SBIR Phase I: A Reconfigurable Collaborative Services Framework

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目是为可重构协作服务提供一个体系结构框架，作为计算机支持的协作活动的可定制和高效解决方案。这个项目打算开发创新解决方案的关键技术领域是：可定制的协作软件、健壮性和异构支持。基于支持核心设施的灵活背板的原则，该项目支持协作模块的思想，这些模块可以适当地插入到给定的合作努力中。本研究解决了当前协作软件中的二分法，旨在设计新的方法和系统，以弥合通用工具和定制工具之间的差距。本研究的目的是设计这样的架构和开发原型软件，以建立其可行性。一个框架和一个可用的系统将从这项工作中产生。在这项工作的进行中，将探索跨异构平台的多向协作的新技术，并可能为该领域贡献新的有用的科学发现。由于其强烈的实用主义倾向，该项目将通过框架和所产生的软件对基于网络的平台在大量领域特定情况下的协同工作产生广泛的影响。这个项目将填补简单的通用协作系统和昂贵的定制工具之间的巨大空白，从而为许多合作努力带来适当和有效的协作技术。提出的框架中的关键设计概念使其在没有设备、网络和管理支持方面的大量基础设施的情况下有效和可用，从而鼓励各种社区采用。特别是，像这项研究这样的协作系统具有巨大的潜力，可以通过使用简单的低端客户端系统远程访问先进的教育、研究和技术设施，扩大代表性不足群体的参与。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is for an architectural framework for reconfigurable collaborative services as a customizable and efficient solution to computer-supported cooperative activities. The key technical areas in which this project intends to develop innovative solutions are: customizable collaboration software, robustness, and heterogeneity sup-port. Based upon the principle of a flexible backplane that supports core facilities, the project is for an idea of collaboration modules that may be plugged-in as appropriate to a given cooperative endeavor. This research addresses the current dichotomy in collaboration software, and aims to devise new methodologies and systems to bridge the gap between general-purpose and custom-made tools. The objective of this research is to design such architecture and develop prototype software to establish its viability. A framework and a usable system will result from this work.In the conduct of this work, new techniques for multiway collaboration across heterogeneous platforms will be explored, and will likely contribute new and useful scientific findings to the field. Owing to its strong pragmatic bias, the project will have broad impact, both through the framework and via the software produced, on network based platforms for cooperative work in a large number of domain specific situations. This project will fill the large void between simplistic general purpose collaboration systems and expensive, custom built tools thereby bringing appropriate and efficient collaboration technology to numerous cooperative endeavors. Key design concepts in the proposed framework make it effective and usable without substantial infrastructure in terms of devices, networks, and administrative support thereby encouraging adoption in all sorts of communities. In particular, collaborative systems such as this research have substantial potential for broadening the participation of underrepresented groups via remote access to advanced educational, research, and technological facilities using simple, low end client systems.