IIT Rajasthan and National Instruments India collaborate on next-generation radio IP to enable digital-quality AM reception for rural India

http://pressreleasewatch.blogspot.in/2012/08/iit-rajasthan-and-national-instruments.html (Press Release - PDF)

National, August 07, 2012: Faculty and students at the Indian Institute of Technology Rajasthan (IITR), in association with National Instruments India, have developed the Intellectual Property (IP) for a Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM)-based Transmitter. This broadcasting system, developed by the international DRM consortium, has been proposed as a high-quality digital replacement for analogous broadcasting in AM and FM/VHF bands. It offers listeners a wide range of programming, with enhanced audio performance and multimedia services, like broadcasting text, slide shows of still and animated images, electronic newspapers, and weather and traffic information. The technology makes it possible for rural and remote parts of India to access both local and international transmissions. National Instruments India and IIT Rajasthan have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to record their intention of starting and running a Center of Excellence on Communication and Physical Layer Technologies at IITR. As part of this MoU, a National Instruments Advanced Communication Laboratory was established at IITR in November 2010. This Laboratory aims to enable research and project development in the areas of wireless communication and physical layer technologies, and undertake research projects and industrial consultancy. Software and hardware subsystems provided in the Lab enable rapid prototyping, and development of embedded systems for various applications. Besides facilitating several courses at IITR, the Lab offers multiple workshops and short courses with the aim of making cutting-edge research and educational tools available to a wide student population in the state of Rajasthan and beyond. Prof. Prem Kalra, Director, IITR said "The Indian Institute of Technology Rajasthan represents a unique culture of engineering and science education and research. Through Centres of Excellence with their innovative curriculum design, interdisciplinary research and thought leadership, IITR aims to create leaders who are entrepreneurial and well-rounded. Our aim is to make the fruits of technology available to the Last Person, the poorest people of our country. Our partnership with National Instruments India emphasizes our long-held belief that a synergistic partnership between industry and academia can make this happen."

Jayaram Pillai, Managing Director, National Instruments India said We have a long tradition of developing innovative products through in-house expertise and partnership with universities all around the world. Our research and development center in Bangalore works on cutting-edge topics in the area of image processing, graphical system design software and communication signal processing. We leverage the rich intellectual expertise available in Indian universities by direct hiring and forging strong partnerships, like the one with IITR. DRM, which has a lossless transmission range of about 100 kilometers, allows flexibility for the system to optimize according to the local environment conditions through an exchange in bit rate capacity, spectrum occupancy, and robustness mode and transmission power. IITR students are currently involved in building an embedded version of such a system, for potential application in broadcasting special services such as weather forecast, national news, important announcements, educational presentations etc. for rural India.

Figure 1. DRM Transmitter LabVIEW front panel. About National Instruments: Since 1976, National Instruments (www.ni.com) has equipped engineers and scientists with tools that accelerate productivity, innovation and discovery. NIs graphical system design approach to engineering provides an integrated software and hardware platform that speeds the development of any system needing measurement and control. The Companys long-term vision and focus on improving society through its technology supports the success of its customers, employees, suppliers and shareholders. For more information on National Instruments RF solutions, visit www.ni.com/rf. About IIT Rajasthan: Indian Institute of Technology Rajasthan (www.iitj.ac.in) is one of the new IITs set up by the Government of India. It is dedicated to the advancement of research and development in an environmentally-sustainable manner, especially in the area of socially-relevant technologies. Led by its Director, Prof. Prem Kalra, IITR has developed an innovative curriculum which fosters interdisciplinary research. IITR believes in creating leaders for the future and imparts an education that encourages thought leadership, preparing students for both entrepreneurship and public service.