FRONTIER is a computer program that functions as a front end for any of a variety of other software of both the artificial intelligence (AI) and conventional data-processing types. As used here, "front end" signifies interface software needed for acquiring and preprocessing data and making the data available for analysis by the other software. FRONTIER is reusable in that it can be rapidly tailored to any such other software with minimum effort. Each component of FRONTIER is programmable and is executed in an embedded virtual machine. Each component can be reconfigured during execution. The virtual-machine implementation making FRONTIER independent of the type of computing hardware on which it is executed.
The top-level elements of FRONTIER are written in the C language for real-time performance. However, configuration- setup, preprocessing, conversion, advanced analysis (AI) algorithms and noise-source definitions are written in a virtual language that can be downloaded to each of its components while they are running to provide hot swaps of software. FRONTIER is composed of one non-reusable component and seven reusable ones. The non-reusable component is the one that interfaces to the external world to acquire the data.
This program was written by Mark James of Caltech for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. For more information, download the Technical Support Package (free white paper) at www.techbriefs.com/tsp under the Software category. This software is available for commercial licensing. Please contact Karina Edmonds of the California Institute of Technology at (626) 395-2322. Refer to NPO-42087.
This Brief includes a Technical Support Package (TSP).
General-Purpose Front End for Real-Time Data Processing
(reference NPO-42087) is currently available for download from the TSP library.
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Overview
The document outlines NASA's General-Purpose Front End for Real-Time Data Processing, referred to as FRONTIER. This system is designed to serve as a reusable, plug-and-play component for real-time analysis and reasoning systems, addressing the need for efficient data collection, processing, and recording in various applications. FRONTIER aims to eliminate the redundancy of developing similar front-end components for each new system, thereby streamlining the integration of data processing capabilities.
FRONTIER is characterized by its modular design, consisting of eight components: one non-general purpose component that interfaces with external hardware or software, and seven reusable components that facilitate data processing. The system is programmable, allowing for on-the-fly reconfiguration of its elements through an embedded virtual machine. This flexibility enables the execution of configuration setups, preprocessing, conversion algorithms, and heuristic analyses in a virtual language that can be dynamically downloaded to components while they are operational.
Key functionalities of FRONTIER include filtering real-time measurements to process only necessary data, up and down converting measurement sampling rates, and automatically correlating time-skewed measurements to ensure they align with actual or pseudo frame boundaries. It also supports programmable numeric preprocessing, such as converting engineering units and extracting features, as well as event detection based on complex relational expressions through a rule-based language for inference annotation.
The system operates through a subscription-based relational database that stores real-time data from external sources and facilitates the distribution of both real-time and historical numeric and symbolic information among reasoning components. This database serves as a consistent source of external data for all reasoning components, promoting a uniform exchange of information.
FRONTIER is implemented in C++ for real-time performance, ensuring that it can handle the demands of real-time data processing effectively. The document emphasizes the system's independence from specific hardware, making it adaptable to various applications in aerospace and beyond.
Overall, FRONTIER represents a significant advancement in real-time data processing technology, providing a robust framework for integrating and analyzing large volumes of data efficiently, thereby enhancing the capabilities of intelligent systems in aerospace and other fields.
