Case Study #2
Telecom Simulator System
Telecom Simulator System
Problem
A local advertising agency, under contract with one of the major telecom companies, had an urgent need to build a demonstration unit for various telecom products within 2 weeks as part of a new product rollout for use in selling telecom products.
The sales case was intended to emulate some of the functionality of telecom devices (telephone, pagers) without the need of having these devices activated with real service contracts thereby creating significant savings in cost and convenience.
Solution
After a quick review of the available options and working with the agency, we decided to embed in the sales case a remote controlled device that could activate various sounds typical of each particular device (Phone ringing, pager beeping and so on), and use an 8-bit RISC processor to manage the various circuits.
We designed a multi-channel audio storage device using existing integrated circuits capable of recording digital sound files. We recorded the appropriate sounds and stored them in the digital circuitry. The separate digital channels were multiplexed into a common audio amplifier driving a speaker that was hidden in the sales case. LED lamps were installed next to each telecom device that would activate in conjunction with the devices report, thereby giving the sense of that device operating.
Each channel could be activated to playback a recorded sound by use of a single multi-channel RF transmitter/receiver system, similar to the type used for security on automobiles. In the final prototype, this transmitter allowed the sales person to activate the various sounds coincident with the presentation.
All of this work was conceived, designed and prototyped in a period of 2 weeks.
