The Common Instrument Middleware Project (CIMA)
An aspect of Grid computing (a critical enabling component of the Cyberinfrastructure envisioned by the NSF) that has not yet been well developed is the integration of scientific instruments into a Grid computing environment. Instruments are still largely "off-line" as far as downstream software analytical components are concerned and instruments are not at all first class members of the Grid with respect to location, allocation, scheduling, and access control. This is a serious problem as three issues continue to grow in importance in research: 1) investments in geographically extended (e.g., international) collaborations organized around large shared instrument resources; 2) increasingly real-time use of instruments by remote researchers both for "first look" activities and pipelined data acquisition and reduction; and 3) sensor networks with hundreds to thousands of nodes being deployed.
The Common Instrument Middleware Architecture (CIMA) project aims at "Grid enabling" instruments as real-time data sources to improve accessibility of instruments and to facilitate their integration into the Grid. A primary challenge addressed by this research program is to develop a generalized approach to instrument middleware that allows existing and new instruments to be integrated into Grid computing environments.
CIMA middleware is based on current Grid implementation standards, and is accessible through platform independent standards such as Web Services. In keeping with the design goal of general applicability, CIMA interfaces are being developed for a variety of instrument and controller types from large shared facilities (synchrotron X-ray sources, robotic optical telescopes, mass spectrometers) to small embedded industrial controllers and sensor nets composed of micro-sensor packages such as MOTEs, developed for the DARPA SmartDust program.
Other issues being explored include extending the accessibility of instruments to new classes of users such as student remote access to advanced materials science facilities at national labs, use of instruments by software agents, and increasing the longevity, flexibility and durability of software systems for instruments and sensors.
Support for this work is gratefully acknowledged: NSF SCI-0330568, NSF Middleware Initiative.
Contributors: Donald F. McMullen, Randall Bramley, John C. Huffman, Kia Huffman, IU; Ken Chiu, SUNY Binghamton.