Integrating native code into a Java application for controlling a mobile robot via a PC's serial port

Java's platform-independence constrains the explicit use of the machine's h ardware. Nevertheless, Java provides a way to interact with the hardware th rough native code. Our interest in doing so lies in the need of sending ins tructions through the serial port of a PC to a robot, in order to command t he robot, A Dynamic-link library (DLL), which implements the native code fo r controlling the serial port of a PC (programming, sending and receiving d ata), is presented in this paper. In addition, a Java application, which ma kes use of this library, is described, (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All r ights reserved.