S2B2: Blackboard for Transparent Data and Control Access in Heterogeneous Sensing Systems

This paper presents concept and first implementation of a sensor system blackboard concept (S2B2). S2B2 is designed as a data store surrounded by software modules that operate on the blackboard. The blackboard is implemented as the only communication medium between modules within the sensor node. Modules can also transparently communicate with other modules even if they are hosted on a remote, different type of sensor node thus allowing true heterogeneity. The S2B2 module concept enables fine-grained decoupling of software functionality and separation of concerns. This allows rapid prototyping of functionality and simplifies real-time testing and debugging. The S2B2 provides the basis for integration of PC based and sensor node based applications. This paper introduces concept and architecture of S2B2 and shows the potential of the approach by presenting an example implementation. First results show that the system shortens programming time by at least 30%.