DUECA - Data-driven activation in distributed real-time computation

Abstract

Experiments and flight simulation programs for a research flight simulator can be considered as a combination of real-time distributed calculation processes. Current tools and architectures for implementing these processes are complicated to use and require considerable real-time programming skills. The created programs are not sufficiently flexible. A new middleware layer, DUECA, was developed to facilitate implementation of programs on a research flight simulator. It combines a publish and subscribe mechanism and message passing facilities with some novel elements, namely explicit allocation of process activation and the conditions under which that allocation should take place, synchronisation of data from different sources, and a mechanism to transparently combine processes running at different update rates.