Horison architecture

Modular framework

Framework is a modular framework, that primarily consists out of pre-made ’building’ blocks referred to as components. By combining these blocks, they can accomplish complex tasks. HORISON applications can be designed graphically using Linking Lab by dragging items knows as components onto a canvas, setting properties of those components and connecting them.

Linking Lab is the HORISON user interface and gives access to the:

• Component-browser a library full of components, hardware and data grabber
• Graph-builder enabling you to build pipelines .
• Deployment block after you have finalized your pipeline you can deploy this on your own devices.
• Web-builder an optional toolkit to build your online operating GUI
• License-manager a modular license model including perputual & yearly licenses, online or embedded, enterprise or license bundles.

Three-tier design

Having seen the potential in different markets, such as the upcoming embedded industry, Horus decided to improve on its own successful existing framework  and make this framework accessible for system integrators. Strengths such as graphical application design and the use of a dynamic plugin system have remained. Most improvements have occurred in the areas of portability and reusability of the system, allowing easy deployment from small embedded devices up to super computers. As we will see, a three-tier system has been devised allowing graphical designers to build on top of the Horus Framework and technical engineers to extend it.

HORISON is heavily inspired by the OSI model which has clearly stood the test time:

1. Top Application layer – GUI/Interface

The top layer is the realm of the user interface. Here, applications that require a user interface can be created. HORISON follow this design. Having an independent layer solely for appearance allows other companies to employ their own look and feel whilst leaving the more complex features to the presentation layer.

2. Middle Presentation layer – Content transform

The main role of the presentation layer is that of autonomous negotiation of data formats and transport between the message and application layer. HORISON is a local and a distributed system at the same time. Taking away the notion of remote or local computation. Whenever an application connects to a remote or local message layer, it is the presentation layer’s duty to find the optimal way of connecting (TCP, locally) to the data source and transforming it into a presentable fashion.

3. Bottom Message layer – Low level hardware

The message layer, often thought of as data grabber/recorder is the backbone of the system. The application designer simply draws up a schematic, and sends his or her design to this part of system. The message layer will then recreate the schematic with actual component instances and connections and start the program.