306 - IIT Bombay working to open-source its $100 netbook - Economic Times

IIT Bombay working to open-source its $100 netbook

By Anirban Sen, ET Bureau | 11 Sep, 2015, 04.00AM IST

BENGALURU: The IIT Bombay team, which earlier this year developed a $100 (Rs 6,647) netbook computer that it claimed could be the world's cheapest, is in talks with several colleges across the country, including Christ University in Bengaluru, to roll out the devices for students and is also working with early-stage open source technology firms to make the project commercially viable in the near term. 

The netbook, which was conceptualised during IIT's work with the low-cost Aakash tablet project and was launched in February, is currently being used by about 90 students at IIT Bombay and plans are underway to get more college students across the country to use the machines, said IIT Bombay professor Kannan Moudgalya. 

The 10-inch machines, which are being loaned out to the students for a year at the cost of Rs 5,000, were built primarily for students from low-income households who cannot afford costlier laptops. 

"I believe that if you're serious about Digital India, we need to give computers to our children," said professor Kannan Moudgalya. 

"Now if IIT students have difficulty in programming without a computer, you can imagine how it is in other colleges... now if college students don't have computers, they don't do programming. They don't do programming, they start mugging up since they have to pass their exams. So, if Digital India has to work, students will need computers." 

The team has now started working with open-source language startups such as Julia Computing and is also using Brazilian chemical process simulator DWSIM as part of this project, said Moudgalya said. 

While the earlier Aakash tablet project, which was commissioned by the HRD ministry, was hamstrung by launch delays and quality issues, the IIT-Bombay team working on this netbook project has gone about its launch in a different, low-key manner. 

While almost 1 lakh devices were commissioned for the Aakash project, only 1,000 machines have been ordered so far for the new netbook project. 

"Unlike Aakash, where we gave lots of machines to everybody to start developing software, here we are seeding it in a very careful manner because we have only 1,000 machines as opposed to 1 lakh," said Moudgalya. 

The idea of creating affordable netbooks was also born out of the realisation that a tablet is merely a "consumption device". 

A tablet is a consumption device, not a creator device," said Moudgalya. 

IIT Bombay has forged a tie-up with Delhibased Basic Comtech, which delivered 1,000 netbooks for the pilot phase. 

Kannan said more orders will be placed once the project starts getting accepted and rolled out in colleges across the country. 

Under the pilot, IIT Bombay has lent these netbooks to first year BTech students at the institute who have to undergo an introductory programming course called CS 101. 

Read more at:

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/48906782.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

296 - Low Cost Netbook of NMEICT

Low Cost Netbook of NMEICT
Kannan M. Moudgalya IIT Bombay
15 January 2014

It is well known that IIT Bombay has been executing a low cost tablet project, funded by NMEICT. Improving its capability is one of the mandates, so as to make the device more useful. In this report, we explain a netbook that has come out as a result of this exercise.

The netbook mentioned above has a 10” screen and a complete keyboard. It is almost a laptop. We have procured 1,000 units of this device at a cost of Rs. 4,990 plus customs and tax, with the total cost coming to less than Rs. 6,000. This device is supplied to us by a Delhi based company called Basic Computers. It is assembled in a state of the art plant in Manesar, Haryana. Our team at IIT Bombay has developed a modified version of the open source operating system (OS) Ubuntu, and named it as FOSSEE, eponymous with the open source promotion project, also funded by NMEICT. This device has the following features:

1. 10” screen, non touch
2. Complete keyboard
3. 1GHz dual core WM8880 ARM v7 Processor 4. 1GB RAM
5. 8GB NAND flash
6. 32GB SD card slot
7. Two USB drives
8. One mini HDMI port
9. Ethernet port (RJ45)
10. 5,000 mAH battery
11. Wifi and blue tooth
12. Light weight (less than 1kg)

As the operating system is a version of Linux, we can pre-load the system with useful software packages and distribute them. A set of close to 100 packages that will be pre- loaded and distributed is given in at this link. Thus, while the hardware is procured from outside, the OS image and the accompanying software bundle is created by us.

This device is yet to be named, and yet to be launched. We present some pictures and screenshots of this Netbook next.

Please click on this link to read full pdf file

293 - IIT Bombay unveils ‘world’s cheapest’ netbook - Economic Times

IIT Bombay unveils ‘world’s cheapest’ netbook

Anumeha Chaturvedi, ET Bureau Jan 23, 2015, 04.05AM IST

NEW DELHI: IIT Bombay has developed a 10-inch netbook, which it claims could be the world's cheapest, at around Rs 6,000. The netbook, conceived during the institute's work with the low-cost Akash tablet, will be unveiled in the second week of February. "We wanted a device that would make it easy for people to 'create' information.

The netbook was born out of this desire," says professor Kannan Moudgalya at IIT Bombay. He explains that while a tablet is useful to retrieve information, a netbook can create it, through processes such as programming and data entry.

The IIT Bombay team has worked on designing the netbook's specifications besides creating the OS image and the accompanying software bundle.

"One of the mandates of the lowcost tablet project was to continue to do research and development on affordable access-cum-computing devices," says Moudgalya.

The project's objective was to understand its shortcomings and address them in the next product. In a bid to address the needs of students and to drive information creation, the team at IIT Bombay thought it was important to have a fully functional keyboard as opposed to a virtual keyboard, more battery time, a larger screen size (10 inches as compared to a 7-inch screen on a tablet), greater memory, more storage, a normal USB slot (not a micro USB), while not letting go of the price focus. The netbook also needed to be light-weight for students to carry comfortably.

"We put in a lot of effort to arrive at specifications for the hardware — trying out various machines available in the market, working with different design specifications, and then looking for manufacturers through a tender process," says Moudgalya.

IIT Bombay has tied up with Delhi-based company Basic Computers, which has delivered 1,000 netbooks for the pilot phase.

Under the pilot, IIT Bombay plans to lend these netbooks to all first year B Tech students at the institute who have to undergo an introductory programming course, CS 101.

Out of nearly 450 students who are taking this course in the current semester, close to 100 do not have their own laptops.

The HRD ministry's Akash project, undertaken during the UPA regime, was marred by launch delays and quality issues. "With the new government focusing on virtual classrooms, low-cost computing devices are the need of the hour, but there has to be a focus on quality. Also, the pricing shouldn't hamper functionality," says Rohin Kapoor, senior manager education practice at Deloitte.

Moudgalya says the Akash project has been completed successfully at IIT Bombay's end. One of the objectives of this project, he says, was to explore the viability of such a low-cost tablet. The second objective was to bring down the prices of such devices in the market. "We have achieved both these objectives and it is now with the Directorate General of Supplies and Disposals for final procurement," he adds.

282 - IIT-B develops 10-inch netbook that costs less than $100 - Live Mint

FIRST PUBLISHED: THU, OCT 30 2014. 12 30 AM ISTHOME»  INDUSTRY 

IIT-B develops 10-inch netbook that costs less than $100 

The device is aimed primarily at programmers, students and teachers in government-run colleges and institutions Leslie D’Monte 

Kannan M. Moudgalya, professor of chemical engineering at IIT-B, with the netbook developed by the institute. 

Mumbai: Despite India’s poor track record in sustaining low-cost computing devices such as the Simputer handheld and Aakash tablet, the Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance government is taking another shot at introducing such a device. 

Funded by the National Mission on Education through ICT (NMICT) that is run by the ministry of human resource development (MHRD), the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B) has developed a prototype of a 10.1-inch netbook that costs less than $100 or Rs.6,000 including taxes. 

The device is aimed primarily at programmers, students and teachers in government-run colleges and institutions. But unlike its earlier experiments with the Aakash tablet that failed to enthuse users, the government plans to get the netbook tested thoroughly to “demonstrate its usefulness” before asking institutions to adopt it. As a result, IIT-B plans to give 1,000 such devices to students across the country as part of an estimated six-month pilot programme, beginning 1 November.

 “This device, similar to Aakash, is part of our plan to have low-cost computing devices, especially for those who have to do input work like writing a programme,” said Kannan M. Moudgalya, professor of chemical engineering at IIT-B and the co-principal investigator on the Aakash project. “This (the device) is almost like a laptop. 

We want to see if this can meet the requirements of our students who need a device for programming. It has good battery life. We have seen HD TV playing with Wi-Fi access.” IIT-B is yet to name the device that is Wi-Fi-enabled, has a full keyboard with touchpad, weighs just 700g and is equipped with a 1GHz dual core processor, 1GB of memory and 8GB Nand Flash—a type of storage technology that does not require power to retain data. 

The device has no hard disk or CD drive, but comes with two USB ports, a network port, an HDMI port that can help connect the laptop to a television or projector, an SD card, a front camera, and a 5,000 MAH battery. 

IIT-B plans to do the pilot in various settings. Some projects will take place in schools, some in colleges, others in polytechnics, e-governance projects, and maybe in rural and urban settings, and “we will see if we can provide an ecosystem to support it. 

More importantly, we want to be in a position to access the machine remotely, so that if a person in a far-flung area gets stuck with the device, we can repair it from anywhere”, said Moudgalya. “We already have about 300 remote centres for our Aakash project, and they are the people who can contribute to this project, too. We expect at least 100 people from around the country to work on this device,” said Moudgalya. 

If a user chooses to install Android instead of Linux on the device, he will be able to download any Android app from Google Play or choose to install those from aakashlabs.org that include a DiaSlate—drawing slate for school children, proxiMITY—access to the institute’s lectures, and Converse—an app that allows for video, audio and text conferencing, according to Moudgalya. 

Low-cost initiatives, primarily tied to education, have thus far run out of steam because of lack of content and distribution, according to analysts. 

For instance, introduced in 2002 by the Simputer Trust—a non-profit organization formed by seven Indian scientists and engineers—the Simputer was touted as a device that would change the low-cost computing ecosystem in the country. The project failed and the device has faded from public memory. 

In 2011, former human resources minister Kapil Sibal aggressively promoted the approximately Rs.1,500 Aakash tablet. Supplied by Canada-based Datawind Ltd, the first version faced criticism from students and experts for poor quality and performance. 

Aakash 2, launched a year later also failed to impress. There was no Aakash 3. The next upgrade, called UbiSlate 7C+, was sold by Datawind. Aakash 4, which is yet to see the light of day, is expected to be a much-improved version with inbuilt support for Wi-Fi, bluetooth (also a wireless technology), support for external devices including a storage device, keyboard, mouse, data connectivity (2G and 3G) dongles in India, a scratch and impact-resistant 7-inch LCD (liquid crystal display) screen and extended battery support. 

The project, earlier with IIT-Jodhpur, is now being handled by IIT-B. “DGS&D (Directorate General of Supplies and Disposals) is in the process of finalising its release,” said Moudgalya who also heads the project. Meanwhile, the world has moved on. 

About 70% of the tablets sold in India currently retail below Rs.10,000, compared with just 10% when Aakash was commercially made available in October 2011. 

And full-fledged laptops are available for less than Rs.12,000. 

When asked to comment on the specs of the netbook, Jayanth Kolla, founder and partner of research firm Convergence Catalyst, likened the device to “thin clients that are available in Taiwan and China”. “It does not have too much of memory and is more like a Chromebook and most important, it will lack file management system. It’s good as a cloud-computing device. If the content, etc. is tailored for this device, it will be an optimised device. 

The Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B) has developed a prototype of a 10.1-inch netbook that costs less than $100 or Rs6,000 including taxes.

“If the government or universities are bearing the cost of the device, then the move makes a lot of sense since this device will do one thing and do it rightly, and it won’t be open to misuse for other purposes. But if cost is pushed on to the user, it would seem to be an inadequate device,” said Kolla.

Globally, too, low-cost computing has not managed to hold on to price targets. The XO from Nicholas Negroponte, founder of the One Laptop per Child project, was initially priced at around $100. The laptops, which now sell in 40 countries including India, are priced in excess of $200.

Read more at: http://www.livemint.com/Industry/HK4y3fHG8kSts2cDK0ykJN/IITB-develops-10inch-netbook-that-costs-less-than-100.html?utm_source=copy

238 - Aakash IV gets the Go ahead by Prof. Kannan Moudgalya

I am glad to inform you that the Indian Government has decided to go ahead with Aakash IV, please see the tender notice by DGS&D (sorry about the long link - could not locate a shorter one):

Tender Notice

The specs of Aakash IV are an improved version of what we had for Aakash II.  The new specifications have been arrived at after fixing the shortcomings of the previous version and keeping in mind the current technology offerings.

According to unofficial sources, quite a few vendors seem to have expressed an interest in participating in this inquiry.  We expect to have many vendors and many models through this offering.  The overall size of the order is also expected to be much larger than before.

This should allow interested buyers to choose a model of their choice and order the required numbers.  Although the cost may be more than what is possible in a centralised system of procurement, it is easier to manage.  This system also has the potential to let only the vendors with good offerings to flourish.  Adherence to the specifications by the hardware vendors will hopefully allow the applications that are being

developed by the Aakash enthusiasts all over to be able to run on all devices, irrespective of the vendor and the model type.

This ends once and for all the controversies surrounding the Aakash project in favour of the team that developed it.  We have summarised some of the Aakash development work taking place at IIT Bombay in a brochure with two pages, the links for which are given below:

http://aakashlabs.org/builds/Aakash_brochure_inside_20_11_2013.pdf

http://aakashlabs.org/builds/Aakash_brochure_outside_20_11_2013.pdf

A half of the applications shown in this brochure run in the Android OS, while the rest run on Ubuntu 12.0.  I am now personally interested in exploring the netbook version of Aakash, a model with a fixed keyboard, and the GNU/Linux OS.

Regards,

Kannan Moudgalya

Prof IIT Bombay

246 - The born-again Aakash tablet - LiveMint

The born-again Aakash tablet

The first two versions of the tablet were a disaster, but the newest iteration being developed at IIT Bombay appears to be on the right track

Shweta Taneja 

  

Aakash 2.1 and the expEYES system

In February 2012, the Aakash tablet was one of the biggest embarrassments of the year. Instead of a home-grown device that could deliver great value for students, we got a tablet whose touch screen worked inaccurately and with lag, one that was so slow that most apps wouldn’t work properly, and worse, it needed to be reset fully after a few hours of use. In Mint’s reviews of Aakash and Aakash 2, the overall user experience was unsatisfactory.

The development of the tablet has since been shifted from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Jodhpur, to IIT Bombay, and the team there says a new version, skipping a generation and labelled Aakash 4, is coming soon, even as software development continues. In the interim, they have overseen development of the Aakash 2.1 tablet (the third-generation), which features some improvements and comes with a 1 GHz processor, 512 MB RAM, 4 GB storage and runs on Android 4.0.

Aakash 2.1 is not going to be released to the public. However, the tablet, produced by DataWind, is on sale under the name UbiSlate 7Ci. The UbiSlate 7Ci, available for Rs.3,799 at www.akashtablet.com , is essentially the same thing, just without the new software developed at IIT Bombay.

After using Aakash 2.1 for one week, we found that the screen picks up scratches very easily, and the 800x400 pixels resolution is extremely low; budget tablets launched last year had a similar display, and it’s not unreasonable to expect improvement after nearly a full year.

This tablet, however, is lighter than earlier versions and the display also seems to be clearer than before. Video playback is smooth too, which was a problem with earlier versions; gaming remains sluggish, but that does not matter because it is not a primary function of Aakash, billed as an educational device.

The tablet includes USB ports to attach a keyboard and mouse and it is pre-loaded with a large number of educational apps designed to work well on the hardware, a step in the right direction. The apps include ProxyMITY, which lets students access high-quality lectures from reputed teachers online; Blender Animation, a simple tool that can teach people the basics of animation software; and also other software related to education and robotics.

The team has also worked on a way to install Linux on the tablet to increase its functionality, and learners can boot Ubuntu 12.10 on their tablet from an SD card without having to root their Android OS, which is a unique feature.

We spoke with Kannan M. Moudgalya, professor of chemical engineering at IIT Bombay and the co-principal investigator on the Aakash project, over the phone about Aakash 4 and the plans for the project. Edited excerpts:

What were the challenges you faced with Aakash and how did you solve them?

Our biggest challenge was that the price couldn’t go up from $50 (around Rs.3,100). Thankfully, the price of capacitive touch screens has fallen in the last two years, and we have been able to update it (Aakash 2.1). The tablet’s performance has been updated too.

We have given about 60,000 tablets to teachers and students through IIT Bombay’s remote education programmes, to use and test. With so many hands, we are bound to learn of new deficiencies in the product, the learning of which we would then put into the new updated version of Aakash.

Aakash is not a toy to be given to students. We aim to make it a computing and learning device, and the fruits of all other projects, like the National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning, Spoken-Tutorial, etc., which universities across the country have been working on since a few years now, will be delivered through Aakash.

What kind of apps are you planning for Aakash?

Our priority is to develop educational apps to view all the e-content being developed now. To name a few, Aakash comes pre-loaded with Clicker, a student-teacher interaction app where you can conduct multiple-choice quizzes. ProxyMITY is a tool which plays lecture videos and presentation slides through an SD card with all content for a lecture. Robot-control lets you use the tablet to programme and control a robot. Aakash Programming Lab is where you can code in C, C++, Python and Scilab. There is also expEYES which is used for conducting science experiments.

We’re also developing a platform called Aakash Bazaar, where all apps developed for Aakash, made by teachers and students, will be open source and available for free download.

When will we see Aakash 4?

The government will float a global tender and open it to all companies. The government needs to decide when the tender will open up. I do wish it went a little faster. We have already announced the specifications for Aakash 4 to the public. The next order will be big, for about 5-6 million tablets. Once the bids come to us, we will do some research on the company’s technology and production background and then decide. While we wait for Aakash 4 launch, we will continue to develop apps for it.

128 - FISAT to contribute in bettering Aakash Tablet - Zee News

24th April 2013

FISAT to contribute in bettering Aakash Tablet

Kochi: The Kerala-based Federal Institute of Science And Technology will contribute 25 new project ideas to IIT Bombay, for bettering Aakash Tablet.

The project named Aakash Android Application Development was initiated by the Centre for Continuing Education in FISAT, Dr K S M Panicker, Principal of the Institute, said.

The activities of the Centre will be formally inaugurated by former ISRO Chairman, G Madhavan Nair tomorrow, he said in a release.

To initiate the Aakash Android Development project, FISAT initially conducted a workshop on Aakash Android Application in the college with participation of experts using video conferencing from IIT Bombay. Thereafter the students were given special training on android platforms. Aakash Tablets sent from IIT Bombay for testing and developing were distributed among the students for comments.

Project ideas were invited from students, screened and the best 25 of them were selected for further study and developing into projects.

The projects will be "handed over" to Dr Kannan M Moudgalya, Professor, IIT Bombay and Member, Aakash Tablet project. It will also be hosted on www. Millioncode.Fisat.Ac.In as second phase of 'One million Codes to Community programme' launched by FISAT last year.

PTI 

First Published: Wednesday, April 24, 2013, 13:43

112 - Aakash-2 to come loaded with apps, courtesy IIT-Bombay - Business Standard

31st Dec 2012

Shivani Shinde  |  Mumbai  December 31, 2012 Last Updated at 01:26 IST

Aakash-2 to come loaded with apps, courtesy IIT-Bombay

A few months ago, the Marathwada Institute of Technology, Aurangabad, got in touch with the Spoken Tutorial team at the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B). The former had been approached by a company, which wanted to hire students specialising in PHP (a language designed to produce web pages).

The institute did not have the course in its syllabus. “They approached the Spoken Tutorial team. More than 30 students from the college took the course and of these, six were hired,” said Kannan M Moudgalya, a professor at IIT-B.

Spoken Tutorial is an audio-video tutorial that explains an activity performed on a computer, with an expert explaining the working of the software by demonstrating it on the screen. This is now available on Aakash-2 tablets.

The ministry of human resource development (MHRD) has said 100,000 tablets are expected to be delivered to engineering institutes by the end of March 2013. IIT-B is making sure that education applications are made available to students through these tablets. Over 200 teachers and students have been working for the last six months to port all projects that have been developed under the National Mission on Education through ICT over the last three years on Aakash-2.

COMING OF AGE

Aakash-1 was launched last year This April, IIT-B was given the Aakash-2 project’s responsibility Spoken Tutorial; Talk to a Teacher; e-Yantra systems; virtual labs; educational animations, free and open source software for science and engineering; and development of design content are among applications to be available on the tablet

Spoken Tutorial; Talk to a Teacher; e-Yantra systems; virtual labs; educational animations, free and open source software for science and engineering; and development of design content are among the many applications being made available on the tablet.

One of the most ambitious project of MHRD, Aakash tablets are supposed to change the way education is being delivered in India. So far, 20,000 Aakash (including Aakash 1 and 2) have been distributed to engineering students.

“By the end of March, the government would have procured 100,000 tablets. Of these, 40 tablets each will be given to 250 colleges. We have trained around 12,000 teachers across these colleges on the use of Aakash,” said professor Deepak Phatak, head of the project at IIT-B.

Aakash-1 was launched by MHRD in October 2011. In April 2012, IIT-B was given the responsibility of the project. “When we came on board, the first thing we asked for was upgrade in the hardware,” added Phatak. He is hopeful that the subsequent versions — Aakash 3 and 4 — would have higher processor speed.

Aakash-3 is also likely be equipped with a SIM slot. About 5 million Aakash-3 tablets are expected to be rolled out in the next phase, the global tender for which may be floated in February. Other than creating applications for Aakash, IIT-B has gone a step ahead and built a Linux operating system for the tablet. The Aakash-3 would have a faster processor and support both Linux and Android.

These applications will enable a student or a teacher to access courses developed by IIT-B for free. For instance, Spoken Tutorial allows a student to take tutorials remotely, without help. So far, 1,000 tutorials have been created on various topics, of which 350 are originals. Till date, 100,000 students have accessed these tutorials. “While we create tutorials in English, we are also dubbing them into regional languages. Our aim is to have all tutorials in 32 languages mentioned in the Constitution of India recognises,” said Moudgalya.

Similarly, the Industrial Design Centre at IIT-B has created 100 courses--50 are available online. “So far, we have 10,000 page views per day and 700 people visit the website per day. The courses have been made in such a way that a student can understand concepts and process of 2D animations and other design aspects. All these are available on Aakash-2 as well,” said professor Ravi Poovaiah.

IIT-B is also making sure that the connect between the teacher and student is not lost in a computerised teaching environment. For this, IIT-B has developed an app called Clicker, which allows the teacher to see if the concept that has been taught is understood by taking automated quiz in every 30 minute of a lecture. This application also allows teachers to track a student’s progress.

Till date, Aakash tablets have been provided to engineering students only. IIT-B, however, will soon carry out pilot projects in schools. At present, IIT-B has digitised SSC maths and science syllabi from ninth to 12 standards. "We have identified a school in Pandharpur in Maharashtra and Bhikangao, a town in Khargone district in Madhya Pradesh. We are also running a pilot of creating solar chargers for these tablets to be used in schools were electricity is not regular," said Phatak.

111 - Found: Blueprint for a computer-literate India - Mid Day

10th Janu 2013

Found: Blueprint for a computer-literate India

IIT Bombay professor, Kannan M Moudgalya and his team have been documenting and creating tutorials for free open source software available on Linux to popularise it in India's schools and colleges. Hassan M Kamal visits the lab to find out more

2013-01-10 02:07:20

January 10, 2013

MUMBAI

Hassan M Kamal

Room no 311, Automation Division is different from most other labs in the wing that houses the Department of Chemical Engineering at IIT Bombay. Students here are seated in front of desktop PCs, speaking on their mics and listening to the same track repeatedly on their headphones. Each member reads every command, some in Gujarati, a few in Hindi and others in Indian English.

Professor Kannan M Moudgalya at IIT Powai. PIC/Sameer Markande

The lab is, what houses the Spoken Tutorial, an ambitious project that aims to create audio-visual tutorials for all Free Open Source Software (FOSS) and make them available for free on the Web and through DVDs.

Who are they and what do they?
Led by Professor Kannan M Moudgalya, head of the Spoken Tutorial project, a dedicated team of 40 members divided into two teams — Creations, who produce audio-visual tutorials, and Events, who conduct workshops — Spoken Tutorial has been promoting the use of FOSS like LibreOffice (a Linux-based alternative to MS Office), Latex (a high-end, precise ‘type-set’ software useful for students who deal with complex numbers and formulae on a daily basis) in India. “We select the best FOSS programmes, prepare tutorials on them, and make them available to schools, colleges and NGOs. Our aim is to reach government offices and corporates as well, but it will take time,” he adds. These tutorials are available in over 12 languages including Sanskrit, Bodo, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu among others. They also use freelance voice dubbers, who get paid between R500 to R1,000 for a 10-minute programme.

A high-end scientific app Scilab adapted to run on an Android device like Aakash

How it works?
The Spoken Tutorial Event team conducts a small session over Skype, where they select a representative from the target school or college. The representative, from the educational institute, is then introduced to all the process, and stays as a contact point to conduct future workshops, exams, provide the tutorial materials and also distribute the FOSS software.

The Spoken Tutorial team at IIT Bombay

Why FOSS?
“…Because they are available for free,” reasons the professor, adding, “And are as efficient as any other commercial software.” While FOSS programmes like LibreOffice are for free, licensed software like MS Office cost up to R19,000. Then again, to run MS Office, one requires Windows OS, which comes for another Rs 8,000 to Rs 9,000. On the other hand, LibreOffice works fine on Linux Ubuntu OS, which is also available for free. “So, with FOSS, one doesn’t need to spend thousands purchasing the software. It’s possible to use this money to buy another machine,” maintains the professor who is also a member of the Standing Committee of the National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology (ICT). The Spoken Tutorial Project started with an aim to document open source programmes, in June 2011, but now it has expanded into creating audio-video tutorials for all FOSS, porting programming languages like C, C++, SciLab, Python etc and porting school books into e-pub formats and at the same time distributing Linux-based software to schools and colleges.

CD cover of the Libre Office spoken tutorial

The IT Vision
“The main purpose of this project is to make India computer literate,” reasons Moudgalya, adding that it is not possible if one relies only on commercial software. “We have to make the most use of open source software like LibreOffice and Latex and OS like Linux. It’s our only solution,” he concludes.

Log on to http://spoken-tutorial.org
  

110 - Genesis of Aakash 2

Genesis of Aakash 2

Article

Kannan M Moudgalya & D B Phatak* and N K Sinha & Pradeep Varma**

*Indian Institute of Technology Bombay


Click here to Read Article

98 - Aakash is here and to stay - Prof Moudgalya, IIT Bombay

21st September 2012

Aakash is here and to stay - Prof Moudgalya, IIT Bombay

Let us forget the past. Aakash is here and to stay. 

IIT  Bombay is coordinating the pilot study of 100,000 units (called Aakash 2), as I mentioned a few times

(http://media.sakshat.ac.in/Play/?ID=73). 

By the end of October, a good  fraction of this order will be delivered. A group of leading experts from IITs, PSUs and the Government are now working on the
specs/processes, etc., for the next generation Aakash - yet to be named
- let us call it Aakash 3 - to distinguish it from Aakash 2.

We will be glad to give demos of Aakash 2 in important alumni events.

Alternatively, please drop by when in the near vicinity of IIT Bombay or
at MHRD, New Delhi.

Aakash has a potential to cause a revolution in the education sector.
This excellent computational/access device will be affordable to the
children of even the house maids, rickshaw drivers, construction and
farm workers and unemployed. This device will also be the delivery
mechanism for the excellent educational content that is getting
generated through the National Mission on Education through ICT (see for
example, http://spoken-tutorial.org/New). Let us work together to make
this dream reality.

Kannan

90 - AAKASH - Computer for the whole world. Fully featured Android table for only $40!

17th July 2012

AAKASH - Computer for the whole world. Fully featured Android table for only $40! - Adrian Cheok

At the ICALT 2012 conference where I gave a keynote talk, I had the pleasure of meeting Professor Kannan Moudgalya who is a Professor at the famous IIT in Bombay. He showed me an incredible device, it is a fully featured Android designed for India which only costs $40. This is a brilliant example of the power of reverse innovation. Whereas in the developed world we may become too blinded and comfortable to make very low cost quality products, in the developing world, through pressing needs, engineers and designers can create innovative solutions which optimize and make new powerful yet cheap devices. Another good example in India of such reverse innovation is the the Tato Nano car. 

The device is called Aakash, and not only is it an incredibly cheap tablet, it is packed with open source software making this very useful for the youth in India to learn. What impressed me is that the team in IIT is working on apps which are going to be really useful for kids to use to learn and create. Some of the software includes an open source version of Matlab called SciLab, Python, C, and C++ compilers. I saw a real demo done by Professor Moudgalya where he compiled a C program on the fly. That is neat! You can imagine teenagers in India programming on these tables and learning to become super creative. The device also came with software for real time teaching, viewing of lectures remotely, and spoken tutorials. Of course it is Android so all the standard Android apps can be installed also.

The real value of this tablet is not only that the kid’s can have a fully featured Android tablet for $40, but that it also comes with software which allows them to really tinker and learn through doing. I am sure this device is not only revolutionary for Indian kids, but for the whole world. 

Prof Moudgalya with the AAKASH at ICALT in Rome

A close up of the AAKASH