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Project ESSAI, "Experimental Service Sale Automation
on an IBC network", has assessed the benefits and
opportunities for broadband tele-shopping applications
addressing the general public in open locations. Project
objectives are to provide the basic concepts and architecture
of future tele-shopping systems, implement terminals
and a centre of operation for the sales of services
and goods based on an broadband ATM network and conduct
controlled experiments in a real environment in order
to determine acceptance vis-à-vis the general
public. In ESSAI, COSI was technical coordinator and prime
contractor of the consortium of thirteen Italian and
European companies that have jointly developed the system.
These companies were: COSI (I), SEVA (I), ShowBiz (I),
Ascom Autelca (CH), Ascom Tech (CH), Thomson CSF (F),
Syseca (F), OST (F), STZ (D), Elektronik Centralen (DK).
Project ARGOSI
This project arose out of the observation that graphics, OSI and other standards were generally being developed in isolation, and that insufficient attention was paid to the special needs of applications whose requirements span several standards. As distributed computing becomes the norm, the requirements for interworking between graphics and networking standards become more acute. A wide range of applications were classified in terms of their needs in terms of graphics, networking and other required services. The extent to which these could be satisfied by existing or emerging standards was assessed. Recommendations to standards bodies then followed. The project constructed one major demonstration of graphics and networking services for a realistic prototype application. The demonstration concerned a geographical application where a user was able to consult distant graphical data over a map. In particular, ARGOSI experimented the transfer, over the X.25 public network, of CGM graphic metafiles among heterogeneous graphic workstations at the premises of the different project partners. The file transfer protocol used was FTAM. The ARGOSI research consortium was formed by: Thomson
CSF (F), COSI (I), GMD Fokus (D), HITEC (GR), I.N.R.I.A.
(F), Rutherford Appleton Laboratories (UK), TECSIEL
(I). Project TOPIC
The overall goal of project TOPIC was to develop a comprehensive verification technology for advanced broadband services and protocols. Broadband integrated services networking, in fact, imposes new requirements on verification (e.g. performance monitoring), which can not be fulfilled by existing methods like the. OSI Reference Model based approaches. The project entailed:
TOPIC was the continuation of project ITACA (see below), that defined the general methodologies for protocol conformance testing in broadband communications. The TOPIC partners were: Verilog (F), Clemessy (F),
COSI (I), Dassault Automatismes & Telecommunications
(F), Etnoteam (I), GMD Fokus (D), INTRACOM (GR), Siemens
AG (D), Technical University Berlin (D), University
of Stirling (UK).
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ITACA
- IBC Testing Architecture for Conformance Assessment |
Project ITACA aimed at identifying methodologies, procedures, and tools needed to define the protocol testing environment for an integrated broadband communication network, and implement the conformance testing system able to handle the high data rates involved. The development of testing tools and equipment was outside the scope of the project but the relevant requirements were specified.
The project focused, in particular, on the use of Formal Description Techniques (Estelle, Lotos, SDL) in the development of of automated procedures for conformance testing of broadband ISDN protocols.
COSI was the proposer of ITACA, and the coordinator
and prime contractor of the research consortium formed
by: GMD Fokus (D), FATME (I), Fondazione U. Bordoni
(I), Jutland Telephone (DK), Labein (E), Universidad
Politecnica de Madrid - DIT (E), Telefonica Investigacion
y Desarrollo (E).
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Project R1044 - BUNI
R1044/BUNI
- Broadband User/Network Interface |
The main objective of the BUNI sub-project was to develop a detailed specification at layers 1, 2 , and 3 of the OSI seven layer model for the broadband (ATM) user/network interface such that it can independently be implemented by customer premises equipment manufacturers and network operators. The project produced the specifications of the 150 Mbit/s UNI and the 600 Mbit/s UNIs for both coax cable and optical fibre.
The R1044 Consortium was formed by 46 European companies
representing all major telecom operators, telecom equipment
manufacturers, and several research institutions, like
COSI.
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Project UCOL
UCOL
- Ultra wide-bandwidth Coherent Optical Lan |
The UCOL project aimed the realisation of the prototype of a large communication system whose main objective was to fully exploit the huge bandwidth of fibre optics to simultaneously transmit on a large number of wideband channels (100 at approximately 160 Mbit/s) using optical frequency division multiplexing.
In the project COSI was responsible for the definition of the network management methodology.
UCOL partners were: Alcatel/FACE Research Centre (I),
COSI (I), Daimler-Benz Research (D), University of Southampton
(UK ), INESC (P), IDATE (F), Alcatel Alsthom Recherche
(F), SEL Alcatel Research Centre (D), Telettra Espana
(E), PTT Research (NL), STC Plc (UK).
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National projects
COSI is an active member of FTI "Forum per la Tecnologia dell'Informazione" (Forum for IT Technology), a not-for-profit association operating in fields of informatics, telecommunication, and multimedia under the auspices of the Italian "Ministero per le Attività Produttive" (Ministry for Production Activities).
In this context, COSI was engaged as coordinator of the Interoperability Work Group of EDIFORUM Italia, set up to promote widespread acceptance of EDI, E-commerce and the related open systems technologies.
The work group activated a number of EDI cross-sector projects with the view of demonstrating that, through careful adoption of open standards, there is a concrete possibility that heterogeneous systems could interoperate over different network.
The projects so far undertaken are:
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Enterprise-to-Bank Payment Systems
The project demonstrated the full applicability of a standard-based EDI approach in the context of payment procedures via transfer order between banks and enterprises, as opposed to the usual approach based on proprietary data formats. - Local Administrations
The project was a joint effort between FTI-EDIForum Italia and a number of public Local Administrations in the city of Reggio Emilia. Together they set up and operated a demonstrator showing how services provided to citizens could effectively be improved by exchanging data among the involved public administrations by means of open EDI based procedures. -
INTRASTAT
Project INTRASTAT was carried out in cooperation with the Customs Department of the Italian Ministry of Finance. It aimed at experimenting the use of EDIFACT in the telematic transmission of the monthly INTRASTAT declaration, a compulsory statement for all subjects that sell or buy goods to/from countries of the European Union. The INTRASTAT statement transmission, which was usually done in paper form or by means of mailing diskettes, was implemented as an EDI application using the EDIFACT CUSDEC/INSTAT message and the public X.25 network.
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