Collaboration Bus for Environment-Adaptive Groupware

日常计算的一个主要趋势是从工作站无缝移动到无线手持设备。第二个主要趋势是与同事持续合作。由于平台和通信网络的巨大差异，适应和支持这些趋势是极其困难的。该提案的目标是开发和演示一个中间件框架，用于在异类网络上进行性能优化的泛在协作。它将支持服务质量应用程序，并支持选择性数据分发。该框架的关键组件是协作总线，它是在以数据为中心的群件中支持群组通信的中间件。提出的研究包括：a)动态监测网络能力的算法和方法；b)调整网络流量的数据转换和适配策略；c)评估和控制广播每条消息所涉及的性能影响。研究的一些关键内容是数据适配代理的开发。这些代理转换和更改数据，以便不同的应用程序和硬件可以使用这些数据。拟议的研究将为多用户协作带来触手可及的新功能。

A major trend in day-to-day computing involves moving seamlessly from workstation to wireless handheld devices. A second major trend is continuous collaboration with colleagues. Accommodating and supporting these trends is extremely difficult because of the vastly different platforms and communication networks. The objective of the proposal is to develop and demonstrate a middleware framework for performance-optimized ubiquitous collaboration over heterogeneous networks. It will enable quality-of-service applications and support selective data distribution. The key component of the proposed framework is the collaboration bus, which is a middleware to support group communication in data-centric groupware. The proposed research includes:a) algorithms and methods for dynamic monitoring of network capabilities,b) data transformation and adaptation policies for adjusting network traffic, andc) assessing and controlling the performance impact involving in broadcasting each message.Some of the key elements of the research are the development of Data Adaptation Agents. These agents transform and change the data so that it can be used by different applications and hardware. The proposed research will bring new capabilities for multi-user collaboration within reach.