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!

Draft handbook for parents ...

The date for staff training has been set: Tuesday July 8

This training will be carried out on site at KDEC by Denise from Asnet Technologies

There are up to 24 village staff to be trained in three sessions - quite a big job for Denise and there will be three 90 minute sessions. Three cameras will be available.

A 16-page parent handbook is being developed. It is hoped a draft version will be available for testing on the day.

An update ...

Testing of the wireless system commenced over this past weekend. Results are very encouraging but not quite right yet.
In the menatime, arrangements are in hand for a staff training day to be held next month and an updated information mailer has been posted to parents. If you would like more information please contact KDEC.

Another test

BM tore his hair out (as you can see) with frustration when things were not progressing according to plan! Eventually, the least likely factor appears to have been the cause - Sky Tower transmitter had failed! Well, the best laid plans

Another FIRST ...

... a test between my home and two KDEC students, was completed using an ADSL connection. (As in NZSL, there is no audio with this clip.) Connection speed was consistant at 512/512 for 30 minutes with a maximum of 0.03% packet loss.

Next, we will test a wireless system.

The next day ...

After a slight hiccup (if all else fails, try a reboot) I was able dial up KDEC then pan and tilt the far 7000 with my 500's remote to locate Richard (I didn't need to but it was fun) and have a chat. Next step, when students and staff return from term break, we will have students signing between the the trial locations.

I will video some of that for this site.

The third install

A pix from home back to KDEC. Note the quality.

Later, at my home a second 500 camera and a Cisco router is configured for two different types of connection:

1. DSL

2. Wireless

Again the QoS is excellent. 512/512, zero packet loss and zero frames dropped.

... and its Wellington test shows excellent QoS.

The 7000's little brother, the 500 is set up ...