Events

Multi-platform Personal Communicator

Vladimir Elin, Master of Engineering, Chairman of the Board of JSC Intersoft Eurasia

Foreword

In modern Russia there are advanced technologies and world-class production. However, most of them are concentrated in the nuclear and military industries, rocket production and space industry, hydropower and so on. Nevertheless Russian electronics industry satisfying modern trends and challenges of reality are staying undeveloped. In this regard half a century ago Yuri Vizbor aptly remarked in his song, “But we make rockets and have blocked Yenisei, and in the ballet we are ahead of the rest.

To give any industry a new lease of life a good idea is necessary. This idea should be based on marketing concept and should be able to stimulate the development of relevant industries: microelectronics, industrial design, programming, materials science, chemistry, etc. In this sense in the era of the West anti-Russian sanctions the project of Russian Smartphone could become some unifying idea. On the other hand, Russia is a generator of discoveries which unfortunately are not always “come to” mass production. The reason for that is an obsolete model to stimulate innovators and entrepreneurs.

The Government is trying to reverse the situation by launching such projects as Skolkovo where along with high competence in the part of scientific and technological expertise of the proposed projects, their grant funding, unique tax regime, the class of technologically advanced innovative entrepreneurs able to make a breakthrough in the most promising sectors of Russia is springing up.

Main part

Not RIP, but RUS

We had an idea of creating of Russian intelligent platform with previously applied ironic abbreviation of the English translation of Russian Intelligent Platform – RIP. In the West it is known as R.I.P, Requiescat in pace (riposi in pace, rest in peace) – the traditional inscription on the tombstone in the English-speaking countries which is an abbreviation of a sad phrase: “RIP”/“Rest In Peace”. Now this is actually a meme of our project! Perhaps due to this combination our first article about Umnophone was read by more than 250 thousand people only during the first week in RuNet! We believe that the “afterlife” humor to some extent triggered the popularity as of the article itself and of the idea of modular Smartphone technology “Build to Suite” that is customized production and creation of a communication device promoted in it.

JSC Intersoft Eurasia has a number of Russian and foreign patents protecting various technologies that have only recently been introduced in modern Smartphones, in particular eye-gesture control. I will not list all of the technologies as they have been described in the article Smartphone Future abbreviated SPF published at the end of 2011.

Then it was to be hoped that after exploring their views on the Smartphones of future with patents and prototypes in this area if any, it is possible to attract the profile of investors to implement the project. However, besides wishes to acquire such Smartphones by citizens and sweeping criticism on the part of Eldar Murtazin, who stated, that no one will ever control the Smartphone options visually or with gestures. Although after 1.5 years of his “predictions” these and other options described in the article appeared in the flagship Smartphone models of Samsung, LG, Elliptic, etc.

JSC Intersoft Eurasia is engaged in various innovative products mainly designed for Smartphones and their components, it is not surprising that in 2013 we had the idea to compile all the development and use them as separate modules in Smartphones. This could be possible only if it would be agreed to be a “product of complete non-resistance of the parties”, in this case of developers and manufacturers. However, having communicated directly with foreign R&D-centers and a number of manufacturers producing Smartphones, we came to the conclusion that they have not only welcome with open arms but even do not want to use products with the most unique and useful modules. Unless we sign them the copyright away. That is if we want to make a new generation Smartphone, we have to make it ourselves, as the saying goes, from scratch.

During the developing of this idea we came to the conclusion that the device should adhere to new principles. The result was a modular Smartphone concept with hardware and software upgradeable technical capabilities as a step improvement of Umnophone consumer properties. This is some counterpart of Google/Project Ara where on the basis of universal endoskeleton frame the Smartphone of appropriate configuration can be created from a set of standard modules. Only in this case it will be possible to reconfigure Umnophone software by downloading the next firmware version from online stores. For this utility model Russian patents were also obtained and international application according to PCT system was filed.

The way things are going it becomes clear that solving such a difficult task one has to reckon with a whole range of problems. And their solution is able to give a boost to our electronic industry and not only to it.

For this purpose it is necessary to design the architecture of the future device in the form of Umnophone Smartphone itself, its processor, binding and key components from scratch. At the same time it is necessary to create your own unique mobile intelligent platform that can easily combine capacity of key mobile platforms like iOS, Android and Windows Phone. Also they should have their Smartphone root independent control system and its functions not found in any Smartphone in the world.

So at the moment JSC Intersoft Eurasia is the main ideologue of the new platform for Smartphones. It may be called as Russian Universal System – RUS, rather than RIP as previously mentioned.

The main task of Intersoft Eurasia is to design platform and form orders for its components. Thus demand to develop components for the mobile environment and electronics in general among Russian companies is created.

We have already registered a patent application No 2014149841 dd. December 10, 2014 for the “Method of expanding of the personal communication device software and personal communication device for its implementation”. What is the essence of the solution proposed?

About RUS/RIP in more detail

The heart of RUS architecture is a system of virtual machines SVM and operating system developed for this purpose designed for interactive processing and management partner mobile platforms of key operating systems such as Android, iOS, Windows Phone, subject to availability of open codes or on other basis.

The idea and technology are not new as they had previously been used in the era of the first computer by IBM to start and work out their own versions of various OS at the beginning of the programming. However, the technology in those days for unexplained reason did not receive widespread commercial development and was used by IBM mainly for marketing purposes. Anyway such technological approach is described in the Wiki. Smartphones processors have already had power comparable to decent desktop computers so there is an opportunity to create RUS.

The team of Intersoft Eurasia participates in the development of Umnophone itself that is a prototype for all the capabilities of RUS platform to be tested in pilot mode. Also marketing platform model will be worked out with this unit. This sort of pilot projects is a necessary condition for success of innovative projects. In due time before production of the first iPhone was started, Apple had been testing components and technological solutions in other projects in the same way.

Currently the priority task for us is to develop the Smartphone with programmatically adjusted characteristics and subscription possibility to activate various hardware features of the Smartphone: to change the amount of memory available to the user, to change the CPU frequency, the number of active cores, resolution of cameras, to include communication modules, etc. Definitely although the lifetime of such a phone will eventually be higher than the current models have due to the programmed in “power margin” but not infinitely.

We work in the Smartphones paradigm and our offer should be beneficial for a wide range of users. Nowadays Android simple device can be purchased at a price from USD100, top models cost is around USD1,000 and more. Our goal is to stay within the lower bound of this range and maybe even to reduce it, and definitely to lower the upper bound. Moreover reduction can be achieved among others due to the fact that the users of our solution will have a potentially more powerful Smartphone and they will not need to acquire a new model in a year as it is sufficient to activate the existing one and instantly to move to a new higher level of Umnophone opportunities. The expected lifetime of such Smartphones makes a few years. It is worth noting that most likely this type of devices have to be brought to market in collaboration with consumer loans, otherwise there is a high chance that such kind of innovations are not covered! 

If we return to software solutions of Apple, their technology will be difficult to use in third-party products. But the world is changing rapidly, so technically we do our best to ensure compatibility with iOS, and it is possible, since Apple is not a manufacturer of electronic components and uses the same as other manufacturers do. The key issue in the using of iOS is the decision of Apple.

JSC Intersoft Eurasia to the extent of its own financial opportunities will continue to work on their project in cooperation with all developers of electronic components and software. Moreover we are involved in a number of foreign programs, in particular in the MFi program from Apple, have a developer license for iOS as well as for Android and Windows Phone, and others.

If to speak about Russian industrial base there is already domestic processor Elbrus. It is intended primarily for real-time systems, i. e. for the military. Its application in civilian devices will not be the most simple and convenient for a variety of reasons. The issue of creating domestic processors is on the agenda, however, as there is a definite shortage of such decisions especially in the niche of processors with low power consumption and heat dissipation built on ARM architecture. Low power consumption is extremely important for mobile devices because to meet the medal dimensions with maximum working time is not an easy task.

So far we are focused on chipsets already presented on the international market by leading companies such as Qualcomm, Intel and others. RUS platform can be designed in several versions: purchased chip at the first stage and their own development at later stages of the project development.

At the moment our developers use Google Android as the most open and accessible platform. The more especially as recently we have entered into the developers program of miniature monitoring radiation hardware: DO-RA.Module for the project Google/Project Ara, to come a step closer to our goal.

Conclusion

There are no universal programs adapted to the existing mobile platforms yet but there is a real opportunity to emulate the guest OS on a single Smartphone. Such decisions are fully used on conventional computers and we are planning to transfer them to the mobile environment.

Also it should be mentioned that it is not spent a single state support ruble for this project for the taxpayers not to worry. It is led on own funds of Intersoft Eurasia in Russia http://intersofteurasia.ru.

December 11, 2014