/k/ Embedded Java Solutions is to supply the Java technology for a project to provide social and medical support to elderly people living independently in the region of Vercors, France. /K/'s Mika VM will run on set-top boxes using ST Microelectronics' ST 7100 chipset, in conjunction with the Knopflerfish OSGi framework and middleware and applications provided by local partner SIRLAN Technologies.

"Vercors is a mountainous, rural area" explains SIRLAN's Olivier Gandit. "That means for example you cannot assume that everyone has accesss to DSL or cable TV, so we use GPRS for communication with the server - and that means you have to pay careful attention to the traffic you create. It's also important that the system be easy to install and that it can be managed remotely - otherwise you end up in a situation where you have one skilled person who can drive to maybe 3 or 4 homes a day, and that becomes the limiting factor in your deployment.

"The user interface was another important issue. Our middleware suite supports a web-based interface and industrial LCD panel displays, but many elderly people do not own or want a computer and a panel display adds to the cost and complexity of the installation. So we developed an interface using the on-screen display (OSD) of a television set-top box, with the remote control as input device. At the push of a button the user is presented with a menu of services such as appointments diary, medication schedule, vital telephone numbers ... but also for example a photo album to which their children or grandchildren can upload pictures, messaging via SMS, etc.. Since we are using the built-in OSD facilities the presentation is very clear and legible, which wouldn't necessarily be the case if we'd used technology ported from the computer desktop.

"In fact each of these menu items represents a software service in the OSGi sense of the word, and the menu screen is an OSGi service browser. Using our middleware the social or medical services can select which services are required by a given client, and then these are automatically pushed to the client's set-top box. When the service is installed it automatically appears in the top-level menu, in real-time. Services can be installed, removed, or updated without requiring a system restart".

"This is where we come in" continues /k/ founder Chris Gray. "SIRLAN had already used our Mika VM in a building automation project running on an ARM9 system-on-chip, and they were very happy with both the VM and the support we provided. So they asked us to port Mika to the SH4 architecture, which we did without much difficulty - Mika is highly portable to just about any 32-bit architecture with a gcc-based tool chain. For this project the set-top box will be running Linux, but with some more effort it should be possible to run Mika on one of the specialised operating systems used in set-top boxes - in principle it's just a matter of mapping our internal abstraction layers onto the memory management, networking, filesystem, etc. of the underlying OS.

"The combination Mika + Knopflerfish is now in use in several projects, and we have a joint marketing agreement with MakeWave (the maintainers of Knopflerfish) under which customers who purchase both their and our value-added products get a discount. For this project SIRLAN are using our Mika Max product which builds on the open-source Mika code base by adding performance enhancements, secure communications, etc.. "The pilot study which begins this autumn will be with 100 homes, but if it proves successful it will be extended throughout the region and we hope in other reasons also. Looking further, SIRLAN's middleware platform is capable of much wider application - originally developed for building automation, it provides a complete service delivery chain from the back office to the residential gateway or mobile device. With Mika as the VM, the system requirements at the point of delivery are very reasonable in terms of storage capacity and processor speed - in fact often an exisiting consumer product can be adapted for the purpose, as this project illustrates. We are helping SIRLAN market this platform, and interested product designers should contact us for product and licensing information".

Contact information:

/k/ Embedded Java Solutions

SIRLAN Technologies

Article in Bits & Chips magazine (in Dutch)