HP Labs India

The San Francisco Chronicle
April 07, 2006

Four years after Hewlett-Packard set up a major research laboratory in India, the Palo Alto company unveiled some of the products Thursday that are aimed at what the company calls its "next billion customers."

For instance, Indian scientists showed a special keyboard that can read hand movements enabling the user to write in Hindi. The keyboard, which was made available two weeks ago, could help millions of Indians who are unable to take advantage of the Internet because personal computers are based mainly in English.

"We're working on things that will be in the market three to five years ahead," said senior research scientist R. Krishnan, at a demonstration at HP Labs in Palo Alto. "It's geared toward the next billion customers in India and China."

The computing giant set up HP Labs India in 2002 to come up with products that would appeal to emerging markets, mainly in India and China, where poverty, cultural barriers and other issues still restrict people's access to information technology. Located in the nation's tech capital of Bangalore, HP Labs India has a staff of 50, including contract researchers. The company has about 19,000 employees in India.

India has 14 major languages and many dialects, and although 68 million people there speak English, less than 10 percent can conduct business in that language, said Ajay Gupta, HP Labs India's director.

The gesture-based keyboard works with a special pen to allow non- English speakers to surf the Web and even create digital documents.

HP Labs India has also developed a tablet for filling out paper forms that can send data directly to a computer. The device, which is still being tested, would eliminate a common problem in India and other developing countries where paper forms need to be retyped onto the network.

HP scientists also hope to tap into the 600 million Indian television viewers with a system that would allow them to print out materials from the TV.

Gupta said the technology, which is being field tested, can be used for classroom instruction or for public education programs for health and civic issues.

For example, a class watching a TV broadcast of a course would also be able to print out related study guides.

HP Labs India has also come up with technology to verify paper documents with the help of barcode and scanning technologies. Gupta said the technology, which is being tested, would make it easier for Indians who have to fill out specific forms for a variety of transactions, such as applying for loans or for jobs.

HP Labs Director Dick Lampman said the company hopes its research efforts in India would allow it to see "beyond the roadmap."

"If you're in the technology business, you better be thinking of what's next, because the ball keeps moving," he said.

By Benjamin Pimentel

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