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A research group at USC was nearing the end of their grant period and needed a demo unit to apply for a renewal.
They had only a few months left. Blue Sky Labs found a fast, cheap, and simple solution to their problem.
BSL Roles
Project Implementation Strategy
Application Software Development
Graphical User Interface Implementation
Driver Development
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Accomplishments
Project Completed Within 2 Month
Ability to Demonstrate New User Interface
Ability to Apply for Grant Extension
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About the Client
A group of researchers at the University of Southern California were awarded a
grant to design an easy-to-use videoconferencing system for senior citizens. Their
focus was on enabling the elderly to maintain contact with their families and
friends using technology that they would otherwise find too difficult and confusing to use.
The group had a variety of backgrounds, including biomedical and mechanical engineering.
They had also found a graduate student in the computer sciences department to handle the
application software, networking protocols, and Graphical User Interface (GUI) implementation.
The students had begun implementing an over-ambitious package that implemented all the various
Internet protocols, effectively re-inventing the wheel. After 9 months, they had switched
computer science students twice but still had no usable videoconferencing software.
The Project
Blue Sky Labs was contracted to implement the video-conferencing software the Virtual Visit
team needed to produce its first prototype. With only 3 months left in their grant period,
their main concern was time. If the prototype was ready for demonstration, they could
reapply for another year of funding. Blue Sky Labs understood that they were looking for
a prototype for non-commercial demonstration purposes and had very little time left to complete
the project. Instead of implementing a whole video-conferencing system, which would have failed
to meet their timeline and budget constraints, our engineers modified Microsoft NetMeeting.
NetMeeting already had the necessary backend software implemented, and we were able to implement
a new front-end interface quickly. Virtual Visit got exactly what they needed: a simple video
conferencing system that demonstrated their interface.
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