Gravity :: home:projects:eureka

Eureka is Gravity based application to fill and register patent on-line. This application can be run in a client browser. It doesn't require any plug-in installed on a client side. Eureka is designed to have minimal system requirements what results it can be run on PDAs or Smart Phones.

There is existent application - OLF Client, developed by European Patent Office. This application has been developed for ages, has old fashioned design, architecture and technologies. OLF Client is behind time, modern trends and users needs.

Eureka aims to improve significantly filling patents online.

The first thing an applicant discovers dealing with old OLF Client software is look and feel irrelevancy. It is not easy to correlate paper procedure with the way how OLF Client GUI presents it. The picture below illustrates the essential problem (click on the image to enlarge):

home:projects:olf:olf-look.gif

The image above demonstrates one page of paper form (located at the left side) and three GUI forms of OLF Client application. Red arrows connect fields of paper form to appropriate fields and elements of electronic forms. It easy to see: paper procedure form fields are messed over the more than three GUI forms of OLF Client. Every new applicant should be lost with this irrelevancy and has re-think standard paper procedure with the new software layout. This situation can slow down pushing new clients to follow online system and the usage of OLF Client software can have negative influence to applicants productivity.

Old OLF Client is implemented as standalone MS Widows application written in Delphi. Designed OLF Client architecture historically has came from old days and is far from trend of modern world.

OLF Client requires and installs the following bloatware software on a user PC:

Java. Java is installed nevertheless whether it has been already installed on your PC or not.
Data Base server. OLF Client requires data base server to be installed locally !
Not standard OLF Client specific HTTP Web Server. This is not real HTTP WEB server, this something very elementary that has high risk of getting security whole on end-users PCs.

Installed client consists of two parts: server and client. Every time a user starts Client special server will be started on his PC. The Client and Server uses peculiar protocol to communicate each other. The protocol has the following issues:

Protocol is not abstract and is fully based on Delphi/MS Windows API and features.
Protocol does not have clear specification and documentation.
Protocol is not effective since simple request can cause system generating 10-50 absolutely identical requests/response.
Protocol has not been designed for multi users client-server architecture. Basically this single user protocol (one server - one user).

OLF Client uses special designed and developed language (EBL) to describe patent procedures business behavior. Implementation of the new but nobody known language adds the following bunch of problems:

EBL cannot be compiled to native code what causes performance problem.
EBL is known only for few people and is not documented.
EBL structure messes presentation layer with business layer.

User have to have smart reader hardware and software to be able working with OLF Client. Smart card has to be issued by EPO. That results in number of annoying formal things users face before he can work with the system:

User has to request smart card from EPO beforehand.
User has to install hardare and software parts on his local PC.
There are potential problems when smart card software or hardware are incompatible with user's hardware and software.

Eureka estimation (~1 person year)

What Eureka improves

Existent OLF Client has tangled look and feel which is irrelevant to standard patent paper procedures. OLF Client is heavy MS Windows, standalone solution, that talks to themself using undocumented, slow, windows specific protocol. OLF Client uses own undocumented language plus native code to implement application business logic what intricate and mess application significantly.

Eureka is WEB application to fill patent forms on-line, that can be run in your browser or even on your smart phone or PDA. The project is based on new HTML5 standard that makes possible to support complex user interface. Eureka GUI represents data as much close to paper procedure as it is possible.

Eureka doesn't use any client server protocol and can work off-line in your browser. Applicants have just to go appropriate web site and load the application into browser. Than the form can be filled without interaction to server side. You don't have time lags and very talkative protocol like you have using OLF Client.

According the estimation demonstrated on the picture at the left, the project requires reasonable programming efforts (first phase - proof of concept). Approximately 1(one) year of development to see the whole concept in work. Project progress says more than millions right and clever words.

Taking in account all improvements listed before, find picture that explains how the new client architecture is going to evolve:

Old client application (OLF Client)

New client application - Eureka

Introduction

Look and feel irrelevancy problem

OLF Client Architecture and design issues

Eureka mission

Eureka architecture evolution