Middleware Specification for Low-Power Distributed Processing Devices Navy SBIR FY2008.1 Sol No.: Navy SBIR FY2008.1 Topic No.: N08-091 Topic Title: Middleware Specification for Low-Power Distributed Processing Devices Proposal No.: N081-091-0480 Firm: Objective Interface Systems, Inc. 13873 Park Center Road Suite 360 Herndon, Virginia 20171-3247 Contact: Victor Giddings Phone: (703) 295-6520 Web Site: www.ois.com Abstract: Power usage is of special engineering concern for hand-held devices. The migration of much of the signal processing to software in Software Defined Radios has shifted power concerns from specialized signal processors to more general-purpose computing elements. The power needed is determined by the power of the CPU used and the size of the memory required. In turn, the power requirements and memory requirements are determined by the processing requirements of all layers of the software infrastructure: the software application, the middleware, and the operating system. This proposal focusses on the contribution of the middleware and proposes the development of a new specification for middleware for low-power devices. Changing contexts, such as power conservation requirements, demand re-examination of the engineering tradeoffs made in the previous generation of devices. The development of the new specification requires a deep, clear, metric-based understanding of the current state of technologies, as well as a vision of how a new technology will reach new market segments while serving the interests of existing technology users. Benefits: Products developed to the new middleware specification will allow development of distributed low-power devices more quickly and with less risk. Experience has demonstrated that a robust, technically-sound, low-overhead middleware standard with an active, competitive market serving both commercial and military customers will lower the cost and risk of development, increase the efficacy of reuse, and lengthen the lifetime of developed assets. Potential markets include cell phone infrastructures, public service radios, medical devices, and personal computing devices. Return