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About the DDS Foundation
The Object Management Group® (OMG®) Data-Distribution Service™ standard, or DDS™, has successfully integrated data-driven applications that demand the highest levels of performance, scalability, reliability and security in business and mission-critical Internet of Things (IoT) environments.
With this in mind, the Object Management Group, working in conjunction with the OMG DDS Special Interest Group (SIG), has launched the DDS Foundation. The mission of the Foundation is to drive the adoption, interoperability and success of DDS.
The Foundation governs a global community of vendors, users, government institutions and universities to realize the potential of the DDS standard in all industries. By testing conformance and interoperability with the DDS standard, defining industry-specific data models, promoting industry-specific adaptations and implementations of DDS, developing user case libraries and launching educational initiatives, the Foundation members will ensure the ongoing and long-term growth and success of DDS.
About the DDS Leadership Council
The Leadership Council members are:
VP Communications – Laura Clark (Twin Oaks Computing)
Responsibilities: Directs and manages external communications about DDS Foundation and grows DDS awareness and interest within the broader user community, media and analysts.
Biography: Laura Clark has been with Twin Oaks Computing since 2011, administrating international marketing activities and working directly with key executives within the company to promote the company and its products. Laura is responsible for all aspects of marketing within Twin Oaks Computing, including marketing policy and content. She develops short-, mid-, and long-term marketing strategies, combining a host of media to drive the growth of the company in alignment with core messaging and tactical objectives.
Director Interoperability – Justin Wilson (Object Computing Inc. OCI)
Responsibility: Manages activates related of vendor interoperability, conformance, and data modeling. Serve as an alternative technical representative of the DDS Foundation.
Biography: Justin Wilson serves as the OpenDDS Foundation Director and is a Principal Software Engineer at the Unity Foundation.
VP Marketing – Lynne Canavan (RTI)
Responsibility: Directs and manages DDS Foundation marketing efforts, including events, collateral, and website, to help increase interest in DDS Foundation.
Biography: Lynne Canavan is the Director of Content Marketing at RTI. She has more than 25 years’ experience in marketing, working with Fortune 100 companies, startups, agencies and consortia. She will direct and manage DDS Foundation marketing efforts, including events, collateral, and the website to help increase interest in the DDS Foundation.
VP Technology – Nick Stavros (Jackrabbit)
Responsibilities: Directs and manages all technical activities, serves as the primary technical point of contact for the DDS Foundation, provides liaison to the OMG DDS SIG and establishes priorities and requirements for companion specifications.
Biography: Nick Stavros has almost 50 years of experience covering a wide range of interests from modeling of large-scale systems to developing real-time device drivers. He has an interest in cloud computing and especially as it relates to the Internet of Things (IoT). He is an OMG co-chair of the Ontology PSGIG and the Blockchain PSIG. He has a Ph.D. from Virginia Tech and has worked on-site and consulted with the military for more than 25 years.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is the DDS Foundation?
The DDS Foundation is a nonprofit community of interest for users and developers of the family of Data Distribution Service (DDS) standards. It was formed in March 2019 to accelerate the adoption and use of DDS in the era of smart machines and intelligence at the edge, and is run by the Object Management Group® (OMG®).
Q: Why was it formed? What problems are you hoping to solve?
The original DDS standard was released in 2004 as a platform to enable scalable, real-time, dependable, high-performance and interoperable data exchanges using a publish–subscribe pattern. It was initially used by the Aerospace & Defense industries, but is now being adopted in the Industrial IoT market. The DDS Foundation was formed to collectively gather the requirements from these new markets and applications and provide education and communications to users and the community at large.
Q: What is DDS?
The term DDS refers both to a family of open specifications from the Object Management Group as well as to the first core DDS specification published in 2004. DDS is an Industrial IoT connectivity framework designed for applications that require high robustness, low latency and jitter, and need to scale to large systems.
Q: What industries use DDS technology?
DDS is used for mission-critical applications that require dependable, scalable and real-time data exchange. This includes air-traffic control, smart grid management, autonomous vehicles, robotics, transportation systems, power generation, medical devices, simulation and testing, smart cities, aerospace and defense
Q: What are the benefits of joining?
This is the only independent community focused on the usage of DDS. By joining the DDS Foundation, you have an opportunity to provide direct input into future specification requirements and to help develop new use cases. In addition, you will be part of a growing community of DDS experts to share best practices and identify areas of collaboration. You will also have access to member-only publications and information that is not available to the general public.
Q: Who can join the DDS Foundation? Is there a membership fee?
Membership is open to any individual or organization. There is no fee for individuals to join the DDS Foundation. Organizational members must be members of OMG (and must join the OMG if not already a member); there is no additional charge to participate in the DDS Foundation.
Q: What are the goals of the DDS Foundation?
The fundamental purpose of the DDS Foundation is to be a user-driven, vendor-neutral body to promote and ensure the ongoing and long-term growth and success of DDS. It will achieve this through a focus on programs that will help to:
- Grow the number of DDS users globally
- Cultivate end users to help expand use cases for DDS
- Create and share industry best practices
- Develop a library of industry use cases and case studies
- Create a library of data models for testing and conformance
- Create a library of reusable QoS profiles
- Provide general information, support, education and collaboration
- Evangelize the work of the DDS SIG
Q: What are some of its first initiatives?
The first areas of focus will be determined and ranked based on the interest of the DDS Foundation members. Specific initiatives will be announced and posted on the DDS community website. At www.dds-foundation.org.
Q: How is the DDS Foundation organized and governed?
The DDS Leadership Council runs and prioritizes all activities of the Foundation. The DDS Foundation operates under the oversight of, and directly reports to, the DDS Special Interest Group. It is governed under the rules and bylaws of the Object Management Group
Q: Who is the leadership council?
- VP, Applications – Matt Grubis, Chief Engineer, GE Healthcare
- VP, Communications – Laura Clark, Director of Marketing, Twin Oaks
- VP, Ecosystem – Chip Downing, Senior Director of Aerospace and Defense (A&D) Markets, RTI
- Director of Interoperability – Adam Mitz, Principal Software Engineer, Object Computing, Inc.
- VP, Marketing – Lynne Canavan, Director of Content Marketing, RTI
- VP, Technology – Nick Stavros, CEO, Jackrabbit Consulting
Q: How frequently does the DDS Foundation meet?
The DDS Foundation will hold in-person meetings up to four times a year, coinciding with the OMG technical meetings at rotating locations. Individual committees and the leadership council will meet more frequently via online collaboration tools.
Q: Will the DDS Foundation define new technical standards for DDS?
No. That work is done by the OMG DDS Special Interest Group (DDS SIG), which works on the family of DDS technical specifications and defines the roadmap for DDS. However, the two groups work closely together.
Q: Do you need to be a member to contribute to the DDS Foundation?
We welcome relevant contributions from interested parties, but we encourage you to join as a member in order to fully participate in our work.
Q: Who should join the DDS Foundation?
We welcome:
- DDS users and developers
- Organizations which would like to use DDS in their work and standards
- DDS technology vendors
Q: Do you have a roadmap or timeline of deliverables?
The DDS Foundation launched in March 2019, and we’re just getting started. We will publish our activities and roadmap on the website.
Q: What about collaboration with other organizations and standards bodies?
The DDS Foundation intends to collaborate with organizations that have complimentary technologies or the need for DDS. Official liaisons will be announced.
Q: I have additional questions. Who should I contact?
Please contact [email protected] for more information.
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