WebLab: An integration infrastructure to ease the development of multimedia processing applications

In this paper, we introduce the EADS’ WebLab platform ( http://weblab-project.org ) that aims at providing an integration infrastructure for multimedia informati on processing components. In the following, we expl ain the motivations that have led to the realisation of thi s project within EADS and the requirements that hav e led our choices. After a quick review of existing informati on processing platforms, we present the chosen serv ice oriented architecture, and the three layers of the WebLab project (infrastructure, services and applic ations). Then, we detail the chosen exchange model and normalised services interfaces that enable semantic interoperability between information processing components. We present the technical choices made to guarantee technical interoperability between the co mponents by the use of an Enterprise Service Bus (E SB). Moreover, we present the orchestration and portal m echanisms that we have added to the WebLab to enable architects to quickly build multimedia processing a pplications. In the following, we illustrate the in tegration process by describing three applications that have been developed on top of this architecture on three R&D projects (Vitalas, WebContent and eWok-Hub). Finally, we propose some perspectives such as the realisa tion of an information processing services directory, or a toolkit following MDA (Model Driven Architecture) approach to ease the integration process.