Eprashala is a led based projector, which consumes max 110 watts of power and runs on 24 volt DC power supply. Hence can be easily run on solar energy without the need of a Dc to Ac inverter. It is a Eco friendly with absolutely zero maintainence.
How is it different?
Below is the comparison between Eprashala projector and other projector.
Sr.no | Eprashala | Other projector |
Technology | Single lcd + led – simple and repairable | 3 lcd or DLP – sharp display but use and throw |
Lamp | 100 watts led – very loang life span (20,000 hours) | 150 -270 watts mercury vapour lamp (very bright but very short life span only 2000 hours) |
Very cold max temp 70 degrees Celsius | Very hot inside temperature reaches more than 300 degrees Celsius. | |
Replacement cost is very less Rs. 2,700/- | Replacement cost is very high Rs. 12,500/- | |
Various led lamps can be fitted. | Cannot guarantee availability and compatibility of lamp. | |
Running cost | Very less equilvalent to running 2 * 40 watts tube lights | Consumes 250 to 300 watts of power, & detoriating lamp life makes its running cost high. |
Maintenance cost | Zero maintenance | Requires frequent changing of filters, and lamp also. |
Light Engine | Dust free | Gets hot so requires proper ventilations and vents are guarded by filters which require to be changed periodically. |
Brightness | 2000 PEAK Lumens | 2000 ANSI Lumens |
Slightly dull but brighter than any other LED projector | Very bright but the brightness decreases on continuous usage. | |
Brightness is uniform throughout the life of projector. | Brightness decreases very fast upon usage. | |
Repair | Every single part can be replaced, repair cost at any point of time will not exceed 20% the total cost. | Spare availability is a big concern, repair cost is very high |
Warranty | 2 years including lamp | 1 year lamp not included |
What is so unique about it?
In a normal scenario , cost of a conventional projector or more , cost of a a PC or a laptop to operate the projector , cost of electronic examination system for 60 students , and most importantly the cost of contents or the E learning software for 1st to 10 th standard . together we require 3 different units whose connectivity and operation together may not be easy and fool proof. E prahshala including the Elearning software, projector with built in PC & electronic examination system for 60 students will cost 1/4 th cost of its competitors. The device dimensions are (320mm * 240 mm * 120 mm) and will weigh only 4.5 kgs. The most important feature is that it being a single device is absolutely fool proof and can be operated by a person with not enough knowledge of computer.
It can be operated on solar energy and no need of conventional electricity.
Is it really useful?
If put to right use can truly fulfill the needs of rural education and bridge the gap between rural and urban India. It can be used as a medium of mass communication. Tribal upliftment, adult education, farmer education, etc are just a few programs that can be easily incorporated at no additional cost.
We have heard about other projectors with built in PC than why E prashala ?
It is true that we have DLP and other 3 lcd projectors which have a PC built inside but the problem is that they use a conventional mercury vapor lamp which runs at more than 300 degree Celsius when in operation as a result the temperature inside the projector is well above 100 degrees, hence heavy heat insulation and ventilation is required. More the size more the weight and more noise. these devices cannot be used continuously for 16 hours a day. These devices weigh more than 10 kgs and ceiling mounting them can be risky.
Why other projectors cannot be run on solar energy ?
Conventional projectors use mercury vapor lamp which require high starting voltages (nearly 1000 volts) and their power consumption is around 300 watts, they run on 240 volt ac power system. To operate such devices on solar energy we require at least 450 watts of solar panels and also a dc to ac inverters of high capacity (450 watts) the size of batteries required will be also 4 times more. the overall cost of running a conventional projector on solar energy will be almost rs. 2 Lakhs. and will also require more space.
Is the PC built inside powerful enough ?
The Pc built inside the Eprashala uses a AMD Geode LX 800 CPU which is a fanless CPU whose power consumption is only 5 watts. The primary storage on which the OS is loaded is a High speed solid state disk of 8 Gb, though small in size the ssd is capable of holding the OS and the E prashala software. SSD is 3 times faster than a conventional harddisk and has no CRC errors and is extremely reliable. AMD geode LX 800 running Windows XP on SSD is as fast as Intel Atom 1.8 ghz runing Windows XP on any conventional harddisk. The secondary storage is a 64 gb nand disk connected which contains the entire contents and also a backup o the OS for quick restoration. WIFI and LAN are standard features. 3 USB ports are available for connectivity of devices.
Can this system run without a teacher ?
This system can run without a teacher but it requires human presence. Our aim is to make teachers job easier and education for students fun. Since childhood we have been thought " Guru Brahma, Guru Vishnu, Guru Devo Maheshwara" a teacher is like a god to us. No machine can ever replace a human being, it can only make its job easier.
Discipline in the classroom has to be maintained by a teacher, our machine cannot help in doing this.
These days teachers also run on a very tight schedule and our Eprashala system can save on their 50 % of time and 50 % on efforts, but its still upto them to make full utilization of the system.
Is Electronic Examination as effective as normal examination?
Our electronic examination system is a fast way of testing the ability of a student. it can be used to conduct surprise test and objective test on the lesson which the teacher has just finished teaching. It allows teacher to judge the grasping power of students, it help them know the weaker students, and tougher part of syllabus, without putting extra pressure on the students. These exams can be conducted randomly and can be surprised. so the students don't feel pressure of exams.
Though convention examination is a necessity, our E examination can never match it.
How reliable is the system and what is the overall life span?
The entire system has been designed keeping in mind the climatic conditions in India. It is designed to sustain 90 % relative humidity, 45 degrees of hot summer, and extremely dusty conditions. Since based on LED the overall life span is almost 4 times than its competitors and the additional advantage is the compatibility with other available spares like CPU main board, VG card, memory, LED lamp, Power supply.
As per our design it should run at least 5 years without any service calls.