Simputer very simple credit seminar topic

1. PRESENTED BY,
REVATHI.G
17304021

2. CONTENTS
 Introduction
 History
 Brains behind the concept
 Simputer vs PCs
 Simputer licensing & specifications
 Interfaces
 Features & Tools
 Working areas
 Ease of use
 Poor man’s computer
 Applications
 Deployment
 Multiple benefits &Development
 Applications
 Advantages & Disadvantages
 Future scope
 Conclusion
 References

3. INTRODUCTION
 The Simputer is a self-contained, open hardware handheld computer,
designed for use in environments where personal computers are deemed
inappropriate.
 The simputer is a low cost portable alternative to pcs.
 The benefits of information technologies can possibly reach across the
digital divide.
 It has a special role in developing economies because it offers the
possibility that illiteracy is no longer a barrier to handling a computer.
 One key for bridging the digital divide is to have shared devices that
permit truly simple and natural user interfaces based on sight, touch and
audio.
 The Simputer meets these demands through a browser for the
InformationMarkup Language (IML).

4.  It is more complex and powerful than a palm top.
 It runs on an Intel strong-arm chip.
 The chip is known for its low power consumption.
 The Simputer runs on AA or AAA batteries or off the
mains.
 It can also use rechargeable batteries, but the charger
is not built in.
 The Simputer is basically a low-cost computer with
multiple connectivity options,
 Its primary input will be a touch-sensitive overlay on
the LCD display panel.

5. HISTORY
 Simputer inventors are professors at Bangalores Indian
Institute of Science who formed PicoPeta Simputers Pvt. Ltd.
 It used Microsoft's Windows XP operating system.
 Other computers are weighed several kilos, but Simputer
fit snugly your shirt pocket and your wallet.
 For the first time in history, a computer was designed in
the third world, to be used by people in all worlds.
 The venerable New York Times called it the most important
invention.
 We have now Amida Simputer{ A commercial-strengthSimputer}

7. Brains Behind The Concept
 A small group of scientists of the Indian Institute of Science in
Bangalore and some engineering professionals from the firm
Encore Software have designed this simple device.
 This device, called a Simputer, was launched formally in
Bangalore.
 This gadget is not a PC. It is a simplified device more like a
pocket computer.
 What distinguishes it from other hand-held devices is its smart
card reader.
 It also has an Information Markup Language that is, amongst
other thing, smart card aware.
 It will also have the use of extensive audio in the form of
text-to-speech and audio snippets.

8. SIMPUTER vs PCs
 Simputer is not a personal computer.
 It could however be a pocket computer.
 It is much more powerful than a Palm, with screen size and
memory capability.
 The Wintel (Windows + Intel) architecture of the de facto
standard PC is quite unsuitable for deployment on the low cost
mass market.
 The entry barrier due to software licensing is just too high.
 While the Wintel PC provides a de facto level of standardization,
it is not an open architecture.
 The Simputer mean while is centered around Linux which is
freely available, open and modular.

9. IDEA GERMINATES
 The Simputer project was conceived during the organisation of an
international seminar on information technology for developing
countries, conducted during Bangalore IT.com, Karnataka's annual IT
trade show.
 A discussion paper highlights the need for a low-cost mass access
device that will bring local-language IT to the masses.
 The initial discussions introduced the term Simputer as an obvious
twist on the word computer.
 For the purpose of establishing originality, a slightly more complex
acronym was invented to fit the name Simputer: simple, inexpensive,
multi-lingual computer.
 And finally in order to appeal to computer geeks, a more complex
expansion was also coined, namely simple, inexpensive ,
multi-lingual people's computer.

10. STRUCTURE

11. SIMPUTER LICENSING
 The system software of the Simputer, since it is
Linux based is under GPL.
 The first draft of the Simputer General Public
License (SGPL) that believed to be a practicable
license which at the same time facilitates the rapid
spread of Simputers.
 The SGPL has been reviewed further and the new
version are updated.

12. SIMPUTER SPECIFICATIONS
 HARDWARE
32 bit CPU
Intel Strong Arm SA-1110 CPU
 Memory
16–64 MB of SDRAM
08-32 MB Flash for non-volatile
storage
 Display Options
240x320 LCD Colour or
Monochrome Display Panel with
backlight
 Input Device
Touch-panel Overlay on LCD
Display with a plastic stylus
(Pen)
Direction and Selection Keys

13.  Audio Interface
i. Audio Codec
ii. Support for external head-set
 SmartCard Interface
SmartCard Reader/Writer
 USB Interface
 Connectivity
i. Data Modem
ii. IrDA Interface
 Connectors in Basic Unit
i. SmartCard Connector
ii. IrDA Transceiver
iii. RJ-11 Telephone Jack
iv. USB Type-A Connector
v. AC Adapter Input

14.  Power Supply
i. 2xAA-sized Ni-MH batteries
ii. Internal charge management
iii. Operates with external AC Adapter
 ACCESSORIES
i. Expansion Docking Cradle
ii.Compact Flash [CF-II] Slot, USB Slave
SYSTEM SOFTWARE
 Operating System
i. Linux Kernel 2.4.18
ii. Alchemy windows manager
 Network Protocols
TCP/IP, FTP, Telnet, PPP, HTTP etc.
 Application Libraries
GTK+, glibc
APPLICATION SOFTWARE
Internet Access
i. Browser, Email, File-Transfersss
ii. Music
iii. PIM Applications

15. INTERFACES
 Touch panel overlay on liquid-crystal display
 Speaker and microphone jacks
 Smart-card connector
 USB connector (to function as host or device)
 Serial port
 Infrared Data Association (IrDA) port
 Grayscale /Super-twisted nematic display (STN)/Thin-film
transistor (TFT) (depends on model and manufacturer).
 Multi-I/O connector (in Encore's Simputer) giving
additional (slave) USB,
 Optional modem/VGA interface

16. FEATURES
INTERNET :
 Internet Browser
 Email
 Headlines
WORK:
 Stories
 Paper
 Notebook
 Bhasha Notebook
 -Voice Recorder

17. PLAY:
-MP3 MusicPlayer
-Photo Album
-Games
-E-Library
-Education

18. TOOLS
1. Calendar
2. Panchanga
3. Smart Card
4. Health Manager
5. Conversion Calculator
6. World Clock
7. Stop Clock
8. Address book
9. Calculator
10. Network

19. WORKING AREAS:
 —FORM FILLING:.
-Use the Simputer to submit a required form.
 —COMMUNICATION:
Can I meet the Tashildar today?
- It seems that I can use my Simputer to check his availability.
E-mail, voice-mail to near & dear
–Use the Simputer to send / receive
 MONEY ORDER:
Can I withdraw Rs 100 from my account?
-Here is my smart card

20. HEALTH :
 Foetal Monitoring
 Portable Ultrasound
 Telemedicine
DRINKING WATER :
 Simputer with appropriate sensor interfaces can
facilitate quality checks

21. NEEDS
 EDUCATION / LITERACY
Simputer’s highresolution
display facilitates images,
local-language text.
Combined with audio files
and text-to-speech in local
languages,this will facilitate
literacy, self-learning .
-Digital Library.

22. MICRO-BANKING :
Use the Simputer to take banking to the
individual’s doorstep, not the other way
around. On-the-spot receipts electronically
generated.

23. RURAL HEALTH STATISTICS :
State Health Departments can empower
their health of the workers with Simputers
for collection of health statistics in the
villages, regardless of location.

24.  POLICE
i. Information Retrieval
ii. FIRs
iii. Criminal records
 COMMUNITY KIOSKS
i. Public Services
ii. Land Records
iii. Utilities payments
iv. Information dissemination

25. PRICE:
At what price should I
sell potatoes today?
Connect Simputer to
the telephone and find
out.

26. EASE OF USE
 Ease of use has to be an important guiding
principle if this device is to gain a substantial measure of
popularity.
 A low-cost version of this device may be targeted to the
home user, whereas a slightly higher functionality
version can be designed for use in cyber kiosks where
people can come in and surf at their convenience.
 The Simputer can also be used in schools to allow them
to offer Web access to students at relatively low-cost.
 It can also make use of telephone lines and enable users
to enjoy a new level of services from their net service
providers.
 This could be in areas as diverse as Web-enabled email
access, home banking, home shopping, educational
services and new forms of entertainment.

27. POOR MAN’S COMPUTER
 A reason often stated is that the poor
have no need of computers before their
basic needs (such as electricity) are met.
 The Simputer wasnever designed to be a
“poor man's computer’’
 It was a device designed to help to bridge
the digital divide.
 The"cost of ownership" for the end-
user of the device in villages was not the
cost of the device, but the cost of the
Smart card used to store the user's data.
 The device itself should be considered
shared infrastructure for the village.

28. APPLICATIONS
 —The architecture of the Simputer integrates various devices such
as Smart Card reader, a Modem, a Touch Screen, a Multi-lingual
Text -to-Speech system. This makes Simputer an ideal device for
e-governance
 —Smart Card enabled citizen services( Voter IDs, driving license,
ration card, etc. )
 —Data collection and processing Land and revenue records
 Education, health care and information access e-mail device
 —Micro banking
 —A Smart Card pass book Synchronizing transactional details
through modem connectivity.

29.  Analytica is one of the few developers of custom
applications on the Simputer.
 The Simputer is the first handheld Internet appliance
to have been designed entirely in India from the
electronics to the software to the industrial
engineering for the housing of the device.
 Analytica develops custom applications for various
domains like Sales and Retail, Data Collection
Projects, E-Education, Transportation and Fleet
Management.

30. DEPLOYMENT
 Simputers were extensively used by the
Government of Karnataka to automate
the process of land records
procurement.
 They are used in a variety of innovative
and interesting applications, such as
automobile engine diagnostics
(Mahindra).
 Used for Electronic Money transfer.
 Simputers are also deployed by police
force to track traffic offenders and issue
traffic tickets.
 Used by Indian Military.

31. MULTIPLE BENEFITS
 This provides us several benefits.
 We benefit from the experience of the
vast global pool of experts working on
software problems.
 We also have access to the entire source
code, which enables us to deploy the
software on any hardware platform
that might be cost-effective for us at a
certain point in time.
 It will also have the benefit of peer
review processes that ensure a relatively
robust and stable end product

32. DEVELOPMENT
 There has been a huge
number of mails
expressing interest in
contributing to the
growing Simputer effort.
 A mailing list has been set
up for Simputer
Development related
efforts.

33. ADVANTAGES
 Simputer is a small, cheap device, similar to personal
digital assistant (palmtop).
 —The Simple to use,perceptual computing
 —The radical simplicity of universal access
 —Rich in interfaces
 —Soft modem
 —Smart card
 —Infra red data access
 —USB port
 —Audio
 —Designed to be shared(smart card personalizer)

34. DISADVANTAGES
 —Data inaccuracy.
 —Require Training Of Maintenance Staff.
 —Information Overload.
 —Software unreliability.

35. FUTURE SCOPE
 Launch with Prototypes
 Manufacture
i. Licensed by the Simputer Trust
ii. Open to suggestions
 Wireless Simputer
i. IEEE 802•11B / Bluetooth
ii. GSM / CDMA

36. CONCLUSION

37. REFERENCES
[1] S. Murray, “Low-cost handheld simputer,” IEEE Pervasive Computing, vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 5–5, 2007.
[2] K. Bali, R. Hariharan, S. Manohar, V. Vinay, and K. Vivek, “Language technology solutions in Simputer: an
overview,” Language Engineering Conference, 2002. Proceedings.
[3]T. Cawkell, “The Simputer and the Internet in India,” Journal of Information Science, vol. 29, no. 2, pp.
139–140, 2006.
[4]Duveskog M. Sutinen E. Tedre M. & Vesisenaho M. In search of contextual teaching of programming in
a Tanzanian secondary school In Proceedings of Frontiers in Education Conference Boulder Colorado IEEE
2007.
[5] q‘ICALT’04 Proceedings of the IEEE international conference on advanced learning technologies Pages-
(1018-1023)
 Indian ‘simputer’ bridge digital divide by electricnews .net-posted on 29/3/2014
 www.simputerorg
 www.ncoretech.com/simputer/
 www.learningchannels.org
 www.express-computer.com
 www.wired.com/news/technologies