[Embedlets-dev] Global Light Blinker Project proposal

[Ted K. <tk...@ya...>]

Embedlets Group,

It has been 9 month since we started the Embedlets project and in my opinion it
is time to start letting the world know about our existence.  I originally
thought that the Enterprise Outpost would be the way that Embedlets would first
be introduced to the world but that plan's dependency on a graphic wiring tool
has slowed it down just a bit.

But the Embedlet Container works now! Even though we still need to work through
a number of issues before Embedlets is ready for commercial use, like JAPL, I
think we have a solid enough of an implementation to start pursuing
noncommercial quality beta projects.

And I think I accidentally stumbled upon a killer 'coming out' project for
Embedlets!

I call it the Global Light Blinker project and the idea was conceived on the
newcim list that I am a member of:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/newcim/

These guys want to build an experimental globally distributed CNC light blinker
system and so I have been researching how to do this for the past 2 weeks.  At
JavaOne, Bruce Boyes had convinced me to seriously start looking into JXTA and,
as it turns out, a JXTA/Embedlet container combination appears to be a killer
technology!

Here is a diagram of the light blinker hardware that will be needed for this
project:

http://tkosan.javadevices.org/misc/embeddedjava/light_blinker_diagram.jpg


Here is where things get very interesting.  I have spent a large amount of time
during the past couple of weeks looking through the jxta.org site and reading
the jxta documentation and guess what?  None of the current or proposed JXTA
projects have any computer interfacing component to them at all.  The JXTA
group talks a lot about using JXTA to monitor sensors and control actuators but
evidently almost none of them have the expertise needed to deal with embedded
hardware.  But they seem to really want to...

IMHO, this would be a wonderful opportunity for the Embedlets Group to propose
a partnership with the JXTA group.  We would provide them with the Embedded
Systems expertise that they need and they would provide us with the
peer-to-peer expertise and project ideas that have Embedded Systems components
that we need.

This is something we can start pursuing now without needing the Embedlet
Container to be 100% commercially ready yet.


Here is a proposal for how to proceed with this:

1) Hammer out a feasible hardware design that is similar to the light blinker
diagram given above.

2) Find a company that is willing to build and sell the physical Light Blinker
kits (Serial-to-1-Wire converter and Light Blinker box).

3) Develop a Global Light Blinker joint JXTA/Embedlets project proposal that we
can submit to the JXTA group. (I will volunteer to do this).


What do people think?


In the mean time, the newcim group is very excited about blinking lights across
the globe and I am in the process of writing a distributed JXTA/Embedlets
application and assembling some test hardware to do this.

Ted

__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month!
http://sbc.yahoo.com