Distributed Interactive MultiMedia Architecture

ANSA is designing and building the computational and engineering mechanisms required to support open distributed real-time computing. The main application targetted by this work is distributed multimedia environments.

The DIMMA (Distributed Interactive MultiMedia Architecture) project is the framework for achieving this work and is part of workpackages C2, C3 and C4 of the ANSA phase III (1994-1996) workplan.

Objectives

• Determining extensions needed to current distributed computing object models such as CORBA to support real-time and interactive multimedia applications.
• Supporting new paradigms of communication in distributed systems best suited for multimedia and real-time systems such as streams (e.g audio/video communication) and signals (real-time processing).
• Identifying extensions needed to support distributed services management, fine grained control and monitoring of resource usage and management (e.g explicit binding).
• Defining an architecture of a Quality of Service negotiation, management and control.
• Investigation of the interworking of distributed object models (e.g CORBA vs. ODP) at the computational level (e.g IDL translations) and at the engineering level (e.g transport protocols).

Deliverables

1. DIMMA readings.
2. Prototype software.
3. Consultancy.
4. Illustrative working examples.
5. Input to CORBA evolution.
6. Use of results in ReTINA and DCAN projects.
7. Defect reports to RM-ODP.
8. Baseline for future ODP component standard.

DIMMA research activities

(dead hyperlink - http://www.ansa.co.uk/Staff/yl_pages/DIMMA_resources.html) Misc Resources on Multimedia & RT

DIMMA Group

• Ben Crawford
• Yigal Hoffner
• Nicola Howarth
• Andre Kramer
• Youcef Laribi
• Ian Macmillan
• Dave Otway