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| Project No. |
Acronym - Title |
| RE4007 |
MECCANO - Multimedia Education & Conferencing Collaboration over ATM Networks & Others |
| Lead Sector |
Other Sectors |
Start |
End |
Project Duration |
| RESEARCH |
|
1 Jun 1998 |
31 May 2000 |
24 months |
Project Objectives, Summary Description and Anticipated Results:
The objective of the project is to provide all the technology components, other than the data network itself, to support collaborative RTD through the deployment of enhanced tools for multimedia collaboration in Europe. The project will improve and deploy the existing toolsets with a particular application aim of distance education and of conferencing. The improvements will occur in many important aspects:
- Better integration of the multimedia conferencing tools to make them easier to use by untrained users;
- Capability for optimum video, audio, shared workspace and applications sharing over heterogeneous bandwidths;
- Identify the additional support and management facilities required to meet and enhance the end-user applications;
- Inter-operable cross-platform support for many systems - UNIX workstations and PCs;
- Better support for the introduction and recording of multimedia information in conferences;
- Support for network reservation and multicast deployment over concatenated networks technologies - mainly using IP - including packet-switched, ATM, SMDS, Direct Broadcast Satellite, mobile and ISDN;
- Improved inter-operation between workstations running the multicast Internet and normal ITU-T procedures;
- Integration of low-speed access facilities via intelligent packet filtering, multiplexing and transcoding gateways with distributed, secured, control;
- Capability of interworking between Internet MBONE and ITU-T styles of end-station;
- Facilities for secure conferencing - with the keys distribution compatible with a large-scale CA infrastructure;
- Distributed measurement, monitoring and management of Resource Reservation and Quality of Service;
- Conference announcement and invitation - including of private sessions - integrated with booking systems.
Verification activities will be pursued both inside the project and in other Telematics projects which stress each of the technical activities. They following test all the tools over various network technologies and geographic regions:
- Regular research seminars given from the sites of the partners - and from North America;
- Use in the research community, including over the national research networks of UKERNA, DFN, UNINETT, and CA*Net II of seminars, lectures, research collaboration and home working;
- Use by at least 8 other Telematics, ESPRIT and ACTS projects and several national ones. Besides tools from MERCI and ICETEL projects, it will utilise results from ICE-CAR, current National, and EC projects.
Major Validation Sites:
| Organisation |
City/Town + Postal Code |
Region |
Country |
| Academic Computer Centre CYFRONET-KRAKOW |
Krakow 30-950 |
N/A |
PL |
| British Telecom Research |
Martlesham, Ipswich |
UK54 |
GB | |
| Communications Research Centre |
Ottawa K2H 8S2 |
N/A |
CA |
| Hewlett Packard Limited |
Bracknell RG12 1HN |
UK52 |
GB |
| Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et Automatique |
Sophia Antipolis 06902 |
FR82 |
FR |
| Universitetet i Oslo |
Oslo 0378 |
N/A |
NO |
| Universitaet Stuttgart |
Stuttgart 70174 |
DE11 |
DE |
| Shell International Exploration & Production bv |
Rijswijk |
NL33 |
NL |
| School of Slavonic and East European Studies, UCL |
London WC1E 6BT |
UK55 |
GB |
| TELES GmbH |
Berlin 10587 |
DE301 |
DE |
| Universitaet Erlangen-Nuernberg |
Erlangen 91058 |
DE25 |
DE |
| Universitaet Freiburg |
Freiburg i. Br. |
DE13 |
DE |
| Universitaet Mannheim |
Mannheim |
DE126 |
DE |
| Universitaet Bremen |
Bremen |
DE5 |
DE |
Other Characteristics of the Project:
Users involved
The user groups include: Field trials of distance education, for mathematics, medicine and languages in Canada, Germany, Norway, Poland and the UK; medical consultation in Germany; seminars, both inside the UK and across Europe and Canada; German commercial trials to residential users and for collaborative engineering. |
Technologies and/or approach used
The network technologies include Multicast IP over ISDN, DBS, SMDS, ATM, cable TV and mobile radio - with reservation and priority in routers and gateways which support filtering and transcoding and ITU-Mbone. The tools have multi-bandwidth capability via hierarchical coding of audio, video and shared workspace. There is WWW in many areas of the control and the tools. Security support is provided for the streams, components and announcements. |
Expected benefits for the citizens
The Benefits for Citizens include the ability to receive multimedia teaching, learning and events in home premises via ISDN or DBS; ability to reach isolated communities by DBS; medical access by cable TV, mobile and ISDN. |
Expected benefits for the users of the application
The benefits for Users include the ability to collaborate in multimedia learning, teaching and seminars with locally available communications networks; remote access to multimedia learning material at speeds suitable to the access network; specific collaborations achievable without putting in special communications facilities. Good support. |
Expected benefits for the European Industries
Expected Benefit to European Industry arise from the participating industrial concerns interested in developing and marketing the relevant components, service providers interested in trials of the systems on their networks, and user communities realising that the technology will improve internal productivity and will ease collaboration with others. |
Contribution to EU-policies
The project contributes to EU policies in several ways: by establishing networked multimedia capability in European industry and user sites, by including East European partners in a genuine way, and by helping ensure that international standards in multimedia, network technology and security are promulgated with a European flavour. |
Coordinator:
| Name of Organisation |
City/Town + Postal Code |
Region |
Country |
| University College London |
London WC1E 6BT |
UK55 |
GB |
Contact Person from the Coordinating Contractor:
| Title, Forename, Surname |
Professor Peter Kirstein |
| Address |
University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT |
| Telephone |
+44 171 380 7286 |
| Fax |
+44 171 387 1397 |
| E-mail 1 |
Kirstein@cs.ucl.ac.uk |
| E-mail 2 |
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Other Contractors:
| Code |
Name of Organisation |
City/Town + Postal Code |
Region |
Country |
| C2 |
Academic Computer Centre CYFRONET-KRAKOW |
Krakow 30-950 |
N/A |
PL |
| C3 |
Communications Research Centre |
Ottawa K2H 8S2 |
N/A |
CA |
| C4 |
Hewlett Packard Limited |
Bracknell |
UK52 |
GB |
| C5 |
Institut National de Récherche en Informatique et Automatique |
Sophia Antipolis 06902 |
FR82 |
FR |
| C6 |
Universitetet i Oslo |
Oslo 0378 |
N/A |
NO |
| C7 |
Universitaet Stuttgart |
Stuttgart 70174 |
DE11 |
DE |
| C8 |
TELES GmbH |
Berlin 10587 |
DE301 |
DE |
| A1.1 |
School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University of London |
London WC1E 6BT |
UK55 |
GB |
| A6.1 |
New Learning A/S |
Oslo 0371 |
N/A |
NO |
| A7.1 |
Universitaet Erlangen-Nuernberg |
Erlangen 91058 |
DE25 |
DE |
| A7.2 |
Universitaet Freiburg |
Freiburg i. Br. |
DE13 |
DE |
| A7.3 |
Universitaet Mannheim |
Mannheim |
DE126 |
DE |
| A8.1 |
Universitaet Bremen |
Bremen |
DE5 |
DE |
Updated: 30 July 2000 - telematics@terena.nl
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