LLNL, Livermore, California, USA
The National Ignition Facility (NIF) strives to deliver reliable, cost effective applications that can easily adapt to the changing business needs of the organization. We use HTML5, RESTful web services, AJAX, jQuery, and JSF 2.0 to meet these goals. WebGL and HTML5 Canvas technologies are being used to provide 3D and 2D data visualization applications. JQuery’s rich set of widgets along with technologies such as HighCharts and Datatables allow for creating interactive charts, graphs, and tables. PrimeFaces enables us to utilize much of this Ajax and JQuery functionality while leveraging our existing knowledge base in the JSF framework. RESTful Web Services have replaced the traditional SOAP model allowing us to easily create and test web services. Additionally, new software based on NodeJS and WebSocket technology is currently being developed which will augment the capabilities of our existing applications to provide a level of interaction with our users that was previously unfeasible. These Web 2.0-era technologies have allowed NIF to build more robust and responsive applications. Their benefits and details on their use will be discussed.
LLNL, Livermore, California, USA
In an experimental facility like the National Ignition Facility (NIF), thousands of devices must be maintained during day to day operations. Teams within NIF have documented hundreds of procedures, or checklists, detailing how to perform this maintenance. These checklists have been paper based, until now. NIF Electronic Operations (NEO) is a new web and iPad application for managing and executing checklists. NEO increases efficiency of operations by reducing the overhead associated with paper based checklists, and provides analysis and integration opportunities that were previously not possible. NEO’s data driven architecture allows users to manage their own checklists and provides checklist versioning, real-time input validation, detailed step timing analysis, and integration with external task tracking and content management systems. Built with mobility in mind, NEO runs on an iPad and works without the need for a network connection. When executing a checklist, users capture various readings, photos, measurements and notes which are then reviewed and assessed after its completion. NEO’s design, architecture, iPad application and uses throughout the NIF will be discussed.