Real time platform middleware for transparent prototyping of haptic applications

In this paper we present The RealTime Platform Middleware (RTPM), an architecture for prototyping realtime multimodal I/O projects. Multimodal applications often require a distributed implementation to meet disparate temporal and platform needs. RTPM provides an extendable, device-independent, network-transparent interface to a set of user I/O devices which eases application integration across different operating systems. RTPM consists of a framework based on Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA) and a custom virtual device abstraction that exports real devices' functionality to user processes. It offers two mechanisms (client/server and consumer/supplier) for communication between user processes. This paper describes the architecture's objectives and implementation, provides examples of its use and analyzes its performance in some typical haptic application configurations.