Design and Development of Digital Set Top Box

Set Top Box is a device that can be connected to a TV for watching digital channels.
It supports all cable, terrestrial and satellite transmission system and has following features :-

• Support for DVB-S, DVB-T, and DVB-C through different NIM modules.
  
• Transport Input from front ends (Satellite, terrestrial, Cable).
  
• A category-based user-friendly multi lingual OSD (in English & one other regional languages) will be provided.
  
• Support PAL / NTSC picture formats.
  
• Cable Modem integrated.
  
• Euro DOSCSIS compliant.
  
• Email on T.V.
  
• Web-browsing on T.V.
  
• Conditional Access.
  
• Smart card Integration-2.
  
• I.R. activated Remote, Keyboard, and mouse

The specifications of the product have been frozen and schematic design prepared. The project is in development stage.

Design & Development of Standard Indigenous Call Centre Equipment and Application Software with Multilingual Capacities

In the current scenario establishing a Call Centre involves procurement of expensive Switches, Servers and Application Software etc. at exorbitant cost. This project aims at providing a low cost solution for the entire application needs of a Call Centre.

The solution being developed is soft switch based, which eliminates the need of buying costly Switches. The objective of the project is to provide an integrated solution for Call Centre needs like features for incoming and outgoing calls, Web Integration with e-mail client and Server program, Chat program, Web Callback etc. Apart from this, a small CRM application is also integrated, which can be modified as per the customer needs. Automatic Call Distribution features are also included.

The development of the project is under going.

Hardware/Embedded Systems Projects

In line with its mandate to be an R&D organization, the Unit has augmented its R&D base both in terms of availability of qualified manpower and latest systems/tools like Sun Work Stations, Cadence Design Software, ARM Development Tools and RTOS Tools Software. A number of projects, sponsored and in-house, were taken up during the year. The major projects under taken and products developed are:-

Thin Client (Neuron)

Neuron has been designed to be a complete solution for network clients. Each Neuron has its own embedded memory, processor, Ethernet, graphics, sound and most other capabilities that a modern PC has. At its heart is a versatile STPC-Atlas x 86 based processor integrated with modern capabilities like 2D graphics acceleration, multimedia processing capabilities, SDRAM controller and several other features. The main board has a sound card; an Ethernet Card and SD RAM. The storage memory Device is a Disk on Chil (DOC). This DOC works exactly like a normal Hard Disk. It is loaded with one or more OS and a combination of utilities. This architecture gives Neuron fast and powerful processing capabilities. A small external mains adapter supplies the power to neuron, thus preventing the server from getting overburdened. The Neuron runs on a Linux platform but can work with most windows programs as well, thus, the software costs for Neuron is very less and software are required only at the server.

A Thin Client terminal only processes keyboard and mouse input and screen output, leaving all application processing and storage to the server.

Unlike a traditional PC with high-speed processors and data storage, these terminals are optimized to act solely as windows to the server where user’s applications and data reside. Instead of applications running on individual PCs, all applications are run from a single server, greatly simplifying the administration and support needed to run a network.

The note worthy features of the Neuron are :-

• Very economical setup of networks
  
• Only server up-gradation required to upgrade the network
  
• Stable, robust and secure networks
  
• Compatible with windows as well as UNIX platforms
  
• Integrated on board Ethernet, display, sound and serial port
  
• 2D graphics acceleration
  
• Provision for USB, hard disk CD, floppy drives and modem
  
• No threat of viruses
  
• No danger of data loss due to improper shutdown
  

The transfer of technology of the product is being explored.

External (serial) and Internal (pci) Modem
The unit has developed a modem based on a single chipset from Conexant Inc. USA. The design is aimed at highest functionality at lowest cost, to meet the current 56Kbps standards. The technology has been transferred to BPL & Wipro.

Home Inventory Management System

The project, which was taken up in-house was aimed at designing and developing a system for monitoring of home inventories like soaps, toothpaste and other household items of day-to-day use. The system is capable of connecting to the racks in which each drawer is marked item wise. The system will keep track of all the drawers and once a particular item goes below a predefined limit, the system will send email to the vendor and the order is placed automatically.

The project has been successfully completed.

Solar Power Grain Moisture Measurement System

The moisture content plays a vital role in determining the period of grain storage in the go-downs. Higher moisture content attract various fungi and bacteria thereby causing damage to the grain whereas very low moisture content affect the nutrient content of the grain.

Solar Power Grain Moisture Measurement Unit (SPGMMU) measures the moisture content of grain/seeds. In addition, the system will be utilized to know the optimum stage of harvesting, storage for extended period and for research work in the laboratory. The system has wide applications in pre-dominantly agricultural communities/regions.

Photovoltaic Main Electronic Interface Unit

The conventional sources of energy are depleting rather fast. Keeping in view technology development on PV utility taking place elsewhere and as an import substitution effort, a project was undertaken to design, develop and fabricate a 2 KVA PV utility interface. The system consisting of the following 6 modules has been successfully developed:-

• DC to DC Converter
  
• DC to AC converter
  
• SMPS Power Supply for Control Card, drive Circuits and Fan
  
• Power flow and Synchronization Control
  
• Supervisory Control and Metering and Load Management
  
• CP Control Card
  

This system is ideal for rural areas where the electricity supply from the grid is infrequent. The surplus power generated can also be fed into the grid.

Solar Powered Uninterruptible Switch Mode Power Supply for PC System

Solar powered uninterruptible switch mode power supply is used to generate various voltage levels (regulated) required to run a PC. The system consists of an uninterrupted power supply, an AC to DC converter and a DC to AC converter. The system takes solar energy as primary source of power. It switches to AC line, when solar power is not available and switches to Battery bank when both solar and AC Power are not available. Software monitoring facility is also provided to monitor the power status of the system.

This technology/product has immense for use in the rural/remote areas where the electricity supply is scarce or unstable.

Development of Technology for Tele TV Conferencing using Conventional Telephone Lines

The project aims at developing technology for transmission of audio and video through conventional telephone lines. The main features include, the compression of audio and video data and data transmission over line. The compression used for the video is as per H.263 standard, for audio is as per G.723.1. The video for transmission is PAL based, the video would be transmitted QCIF resolution. The audio would be compressed to as low as 5.3 kbps as against the standard 64 kbps.

The project is in development stage.

Solar Home Lantern

This system is designed to work as a night lamp in homes, particularly in the remote areas.

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