Universal Protocol Adapter (UPA)

 

Domenix is a leader in disparate sensor data integration, sensor data fusion, and advanced data analytics.  Domenix's flagship product, UPA, provides seamless Plug and Play (PnP) sensor data access and control across fixed and networked domains. UPA is a software suite that can plug into sensors and then provide access to those sensors via a variety of standard communications mediums and protocols.

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Sensor data access, control, and configuration are supported by several standards, but many vendors do not adhere to these standards and,  in many cases, have their own interfaces.  UPA was built specifically to address these interoperability issues across a variety of sensor types and domains by making the same and disparate sensor data available in a common format.  This also creates a foundation for sensor data fusion and advanced analytics that support the creation of actionable intelligence and decision support to integrate sensors and systems. 

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Solution Space: UPA is a generic Protocol Handler (PH), used as a drop-in reference platform.  Utilizing an existing PH capability, it has been extended to support sensor interface standards (e.g. The Army’s Integrated Sensor Architecture (ISA), Cursor on Target (CoT), and the CBRN community's CBRN Common Sensor Interface (CCSI) standards. This eliminates the need for vendor-specific design and reduces existing complexities by having a “generic design” for the PH to implement vendor-specific sensor information.  In addition to reducing NRE costs to vendors, the PH ensures predictable implementations and fluid updates that maintain the integrity of the specification by versioning. Utilizing UPA allows for easy integration with DOD Users that utilize ISA Controllers and/or TAK Server and provides convenient field software updates with simple modular replacement of UPA components.

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UPA is composed of five Configuration Items (CI)s as detailed and depicted below:​

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• Sensor Interface Adapter (SIA) – This component provides communications with the sensor, which is typically either a serial interface (e.g., RS-232, USB) with specific characteristics (speed, data bits, parity, start of message sequence, end of message sequence, etc.) or an Ethernet interface (TCP/IP, UDP/IP).​

• Sensor Protocol Adapter (SPA) – This component translates received messages into the PH internal format as well as internal messages into the sensor's format. ​

• Generic Protocol Handler (GPH) – This component, usually referred to as the Protocol Handler (PH), is the intermediary message control layer that bridges the gap between sensor and host.  The PH specifically handles message processing, command and control, time-based messaging, and configuration. ​

• Host Protocol Adapter( HPA) – This component translates internal format IPC Queue entries to and from the sensor’s format. ​

• Host Interface Adapter (HIA) – This component provides communications with the host system.  This typically is an Ethernet interface. ​