Modules in LabSpace view the world in terms of data streams. A data stream is any source of data that originates from a module and is targeted for another (or many other) modules. Examples of data streams include the output of an audio microphone, the data needed to drive an interface to an electron microscope, and the sequence of commands generated by a shared editor.
Data streams must be able to be combined, creating in essence a new type of stream. This allows one to associate related data, such as the audio and video produced by a telecommunications package. A more complicated multiprotocol data stream might combine the head tracking information from a head mounted display, the hand location and position of a dataglove, and the sound from a microphone into a complete model of someone doing working with virtual reality equipment.
LabSpace does not attempt to define all types of data streams. It leaves the details of the data streams up to the modules that will be producing or using that data. However, LabSpace must be able to define the protocols in ways that allow it to to combine streams, archive them in useful ways, and to sequence them as they were originally produced.
LabSpace will provide