A Graphical Programming Language and Its Supporting Tool for Insect Intelligent Building

Abstract

The emerging Insect Intelligent Building (I2B) platform is pioneering a new realm in intelligent buildings. I2B has a distributed and decentralized network structure with intelligent nodes, and the key enabler is an application (APP) that functions to process information from intelligent nodes and accomplish complex control tasks in a decentralized network. To develop APPs for I2B, a proper programming language is the foremost goal; however, existing programming languages cannot be applied directly due to I2B's unique structure and distinction of application domains. This paper aims to provide language support for a direct and friendly development of I2B APPs. We propose a graphical programming language that adapts to the operating characteristics of I2B and users' habits of buildings. Specifically, we first analyze the domain characteristics of the proposed language and present a general programming language model illustrated with a motivating example. Then, we investigate the detailed design, definition, and usage of graphic elements. Additionally, we implement a prototype support tool for the graphical programming language to develop I2B APPs. Moreover, we use the application example of a building's constant pressure control for evaluating the effectiveness of our work.