NUMBER SIX!

(As of January 2010, this project officially came to a close.We have been thrilled with the experience and are please to report the knowledge base and equipment is being split into two. The family-home/residential-facility aspect will continue on a similar but reduced basis as previously and returned equipment will form the beginnings of a new direction: that of connections between base campus here in West Auckland and regional centres spread throughout the KDEC catchment area.There will be no further postings to this site. For further information please contact Kelston Deaf Education Centre.)

August 2009: Well, it's been a little time since the last new installation but there are good reasons.

Another particularly complex installation was almost completed when, for reasons beyond our control, we had to cancel. Never mind. That experience simply reminded us that families are complex structures and don't always follow text books!



This 1 minute video shows an example of how things can go right if we have patience. All steps were followed without a hitch but it still took six weeks from start to finish. The delays were not helped by our Telco's "go-slow" strike!

ANOTHER NEW CONNECTION

Two weeks ago the fifth connection was added - this time in Hamilton. There are interesting challenges here; three languages are involved and an NZ Sign Language interpreter is preferred.
The first transmission was difficult because of the communication needs as well as a technical issue (one of the two wireless hubs failed). It was a much longer session than anticipated (50 minutes) and 95% has been edited out of this video clip because of confidentiality but the it still shows the complexity of the communications.
Families are very complex entities - expect the unexpected in this arena!

What's next? A sixth family connection is nearing readiness - this one is even more challenging!

Another NZ first!

Last week an idea was proposed. In hindsight, it was such an obvious idea that the rest of us wondered why we hadn't thought of it! An RSW (Residential Social Worker) "thought outside the square" and suggested an upcoming IEP (a legal requirement in special education) could be conducted via Videoconferencing. A GOLD STAR for her! Thank you!

This had the advantage of saving mum (hearing but not a fluent NZSL user) and dad (Deaf, fluent in NZSL but difficulty with English) living about 200km away from taking a couple of days off work and spending associated travel and accommodation costs out of their own pockets. This important meeting was set up in 5 minutes and was all done and dusted in about an hour and a half! This 2 minute video clip shows both “still” and “moving” images. There is audio.

Although an IEP is obviously confidential, this clip has been heavily edited and has parental approval.

What's happening behind the scenes?

Anyone following this blog will be excused for wondering if the project has come to a grinding halt! Since the last post back in January there has been nothing of visual interest to report BUT (and that is a very large "but") behind the scenes, a number of complex happenings have taken place. Most are technical in nature so not really reportable on this site. There have also been an inordinate number of third party delays including failures with home connections, inability of technical agencies to communicate quickly with each other, extreme difficulties with communication with families and delays with supply of new equipment.
The end result, although a very long and frustrating time in coming, is as of yesterday, looking more positive.
I'm pleased to report that, after a very long but immensly rewarding day on the road two new home based units have been successfully installed in Huntly and Putaruru as well as two new units in the remaining cottages. There is one more unit to be installed in a week or two in Hamilton and finally another in Tirau. This will make a grand total of ... wait for it ... nine (yes 9) VCing units in service.
Another interesting factor worthy of mention was a trial of the new Video telephone service from a Wellington based company MV2 Networks. We looked at these units kindly loaned to us to test. Our comments and thoughts are available on request.

... and another one makes three.

Way out on the Hauraki Plains of Auckland Provence, good quality, wired, ADSL connections can be a bit suspect. In spite of this, the second of our newly developed PODS was successfully installed and tested yesterday. This student was thrilled to see her POD arrive and she eagerly helped to unpack and set it up. Within a few minutes a satisfactory test connection was made with our engineer back in Auckland. It is also possible for these [currently three] students to connect with each other during holidays and weekends. It is now only a matter of getting other families on-line one at a time.

Today's 1:40 minute slideshow portrays yesterday's (typical) arrival and setup of a POD. It shows the slightly nervous family cautiously unpacking the box, finding (and reading!) the instructions, correctly lifting the the POD out of the box and sitting it on the floor. They found the two (only) cables and the line filter and correctly plugged them in. Because they followed the instructions, they were able to turn on the three power switches and make contact with the engineer standing by in Auckland. When completed they told me,
"To start with it looked a bit confusing but, it was really easy!"

Well done J and M and M!

Want to know a secret? Normally, a Videoconferencing engineer or technician is present when such an installation is performed. We were quoted $750 per installation. Yes, an engineer was standing by on-line today and was used for a few minutes but it looks as though even that may not be necessary in the future. Thank you and well done iCOM.

It's rather exciting ...

Although we didn't complete it before Christmas, we now, as of today, have the first of the new family pods up and running successfully. This is possibly another NZ first: a complete installation of a professional videoconferencing system without a technician being physically present.

The student and her mother unpacked the pod, plugged it in and turned it on without support.

To be perfectly honest there was a slight hitch. "If all else fails, read the instructions" was the appropriate saying. (In the excitement we all forgot the manual!) The order of powering on the TV, the router and camera is crutial as is the timing. However once the instruction manual was read and understood they had almost instant success. I say almost - there was an obsecure teething problem which was relatively easily rectified by the engineer by remote control 200 km away and hopefully won't be needing to be done again. Later in the day the two Deaf girls in this project (in different towns and now on-line) were able to contact each other by their own professional Videoconferencing gear - this too is a first for New Zealand. All told, today was another real milestone. Congratulations to all concerned.

These photos show the simple sequence of events followed today from unpacking through setting up, powering up and making the first connection. It was as simple as that!

Yet another THANK YOU

Although not an official partner in the proiject we would like to acknowledge the good will shown by D. J. Manufacturing, Auckland. They have designed and produced the prototype of the professional Videoconferencing module for our project. A lot of interest is being generated. We have just had news that delayed components have arrived (via the troubled Bangkok airport). This means two more modules will be up and running soon ... will keep you posted.

The First of Our "Secret Weapons" Installed

Time is running out - we are trying really hard to get two more families up and running with their Videoconferencing gear before the end of term. There have been unavoidable delays (Bangkok Airport closure as one example!) however, there is some good news. Last week we installed the first (and only at this stage) "secret weapon". This particular one is designed as a wireless unit. The wireless concept allows this one to be moved from room to room without the usual tangle of cables. The home version will have the wireless-hub (note the slotted flap) exchanged for a Cisco router. The home unit is a two-cable unit 1. A single power cable and 2. an ADSL connection to the aerial or broadband outlet. It is designed as a Plug 'n' Play professional VCing unit to be deliverable by courier and connected without the usual expensive technician present. WE BELIEVE IT TO BE A NZ FIRST.

November's Progress

This month we are in the process of setting up two further families. It is our intention to have a total of three families operating before Christmas. This will allow those three students to "practise" VCing between each other over the holiday break. When we return in February we expect to meet potential new families at a "Family Day" BBQ at the Village to discuss further installations.
What I haven't mentioned is our new world's-first innovation currently being developed in a top secret location here in Auckland. The intention is to create a plug 'n' play installation pack. Typically, professional VCing (as this project is) requires skilled technicians to be present at the set-up stage. This is impractical and expensive for our project due to the large distances involved. If we can pull this innovative concept off it could be a break-through in professional VCing. The concept is based on the combination of SIP protocol (as opposed to H.323) and a single-power-cable module. Although the development of the prototype has delayed the project a little, we expect the potential benefits to outweigh any perceived delay.

It's timely to say THANK YOU ...

Now that the first family is well under way, it is timely to give recognition to the project sponsers and thank them for their continuing support.
In no particular order they are:

On behalf of involved students and their families -

THANK YOU.

PS As I write this post, two more family homes are being tested for inclusion in the project.

Edited clips from the first session

This video is about 3 minutes long.

The monitor in use at the near end is a temporary computer monitor with a TV converter. It will not form part of the permanent project. The primary reason for its use tonight was to enable VCing to take place with some degree of privacy (unsuccessfully as you will notice). Later a 19" or 20" LCD with a wireless connection will be used in small rooms for convenience as well as an increased degree of privacy. We will still retain the use of the lounge settings for group VCing.

The far end (home) used their family 52" TV set. The lighting was improved for the following evening when another equally successful connection was made without any technical support being required at either end.

It also needs to be noted that Brett from ICOM NZ has championed the use of SIP protocol for this project (as opposed to H.323). This has helped to ensure more reliability and a straightforward process whereby families can manage their own installations with little more than a set of easy instructions. So far this has proved very successful. Anyone interested in more information on SIP in VCing might want to contact Brett.

A NEW ZEALAND FIRST (I BELIEVE).

YES!
Tonight a New Zealand first took place - the first time a student in residence has been able to dial to her home a few hundred kilometers away and communicate via high-quality professional videoconferencing in NZSL.

Tonight we were using an old $1.00 monitor with a TV converter because of last minute change of layout but the results were none-the-less quite extraordinary.

It is very late at night as I write this so I will post only one pix to record the event. The photo cannot possibly capture the atmosphere - one which was filled with raw emotion, hidden tears and thrilling excitement. For me it made all the months of effort worthwhile. For the family it was a dream come true and for the young girl involved it was an “awesome” experience. For privacy reasons I cannot show the other photos taken because I don’t have parental permission for her friends gathered around but within few days I will have some video footage edited and available here ...
Thank you to a lot of people but especially Brett, our systems engineer who has masterminded much of the “alternative” approaches used to make tonight happen. As a not-unexpected-side-effect, all of the friends gathered in the background are now intent on putting a little pressure on their families to get involved too. This is what we want of course and because of Brett’s ingenious lateral thinking we will be able to oblige using cost-effective installations.

Success at last!

"I'm looking forward to returning to the village next week. Then I can talk to my Mum, Dad and my family in the evenings."

Mmmm, one left over!

Colour coding makes it easier.

Which ... what ... where?

Hope mum knows what she's doing!

Installation ...

As this was the first family home placement we wanted to experiment a little. Brett, the systems engineer, had gone to great lengths to make the setup a relatively uncomplicated process. We were delighted to find that mother, a self confessed luddite, was able to install the equipment herself with very little help from us. In spite of a relative “maze” of wires she was pleased to find she could follow the diagrams and colour coding with reasonable ease. The “draft manual” still needs some tweaking and later, over a flat white, we discussed the possibility of developing an installation DVD to accompany future home deliveries.

THE FIRST (at long last!)

October already but be assured plenty has been happening. However, progress always been two steps forward- one step back! I've been known to compare it to ploughing along a Manukau beach at low tide.
Today, our first family received and installed themselves the first a camera and router AND, as seen from these photos, connection was made back to KDEC! For the records, there were the inevitable hiccups: a missing cable (eventually found), one setting not perfect and a failing battery on a support mobile. Eventually the patiently and expectantly waiting family and staff at both near and far ends were rewarded with a link.
Unfortunately in spite of the best efforts by all technical personnel the QoS (Quality of Service) currently remains unacceptable. The fault is so unusual it is likely to be correctable so, fingers crossed. At times the packet loss was up to 30%, other times 0% and sometimes the upload speed was twice that of the download speed! When we could maintain a high QoS the resulting NZSL communication generated a significant amount of emotional response as well as overwhelming gratitude from the family involved.

Training Day

This video is about 1 3/4 minutes long. You will need a good broadband connection to view it. It shows Denise from Asnet Technologies training some of our Village Staff on the use of Polycom Videoconferencing equipment. She is expertly supported by Kelly, one of our interpreters.

A "Far site". (We were actually only 50 metres away.)

There was plenty of concentration! This view shows the smaller V500 camera (top right) at a far site. It is the type which will be used in parents' homes.

Training Day

Yesterday 20 Village Staff were involved in an introductory training session. Denise, from Asnet Technologies, spent a long day with our staff who will be using the equipment with students. They will also be involved with the training of students.

There was a lot of information to soak up but, by the end of each of the three 90 minute sessions, staff had experienced controlling lighting, setting up the camera/TV combination, use of the remote control, dialing up a far site, communicating with people at a distance and general background information. There were plenty of excellent questions showing careful thought by the staff, some of whom are already experienced with similar systems.

Training day was an important step in the process. Next step: Installing equipment in parents homes!