Form 9.B Project Summary

Chron: 972218

Proposal Number: 24.01-1320

Project Title: Tool Factory for Spacecraft System Components

Technical Abstract (Limit 200 words)

The long-range goal of this proposed effort is to overcome barriers to building and deploying spacecraft real-time embedded systems from verified, reusable software components. The promise of component-based applications is to enable developers to "snap together" new applications by mixing and matching prefabricated software components. However, the lack of a standard real-time distributed object operating system, lack of a standard Computer-Aided Software Environment (CASE) tool notation and lack of a standard CASE tool repository has limited the realization of component software.

Our approach to fulfilling this need is the Tool Factory. The Tool Factory takes advantage of emerging standards such as UML, CORBA, Java and the Internet. This work will build on the recently available CORBA real-time operating system services. Additionally, Unified Modeling Language (UML) is fast becoming the industry standard for object-oriented analysis and design notation for object-based systems. The key technical innovation of the Tool Factory is the ability to assemble and test new system configurations as well as assemble new tools on demand from existing tools and architecture design repositories.. Once the Tool Factory is in-place, spacecraft mission specific systems can be assembled from tools, system components and design architecture repositories located anywhere on the Internet.

Potential Commercial Applications (Limit 200 words)

Reusable tool and system components will result in significant reductions in the lifecycle cost of distributed embedded real-time systems. Application market niches include communication network management, patient bed-side monitoring and management, weapons system command and control, unmanned vehicle control, and on-board avionics systems

Name and Address of Principal Investigator (Name,

Organization Name, Mail Address, City/State/Zip)

Bruce Cottman

I-Kinetics, Inc.

17 New England Executive Park

Burlington , MA 01803

Name and Address of Offeror (Firm Name, Mail Address,

City/State/Zip)

David Innis

I-Kinetics, Inc.

17 New England Executive Park

Burlington , MA 01803