STATEMENT OF WORK
	       FOR NPAC TRAINING INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT
		   FOR ASC MSRC PET PROGRAM YEAR 3

In continuation of the year 2 effort, NPAC proposes to deliver the
following components of the multimedia database technology in support
of the PET Collaboration and Training efforts:

1. Completion of the Lecture Recorder and Player effort.

This effort has been nearly completed in year two, with the exception
of MPEG1 encoding station, with the delay resulting from hardware
acquisition problems. The encoding station will be completed by NPAC
by end of August and deployed at ASC by end of September

The cost of this effort does not count towards Year 3 funding.

2. Design, implementation, and deployment of the curricula storage,
retrieval, and management system.

This task has been started during Year 2. At present, a prototype
system is available. The system implements highly optimized three-tier
Web architecture with relational database backend and Java
enhancements to HTTP servers implementing XML-based scripting language
geared towards educational applications. The system, with complexity
and functionality comparable to general-purpose commercial products
such as Cold Fusion, provides an enabling technology for the next
generation of high-performance, searchable, categorizable, manageable
multimedia repositories of courseware and other educational material.

We propose the following deliverables

- Design and implementation of the relational database backend for PET
  courseware material
- Implementation of the courseware management system allowing for
  automatic storage, editing, modification, updating, and retrieval of
  courseware in searchable web-linked database repositories. The system
  will manage all aspects of the courseware creation, storage, delivery,
  and update cycle. The system will also be tightly integrated with at
  least one popular authoring system, preferably PowerPoint, providing
  seamless integration of authoring system with the database
  backend. The system capabilities, among other things, will allow for
  multiparty authoring and for automated assembly of new courseware
  modules from the existing material.
- Implementation of the XML-based scripting language and courseware
  retrieval templates for PET courseware repositories. The templates
  will provide web-based tools for unified synchronous and asynchronous
  retrieval of the courseware.

3. Integration of the automated lecture capturing system with the
courseware repository.

This task will include enhancement of the courseware repository to
handle multimedia educational objects such as audio and video. The
integrated system will automatically store the captured lecture
material in the courseware repository. We will design customized
retrieval templates enabling instant Web publishing of the courseware.

4. Enhancements of the multimedia courseware delivery infrastructure:

Current implementation of the Lecture Recorder and Player uses
streaming technology based on the HTTP protocol. As the HTPP protocol
does not support in-stream addressability, the system implements only
"foils-over-video" paradigm, without random or search-based access
(video-over-foils). Further, the current system supports standard
audio and video formats. We propose the following system enhancements:

- Implementation of the video server backend supporting random-access
  protocol (RTSP) and integrated search capabilities. Extensions of the
  current playback tools to support RTSP.
- As an alternative method of random-access media stream retrieval,
  implementation of the automatic, index-based media stream segmentation
  tool, with media chunks stored in the relational database.
- Extension of the current system to support RealAudio/Video formats.
  This task will include (a) implementation of the MPEG1 to
  RealAudio/Video converter, (b) integration of the RealAudio/Video
  formats into our Java playback tools, and (c) integration of the
  RealAudio/Video server into the overall indexed media stream access
  system.