between the sensor device and the application software via a standard communication protocol.

13. The universal infrastructure of claim 12 wherein the sensor device and the application software are compatible with COTS technology.