Sensory Perception & Interaction Research Group

University of British Columbia

Full citation: 
Pava, G., MacLean, K. (2004). "Real Time Platform Middleware for Transparent Prototyping of Haptic Applications." in Proceedings of the 12th Annual Symposium on Haptic Interfaces for Virtual Environments and Teleoperator Systems, IEEE-VR2004, Chicago, USA, 2004.
Abstract: 
In this paper we present The RealTime Platform Middleware (RTPM), an architecture for prototyping realtime multimodal I/O projects. Multimodal applications often require a distributed implementation to meet disparate temporal and platform needs. RTPM provides an extendable, device-independent, network-transparent interface to a set of user I/O devices which eases application integration across different operating systems. RTPM consists of a framework based on Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA) and a custom virtual device abstraction that exports real devices' functionality to user processes. It offers two mechanisms (client/server and consumer/supplier) for communication between user processes. This paper describes the architecture's objectives and implementation, provides examples of its use and analyzes its performance in some typical haptic application configurations.
SPIN Author: 
Year Published: 
2004