Building an Application Framework for Monitoring the Environment

In the Envimon project we are building prototype information systems for diverse real-world environment monitoring applications. The applications are built onto a common software framework, which will be designed and implemented in the project. The framework can be used for developing diverse applications in a straightforward and cost- efficient way. It enables employing diverse data sources, preprocessing, analyzing and preparing the data into proper products, and delivering them at the right time, in the right form and via the appropriate channel to different end users that use diverse terminal equipment. The core of the framework consists of workflow management. A workflow description written in a workflow language represents the data process used in an application, and the workflow engine manages the execution of the process. The workflow tasks are implemented as web services, and the framework architecture utilizes XML-based standards like WSDL (Web service description language) and BPEL (business process execution language). The feasibility of the concept introduced by the software framework is verified by implementing several environment monitoring systems for the real-world applications in the areas of disaster monitoring, forestry, forest fire, maritime, traffic monitoring, disposal site monitoring, and season monitoring for tourism.