Description of Project

We helped an innovative startup that was formed by entrepreneurs with experience in Marketing and Technology. Their vision was to create a device that would allow billboards to come alive, that is, the billboards would have a way to interact with the reader through creative technology. The product is used in Airports, Hotels, College Campuses, Health Care facilities, and Trade Show expositions, not only as an interactive billboard, but also as a remote network access point for handheld computer users. A user has the ability to download promotional literature, city guides, AvantGo channels, and other selected content, as well as full two-way email communication and integration with their personal email.

What was needed

The initial vision was for an access portal that allowed a user to beam their hand held device through infrared to an embedded computer which was connected to a server via a network. A prototype was built utilizing Windows CE connecting to an NT server, and that provided proof of concept necessary to obtain venture funding.

What was utilized

The actual production unit provided numerous challenges, as the goal was to provide an affordable solution that was able to be implemented virtually anywhere. The first step was to develop the hardware, which we were able to do by outsourcing the design and production to a company in Israel. They produced a credit-card sized computer with a Pentium processor that accessed the necessary software off of an eprom chip. The next challenge was the operating system. While Windows CE was used for the prototype, the actual production cost would have been doubled due to licensing costs, so we opted to use embedded Linux as the OS, as there were no associated fees. We stripped the kernel down to just the components necessary to run the application, and the communications drivers. We found that there were no available drivers for Linux to Palm IR, so we wrote the drivers, which have since been adopted as a Linux standard. On the other end we implemented an Ethernet connection as well as a wireless connection (WAP) so the access device could be placed anywhere, regardless of the availability of a wired network connection.

Major Benefits

Unit only requires a power connection, yet provides worldwide network accessibility.Remote monitoring of device status and management of content.Cost effective solution for wireless deployment.Full solution provided to client, from concept to completion.