A CORBA infrastructure to provide distributed GPS data in real time to GIS applications

Abstract

This paper shows a distributed object-oriented architecture to provide global positioning system (GPS) data for geographical information system (GIS) applications. Data captured in real time by GPS units are sent via radio to the computer. Several sources of this real data, in addition to simulated GPS data, are distributed in a computer network. These servers of GPS data can be accessed by distributed client applications. A Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA)-based infrastructure provides the integration and distribution mechanisms. Client applications range from simple graphical user interfaces (GUIs) for GPS remote control to GIS applications used for automatic vehicle monitoring. The basic components which provide the radio communication and GPS data servers are presented in detail.