An open Posix.4-based architecture for real-time intelligent control

Blackboard architectures have been proposed as a useful paradigm for building intelligent systems that have to operate in changing and dynamic environments. The main inconvenience in using a blackboard architecture in real time is the lack of determinism which makes difficult to guarantee deadlines satisfaction. In this paper the authors explain how a blackboard architecture can be extended to operate in real-time and how the new Posix.4(a) standard for open real time operating systems can be used in this context. The authors introduce the main features of Posix.4(a) standard and analyze in detail the utility of those features in order to improve the determinism of a blackboard architecture. The result is an open multiagent blackboard architecture which makes extensive use of Posix.4(a) extensions to obtain the desired deterministic behaviour