Supporting dynamic distributed computing for industrial devices and applications

With the capability of communication, independent devices can be connected to share information and to perform a more complex task. In this paper, a distributed computing model suitable for industrial applications such as surveillance systems or mobile robots is introduced. The computing model is called the Dynamic Distributed Computing (DDC) model. The dynamic join of distributed devices for sharing data together and processing tasks in parallel is an important characteristic of the proposed DDC model. For battery-enabled devices, the required electrical energy can be shared between the devices. Consequently, it not only can avoid the early termination of the devices due to running out of battery powers, but also can maintain the full functions provided by the complete devices for a steady period. The DDC model also supports a logical shared data space, through which information can be easily exchanged between devices. In addition, parallel programming over shared memory architecture is usually thought to be simpler than other methods. An environment supporting the DDC model, called D2MCE, is introduced in this paper. Experiment results show that good performance can be obtained by the DDC model, and the required electrical energy can be effectively shared by the participating devices.