BBS Consumer Price Index (CPI) Tablet Training Complete!

April 13^th,  2013 marked the last day of training on the Consumer Price Index!  Four batches  of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics CPI collectors and supervisors received training on the digitized CPI system. 

Photo of final batch of CPI trainees on April 13th, 2013

ACL Intern Selected as a Session Chair for ICCSPA'13 in UAE

Ms. Sabah Shamsy, an intern with Amadeyr Cloud Ltd. was selected as a session chair for the First International Conference on Communications, Signal Processing and their Applications (ICCSPA'13) in Sharjah, UAE (February 12 – 14, 2013).  During the event she presented her paper on “EXIT Chart Analysis of Repeat Accumulate Codes for Log-BCJR Algorithm in Iterative Decoding” which will be published in IEEE Xplore next month.  Her presentation outlined a simplified version of the complex BCJR algorithm (used in wireless communications) that she developed by using a trellis diagram and then preformed the algorithm in a turbo-like code to analyze the performance.  Ms. Shamsy did her MSc in Wireless Communications from University of Southampton, UK, and is currently focusing on Network Latency and Alternative Energy.

Creating Greater Transparency Through Digitization

BBS Consumer Price Index (CPI) Digitization

On the last day of August 2012, Amadeyr Cloud Ltd. (ACL) signed a contract with the Bangladesh Bureau Of Statics (BBS) to digitize the collection process of consumer prices for four index baskets.  This job entailed creating a system where BBS field employees (rural and urban) using a seven-inch tablet could seamlessly collect the required index information and directly send the prices to BBS headquarters. Along with the collected price, the BBS will be receiving GPS coordinates for each collected itemed along with a time/date stamp.  Reports as per the BBS requirement, will also be automatically generated and stored using a SaaS program developed by and hosted on a cloud server maintained by ACL. 

On November 11, ACL successfully demonstrated the completed digitized CPI process and is prepared to begin training 185 BBS employees nominated for training.  

Digitization of the CPI will not only reduce paperwork but it will also increase efficiency, accountability and transparency.  

This picture shows two CPI collectors, one using the traditional paper method (left)  and other using the tablet (right)  at a local market in Kurigram.  Whereas the paper method will take several days to be couriered to the main office where it will be manually entered into the system, the tablet information is sent directly, is automatically registered  and can be view immediately.

Digits to All Project Cited in World Bank IC4D 2012 Report

We are proud to announce that our “Digits to All” project has been featured in the World Bank 2012 Information and Communications for Development (IC4D 2012) Report entitled Maximizing Mobile (see page 24).   To view this report, please see the World Bank link below:

World Bank IC4D 2012 Report

DTA II Closeout Report

In reaching towards Bangladesh’s Millennium Development Goals alternative methods need to be utilized in order to achieve the desired targets. Technology fashioned in a usable form can provide the “tool” for development to the masses that currently only an intimate group has access to, this tool being information.

Below is a copy of our DTA II project closeout report. The report discusses in general the findings of the project. The results of this project demonstrates that technology can be used to deliver information to literate, semi literate, and illiterate users alike.  The tablets used in the project are by no means intended to replace facilities, rather to provide immediate information in the interim.  

This report is the sole property of Amadeyr Cloud Ltd. and may not be reproduced in part or in whole with out our written permission.  

 Click on the link below to download the report. 

DTA II Closeout Report  (5.5 MB)

Digits To All (DTA) II project closeout

On July 9th, 2012 the ACL staff along with two Board Members traveled to the site for the purpose of handing out Certificates of appreciation and to personally thank the Moishal and Amarachala villagers for participating in the DTA II project.  Above are a few photos from the certificate handout.  Although many participants were sad that the project was completed they all said they appreciated the opportunity to learn from the tablet.  

Of the 138 contents on the tablet here is a list of the top 10 most viewed:

   Most Viewed Contents

  Complimentary Feeding - Meena Cartoon   
  How to File a General Diary  
  Action Taken After Acid Attack  
  Bengali alphabets (Okkhor) - application 
  Bead-urea Related Folk Song  
  Empowerment of Women  
  Women’s role in Agriculture  
  Improving Cultivation of Herbs and Fruits  
  Animals - interactive application  
  Rats Infestation  

Amadeyr Cloud Ltd. partners with Eucalyptus System Inc.

We are proud to announce that we have  signed a partnership contract with Eucalyptus Systems, creators of the most widely deployed open source on-premise infrastructure as a service (IaaS) cloud platform. For more than 2 years Amadeyr Cloud Ltd. has been building its own infrastructure on open source technologies. 

About Eucalyptus Systems
Eucalyptus Systems provides IT organizations in enterprises, government agencies and Web and mobile businesses with the most widely deployed cloud software  platform for on-premise Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS). To date, over 25,000 Eucalyptus clouds have been started all over the world, including more than 20 percent of Fortune 100 companies. Eucalyptus is specifically designed for enterprise cloud use, and the software platform is uniquely suited for private cloud or hybrid cloud computing. Built as an open source cloud  product, Eucalyptus supports the industry-standard Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud APIs, as well as all major virtualization platforms including Xen, KVM and VMware vSphere, ESX and ESXi. The company has an active and growing ecosystem of customers, partners, developers and researchers that benefit from Eucalyptus’ open, fast and standards-compliant path to cloud computing. For more information about Eucalyptus, please visitwww.eucalyptus.com.

DTA II - End Line Survey Begins

On Sunday, June 24, 2012, the ACL met at site with the local site staff to begin the closeout process for the DTA II project.  Members of household who participated in a baseline survey will be given an end line survey this week.  The purpose of the surveys is to compare what users know before the tablet intervention, and after.  All of the information that they will be tested on is in the tablet and the questions in both surveys are the same except for a few additional questions on their experience with the tablet in the end line. 

Channel I Site Visit

On May 18th, Channel I visited the Digits to All II project site in Nizmawna. During the visit Channel I reporter Rezvi Newaz interviewed several of the household participants along with the Founder and Managing Director Imran Ali. The interview aired on Bangladeshi TV on May 26, 2012.

Channel I Airs May 18th Site Visit

On May 26th, Channel I aired their May 18th visit to our project site in Nizmawna. Several tablet users were interviewed along with the founder and Managing Director Mr. Imran Ali.