Innovative ‘live’ telemedicine demonstrations using the TEIN2 network were a key highlight at the recent APAN meeting in Manila. Three demonstrations were held during 23rd and 24th January 2007 covering advanced surgical techniques, surgical training centres of excellence and Avian influenza co-operation using high quality digital video using DVTS software.
This ground-breaking broadcast of three demonstrations was made possible by intense collaborative work by TEIN2 partners and other Asian networks who successfully restored the TEIN2 network connectivity following damage sustained during the 27th December 2006 earthquake of Taiwan
DANTE’s David West, TEIN2 Project Manager said “For the first time we have seen medical professionals in all developed and developing TEIN2 partner countries able to work together across the TEIN2 network. Such collaborations are clearly of vital importance to help tackle such major worldwide challenges as Avian flu and level up the medical expertise across the region. All three demonstrations represent a perfect illustration of how superior acoustic and picture quality delivered over the TEIN2 network can support the virtual working practise of medical experts across multiple countries”.
Cambridge, UK 09 March 2007 – To coincide with the UK’s National Science and Engineering Week, research and education network providers DANTE and UKERNA have united to gauge public opinion on the top global issues science should be addressing.
The FP7 Global Information Daytook place on 6 March, with participants from all over the world. This large-scale EC-led video conference was designed to raise awareness of FP7 opportunities for non-EU countries (Asia-Pacific, Mediterranean, Latin America, USA and Canada). Opened by Ulf Dahlsten (Director of Emerging Technologies and Infrastructures), the event saw briefings throughout the day as each world region came online. Connected institutes from across the GEANT2, TEIN2, ALICE and EUMEDCONNECT communities took part.
The Spanish NREN, RedIRIS have archived the video stream. Go here to catch up on what happened.
Madrid is the venue for the next EUMEDCONNECT Project meeting, which takes place tomorrow, Tuesday 27th February. The main themes will focus on sustainability, training, and how to progress the formation of a Mediterranean NREN consortium.
Also on the agenda are plans for a regional event to raise awareness of the project and its applications. Watch the video below to see what’s being said about EUMEDCONNECT.
Comments from Agathoclis Stylianou, Director of the Cypriot NREN, CYNET
Key presentations and video footage recorded at January’s GÉANT2 Technical Workshop are now available to view. These provide an excellent update as to what’s happening in the research and service activities.
The main theme of the week was the challenge of “Transition to Service” and translating research results into visible services. Several of the recorded presentations focused on this issue.
Photos from the week can be viewed alongside, and you may just spot a familiar face or two in the video below:
The New World Symphony Orchestra in Miami has been making sweet music with French composers in a “virtual concert room”, thanks in part to a collection of Research Networks.
The transatlantic rehearsal, with remote conductors, was possible thanks to fast and reliable connectivity, which enables high quality audio/video transfers. The event was organised by the French NREN, Renater, and Internet2 in the States. GÉANT2 provided transatlantic connectivity between Europe and the US.
The Irish NREN, HEAnet has announced the dates and venue for its 2007 conference. The event will take place on 16-17 November at the Lyrath Estate Hotel, Kilkenny, Ireland.
A draft programme will be available from the end of March. In the meantime, you can see what happened at last year’s conference.
Janez Potocnik, European Science and Research Commissioner, made his first ever visit to India last week.
“India and the EU have much to learn from each other in the field of science” said Commissioner Potocnik before his departure. “We have both recognised that our people, and their knowledge, are our best resource. We are working together in major projects such as the GEANT network, Galileo satellite system and ITER fusion energy project. I hope that my visit, and especially the EU-India Ministerial Meeting, will give added impetus to an already flourishing relationship”.
GEANT2 has implemented a 45Mbps link to India, from Milan to Mumbai. The connection has experienced heavy usage since its introduction, as Indian researchers join a number of European projects.
Last weekend saw plans announced for the International Linear Collider. This $6.7 billion experiment will see the construction of a machine 20 miles long, which will attempt to recreate “Big Bang” conditions. Though the exact location for the Collider is still to be determined, the announcement in Beijing reflects an increasing role for Asian researchers in the global High Energy Physics community.
The ILC has been designed to complement the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva, which is due to come online later this year. When it does, it will generate colossal volumes of data, which will need to be distributed across the world for analysis. GEANT2 and Europe’s NRENs are currently building an Optical Private Network for the LHC to handle their networking requirements.
Should the ILC be constructed in Japan, then extensive high-bandwidth connectivity would be needed for the Asian region. Perhaps a future generation of the TEIN network will be tasked with meeting the challenge?
The Taiwainese earthquake that shook the region on Dec 26th, caused some serious disruption to the region’s telecoms cables. TEIN2 was not unaffected, with several partners’ links suffering as a result of the quake.
While our EU/AP links and the CN/HK/SG route between them were not affected, several links did suffer. These included NII’s and NICT’s links between TEIN2 and Japan, and MAFFIN’s connection providing access for the Philippines. MAFFIN were able to arrange a temporary restoration of the JP - PH link, when their supplier KDDI found an inland route through China.
The TEIN2 NOC re-routed much of the traffic via Korea and Australia and major efforts are underway to restore the circuits permanently or where necessary temporarily.
David West, TEIN2 Project Manager, said “I know that the various NOC organisations are still working to fine-tune the routings to give optimal performance, but we should now have a fully functioning network not only for normal use but also for the upcoming APAN meeting. Big thankyous are due to MAFFIN and all the NOCs for this excellent recovery in very difficult circumstances.”
A full article on this issue will be published in the next edition of The Works of DANTE.
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