A consortium comprising the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), the University of Cape Town (UCT) and Durban-based internet service provider East Coast Access (ECA) has received a three-year R14,5-million investment by the Innovation Fund of the Department of Science and Technology (DST). <\/p>\n
The parties will join forces to develop a commercial-grade internet video broadcasting platform with integrated advertising for low bandwidth network infrastructure environments, as found in developing countries. <\/p>\n
The aim of the investment is to see the product through from research to market implementation of commercial applications, such as entertainment content with video advertisements. <\/p>\n
Lead project coordinator Dr. Keith Ferguson, a principal researcher at the Meraka Institute of the CSIR, will also oversee the development of the system design of the core media server software and part of the video research. <\/p>\n
Anice Hassim of ECA, a black economic empowerment company, will be responsible for the work on the web-based market-facing interface. <\/p>\n
Prof. H Anthony Chan and Prof. Mqhele E Dlodlo will lead the research at UCT and will be responsible for the supervision of two PhD and two MSc students who will research specialised areas of adaptive multimedia broadcasting. <\/p>\n
The project will deliver a smooth webcast in varying network conditions found in low bandwidth environments and other technically and infrastructurally-constrained networks. <\/p>\n