Williamsburg, VA October 2. INCOGEN announced the release of the VIBE™ Software Development Kit (SDK). The new software, which is based on the popular INCOGEN VIBE bioinformatics package, adds an open Application Programming Interface (API) to the existing software. The addition of the API allows users to integrate third-party tools and new data types into the VIBE framework. Users already familiar with the VIBE interface will find the same intuitive drag-and-drop workflow management and powerful workbench capabilities for high-throughput analysis.
As one of Interoperable Informatics Infrastructure Consortium’s (I3C) co-founders, INCOGEN is committed to the philosophy of the I3C: interoperability in the life science community through open standards. VIBE and the VIBE SDK make extensive use of XML for configuration, data exchange and storage, and are capable of interfacing with web services. Krista Miller, Director of Software Development at INCOGEN and Co-Chair of the I3C Technical Architecture Committee said, “By further opening the VIBE framework, we provide a pluggable workflow environment that can take advantage of the tools created by other experts in the field. The quest for interoperability, the core mission of the I3C, is very important to INCOGEN, and we feel that this is a step in that direction.”
INCOGEN has extended this special offer to the Sun Centers of Excellence as well as the North Carolina BioGrid (an initiative of the North Carolina Genomics and Bioinformatics Consortium), North Carolina State University, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Duke University. Under the offer, the software will be installed and tested in phases beginning with local instances then distributed using Sun™ ONE Grid Engine software. If the final phase supports the collective needs of the end-users, it may eventually become an integral component of the NC BioGrid. “I’m very pleased that INCOGEN has donated their advanced informatics visualization commercial software to our academic collaborators and look forward to working with them as this package is rolled out,” said Dr. Stefan Unger, business development manager, Life Sciences Education at Sun Microsystems, Inc.
In announcing the release, INCOGEN’s CEO, Dr. Maciek Sasinowski, said, “Providing users with the ability to integrate third-party algorithms into the existing framework adds another dimension of functionality to the software.” He also admits that it was a natural extension to the software, driven in part by the users’ desire to integrate their own tools into VIBE. On the decision to provide the open framework free of charge to academia, he commented, “It was not an easy decision, but we believe that the software can really make a difference in the way people do their bioinformatics research. Researchers should not miss out on it just because they can’t afford it.”
“INCOGEN’s VIBE SDK represents an exciting new tool for the integration of bioinformatics capabilities in genomics research,” said Dr. Ken Tindall, President of the North Carolina Genomics and Bioinformatics Consortium LLC, which is a project of the North Carolina Biotechnology Center and partners world-wide. “We are delighted that INCOGEN is participating in the development of NC BioGrid capabilities through the donation of this software. We look forward to a productive interaction.”
INCOGEN will exhibit their bioinformatics tools at the INCOGEN booth #1213 at the upcoming TIGR GSAC conference in Boston, MA, and will be available to discuss features and use of the VIBE SDK.
About INCOGEN, Inc.
INCOGEN focuses on computational solutions to the complex challenges faced by researchers in genomics. Through joint research efforts involving scientists from both public and private institutions, INCOGEN continues to be one of the innovators in the field of bioinformatics. INCOGEN provides the research community with avenues to accelerate genomic discovery through the development of innovative data visualization tools, image recognition software and new data analysis and data mining approaches. INCOGEN headquarters are located at 263 McLaws Circle, Suite 200, Williamsburg, VA 23185. For further information, see www.incogen.com
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