[nukkad] Paper-based storage device

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Paper-based storage device 

 

Are the days for CDs, DVDs, Zip drives over? A computer whizkid is
revolutionizing the computer data storage through his Rainbow
Technology, reports M A Siraj. 

  

 

A student has developed a technique for portable data whereby the data
can now be stored on ordinary paper. And to boot, larger amount of data
can be had on lesser space. The immediate question that pops up in the
mind is how to retrieve the data. Will it be as facile as feeding a
floppy disc or CD into the drive and having it on the monitor? Perhaps
it will be much easier than all that. The piece of paper or even plastic
sheet storing the data has just to be scanned in the scanner and read
over the monitor. 

Named as 'Rainbow Technology', the new technique is the brainchild of
Sainul Abideen, who has just finished his MCA from MES Engineering
College in Kuttipuram in Kerala's Malappuram district.

 

Low cost, high speed

The extremely low-cost technology will drastically reduce the cost of
storage and provide for high speed storage too. Files in any format like
movie files, songs, images, text can be stored using this technology. 

Currently of the several options available for data storage, DVDs
constitute the best mode. But a high quality DVD which is very costly
can store just about 4.7 gigabyte (GB) of data. 

In contrast, the Rainbow Versatile Disc (RVD) can store 90 to 450 GB of
data. And Sainul has simultaneously developed a scanning drive based on
his Rainbow software which will come in smaller sizes to be initially
carried with the laptops and later to fit into their bodies. Sainul says
a CD/DVD consume 16 gm of polycarbonate, a petroleum by-product. 

While a CD costs Rs. 15, his paper or plastic made RVD would cost just
about Rs. 1.50 and would have a 131 times more storage capacity. 

Sainul who has just turned 24, says, instead of using zeroes and ones
for computing, he has used geometric shapes like circles, squares and
triangles for computing which combine with various colours and preserve
the data in images. An RVD therefore looks like a print-out of the
modern art. He says all kinds of data has to be first converted into a
common format called 'Rainbow Format'. 

In a demo at his college laboratory, this author could see text typed on
432 pages of foolscap paper being stored in a four square inch paper.
The author was even shown a 45-second video clip of a Malayalam film
stored on an ordinary paper piece. 

Sainul was guided by Prof. Hyderali, head of the MCA Department of the
College in all these projects. 

Biodegradable 

Sainul says the biggest advantage of the new technology would be the
biodegradable nature of his storage devices which would do away with the
e-waste pollution. 

He says with the popularity of his Rainbow Technology, computer or
fashion magazines in future need not carry CDs in a pack. 

The computable data printed on a paper can be attached in a tearable
sheet and will be capable of carrying even software programmes, or
movies, MP3 data or text. 

Disposable storage 

Sainul is promoting the theme of disposable storage and says newspapers,
magazines and video albums could benefit from the idea and also
distribute their material in this form in order to curtail use of paper
and facilitate the disposal of the waste. 

Sainul is simultaneously moulding the technology into 'Rainbow Cards'
which will be of SIM card size and store 5 GB of data equivalent to
three films of DVD quality. Sainul says as 'Rainbow Cards' will become
popular, Rainbow Card Readers will replace CD drives of mobile phone and
computer notebooks and will enable more data in portable forms for mini
digital readers. Large scale manufacture of the Rainbow card will bring
down its cost to just 50 paise. 

Sainul Abideen is currently in consultation with a UK based company for
manufacture of the Rainbow Cards. 

Databank next? 

Sainul has also put forward the idea of DataBank with Rainbow Technology
which will enable huge servers with a high storage capacity. 

Quoting a research study carried out in the US in 2003, he says the
entire static data in the US would require US 500 crore (Indian Rupees
23,000 crore) for storage with the current storage devices. But Rainbow
based DataBank could reduce the cost to Rs. 35 lakh. 

He says he could construct DataBank with almost 123.60 Peta Byte (PB)
capacity. 

Sainul is also working on project Xpressa, a software package for
regional languages. This will enable the Internet browser to access the
newspapers available on Internet through mobile phone in audible form.

 

The full article can be read on at
http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/sep62006/cyberspace163748200695
.asp

 

Thanks and Regards,

Anantha Narayanan T.L
Associate Consultant | SuperSolutions - IDC
iFlex Solutions Limited, 
143/1, Uttamar Gandhi Salai,
Nungambakkam, Chennai - 600034. INDIA
Direct: +91-44-6678-4329.
Board: +91-44-6678-4000. Extn (4329)
E-Mail: Anantha.Narayanan@iflexsolutions.com

The future begins with Daybreak(tm)

 



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