An Inter-office Collaborative Forecast System

U. Herb Grote
ERL/FSL

FXC (FX-Connect) is an exploratory development to test concepts in distributed processing and remote collaboration. The current prototype is written in Java and consists of a client process that provides the graphic display capability and a basic set of server processes that access, process and distribute data to the various clients. One of the servers, specializes in accessing the AWIPS database and creating display metafiles. Others support such functions as interactive drawing, text message exchange, data dispatch and process parameter control. Although AWIPS is the primary source of data, data can also be retrieved from web servers and another database.

The FXC clients can operate in three modes: stand-alone with, or without an AWIPS server, and in the collaborative mode with all clients connected to a common server. When multiple clients are connected in a collaborative session, nearly all actions performed by any one of the clients is shared with the other clients. The clients support typical meteorological workstation functions such as image display, graphic overlay, animation, zooming, and less common functions such as graphic annotation, text message exchange (chat room), and slide briefing.

BIO - Herb Grote Mr. Grote is Chief of the Systems Development Division of the Forecast Systems Laboratory. He has managed most of the exploratory meteorological workstation developments at FSL for the last twenty years. These include early DEC VAX based systems to the latest Linux based system. Recently, the division has also been active in exploring advanced data visualization techniques and prototyping systems that support remote collaboration. Prior to joining FSL (formely PROFS) Mr. Grote worked on distributed systems architectures, advanced computer memory developments, and signal detection and classification for the Navy at the Naval Air Development Center at Warminster, Pennsylvania. His experience with distributed system architectures and advanced sensor data acquisition and processing at the Center proved invaluable in designing the early PROFS systems. Mr. Grote has a Master Degree in Solid State Physics from the University of North Dakota.

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