Air Force eyes advanced COTS software

Software experts at Kestrel Institute of Palo Alto, Calif., are looking into ways to improve advanced computer system environments under a new 3-year $1.2 million contract from the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory Information Directorate in Rome, N.Y. Kestrel experts are working on the project called "Synthesizing Adaptable Components for COTS Runtime Environments," which is receiving financial support from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) of Arlington, Va. Kestrel engineers will design and demonstrate an environment that runs networks containing embedded sensors and actuators. For more information, contact Kestrel by phone at 650-493-6871, by fax at 650-424-1807, by post at 3260 Hillview Ave., Palo Alto, Calif. 94304, or on the World Wide Web at http://www. kestrel.edu/. — J.K.