In early May I attended a NERCOMP conference hosted by UMass Amherst. A group from Wesleyan University presented what they are calling RoomTrol. It is a control system that they have developed in-house with student programming. The system has a web (Java) interface, and you can use any touchpanel with a USB connection. The control system is a mini-computer (like a mac mini, but a PC) and is running linux. For RS-232 ports and IR ports they use USB-RS232 or USB-IR conversion cables. The input from the touch panel to the "control system" is USB. The group reported that the entire "control system" and touch panel cost them under $1,000. That is a significant savings from what we are used to. If you buy a similar product commercially, you are going to spend around $5,000 for a control system and touch panel. Also, they are using the switching functions built into their projector. So they have no need for other switchers, again another saving. They have had this system in pilot mode for one year in a room, and over the summer plan to deploy it to three spaces. This initial deploy will cost $12,000 less than other installs.
You may be interested to know that this University has a very interesting system of supporting rooms. In fact, all the support is done by student staff. The entire design and programming for this new system has also been done by students. So, here again they are saving money by not having their professional staff creating this system.
I was excited at the potential cost saving, but left wondering if they really know what they are getting into. Obviously, someone is writing the drivers for this system. What do they do every time they have a different model projector, LCD panel or IR device. How much time is spent writing the modules for these? And, even with student labor, is it worth the saving? What about when things simply don't work? Do they have the time to do the troubleshooting on a home grown system? Finally, what about all the things that professional systems provide that this system does not? In my programming, I use video sync info from the processor, I use touch panel activity indicators and all type of other useful tools that are provided to me. How much time would it take to have someone program all of this? Finally, I will be the first to admit that when all heck breaks loose, I like having someone (a company) to point a finger at. Who does the finger get pointed at, when you created the system?
When I thought more about this on my 4 hour drive home, I began to wonder if I just saw the first ripple in a tidal wave coming at the A/V industry. What Wesleyan is really doing, is creating open source control systems. Is there a future in this? Would having support networks in place, like those that exist for moodle, sakai and others applications answer my questions? Certainly, the questions I have posed are the exact questions my school (and many, many others) have asked and answered before switching from a commercial product, like BlackBoard, to an open source one, like Moodle.
What do you think? Have you ever considered such a revolution? Is it possible that in five years a system like Wesleyan is building could be common place in our "hang and bang" classrooms? Or, is this a project that works very well for one institution, but will not be easy to replicate at others? Leave a comment and let me know what you think.
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3 comments:
It is possible this approach grows to become an open source community. The power behind open source is in the community and the concept of membership in the community. New developments, programming solutions, are provided to the community by each member. As a result, updates, fixes can happen quickly. Open source without the community can be painful.
An admirable effort, though a one room trial is not indicative of our true environment. It's not always the initial programming and install that matters (though it must be done well) quite as much as the ongoing management, SLA expectations, training and documentation for future incoming classes, changes in technology and upgrades to rooms, etc...
We have over 140 rooms, and though we've established standards, many departments have their own special requests or quirks that introduce minor variables among the standards.
Running a crestron/extron campus, I rely on students quite a bit as well (we have 10 students to supplement staff). Many of them are excellent, but I would be concerned long term to have such reliance on skill level and dedication among a student body. The costs you mention in comparison, are tempting, though I do like the option of calling a vendor when their programming is in question.
I'd be in favor of open source programming code to control these rooms, but as you said, it's good to have someone to call if failure or "glitches" occur. The glitches are probably more trouble than the failures, and luckily, whether we program in house or sub to our vendors, the attention to resolution is terrific.
We have switched to Moodle for the reasons you mention, but we take the approach that class time is of extreme value to our students and faculty, and the scenario you describe puts class time more at risk of unresolved failure than
Brad-
What you wrote is exactly what I was thinking. Is it possible that a community could develop for open source control systems? With all the changes in A/V (digital signals, HDCP) is there any way that community could keep up, and really save us money?
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