The Georgia Institute of Technology has landed a $9 million contract from the government of South Korea to develop a new multimedia system that could allow a user to watch a television show, talk on the telephone, Twitter and e-mail all at the same time.

It marks the first time the Korean government has chosen a U.S. university to lead one of its research programs, according to a Georgia Tech news release. Georgia Tech was one of 109 universities competing to lead the research effort. The project will work to develop the next generation of “digital convergence devices” that would allow users to combine Internet, telephone, television and other forms of media in a single system operated with hand gestures, body movements and facial expressions.

Four Korean partners will participate in the project: C&S Microwave, a wireless communications company; Celrun Co., a company that combines Internet and television technology; Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul and the Korean Electronics Technology Institute.

The research will be conducted through the newly formed KORUS Research Center for Informersive Systems which will be based on Georgia Tech's Atlanta campus. Jongman Kim, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, will lead the research project.

"In three years, we will have a prototype," Dr. Kim told GlobalAtlanta. "Mass production would be in four to five years." 

Dr. Kim envisions a home system that would be a central platform for all the technology now available for consumers, boosted by a powerful computer processor. "You could be Skyping and watching your television at the same time," he said. "You could be chatting online and talking on your cell phone at the same time. It would be seamless communication."

The system could also be used to operate home security systems and appliances, he said. "It may be the center of home automation in the future," said Dr. Kim.

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