Muni Sakya
Encyclopedia
Muni Sakya is a Nepal
ese computer programmer credited with helping to usher in Information Technology
(IT) in Nepal. He's also known for designing computer systems that can be operated in the Nepali language.
, Sakya was interested in science and technology from childhood. On the list of boyhood achievements is a radio receiver set that he designed and fabricated to listen to Radio Nepal
. To satisfy his keen interest in electronics
, he opted for engineering
, and after obtaining his Diploma in Radio Engineering from Calcutta, India in 1962, he joined Radio Nepal
as a technician.
In 1970, Muni went to the UK on a British Council
scholarship and obtained a degree in Computer Engineering. After his return from the UK, he designed and fabricated several devices; a laboratory type stabilized power supply and a sine wave
generator. Muni went to France in 1973, where he worked from until 1979. It was in France that he decided to switch to the field of computers. He made microprocessor-based controllers and video card
s while doing a course in Communication, Digital Electronics and Computer Techniques there.
In 1979, he made the first microcomputer in Nepal. For this, he made the power supply unit and video card himself. He bought a keyboard from the USA and made the monitor from a Russian television. At the South Asian Regional Conference on computers, held in Kathmandu in 1979, Mr. Sakya demonstrated his microcomputer.
Sakya went to the USA in 1981. He worked in developing floppy disk controller
s with 900Kb (quad density) storage space. As there were no I/O cards, after he came back from the USA, he made I/O cards required for the hard disk. He also designed microprocessor-based traffic controllers in Kathmandu. Back in his own country, he opened the first company for manufacturing computer cards, Sun Moon Computer Industry, in 1995, and also established Hi-Tech Pioneer Ltd, an Internet Service Provider
.
Mr. Sakya’s primary interest is in designing systems that can be operated in the Nepali language. It is not easy to program in the Nepali language. Because of the difficulty in programming, computing in Nepalese was limited to word processing. He did his first demonstration of computing in the Nepali language on a microcomputer with the display of Nepalese National Anthem in Devanagari script in 1983 on a CP/M
-based computer. He received the Science Award in December 1983 for this work. He also developed a software package complete with all Nepali characters. Certificates and checks were printed in the Nepali language using it. Now professional Nepali packages can be developed in the Nepali language. Mr. Sakya is still working towards computing with Nepali menus and commands so that people can work with computers without knowledge of English.
Muni Sakya has been experimenting on robotics
for number of years. Around 2004-2005, he developed a robot (known as the "Munis Robot") that can speak Nepali with the capability to discern obstacles by the help of built-in ultrasonic, infra red, mechanical whiskers, and other visual and audio devices.
In 2005, the Royal Nepal Academy of Science & Technology (RONAST) conferred Muni B. Sakya with felicitations and a cash award of Rs. 50,000 as an A class scientist in the field of Information Technology.
On May 17, 2006 for the first time in Nepal, Mr. Sakya's supercomputer
with 16 nodes was demonstrated to the press and many other people as well. This supercomputer works on open source
OS with OpenMosix
and Oscar
. The supercomputer that used to cost millions of dollars in the past is envisaged by utilizing sixteen computers in cluster bringing down the cost drastically for computing bigger and complex jobs with the fraction of a time that is many giga-flops per second. This computer is on display at High Tech Pioneer Pvt. Ltd, located at Kalikasthan, Dillibazar, Nepal.
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
ese computer programmer credited with helping to usher in Information Technology
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
(IT) in Nepal. He's also known for designing computer systems that can be operated in the Nepali language.
Information Technology in Nepal, Muni Sakya
Born in 1942, in PatanPatan
Patan may refer to places in Afghanistan, India and Nepal:Afghanistan*Patan, AfghanistanIndia*Patan district, in the state of Gujarat**Patan, Gujarat, the main city of the same district*Patan, Rajasthan, an historical city in Rajputana...
, Sakya was interested in science and technology from childhood. On the list of boyhood achievements is a radio receiver set that he designed and fabricated to listen to Radio Nepal
Radio Nepal
Radio Nepal was established on 1 April 1951. Initially, the transmission lasted for 4 hours and 30 minutes through a 250 Watt short-wave transmitter. Over the years, Radio Nepal has strengthened its institutional capacity considerably and diversified itself in terms of programme format, technical...
. To satisfy his keen interest in electronics
Electronics
Electronics is the branch of science, engineering and technology that deals with electrical circuits involving active electrical components such as vacuum tubes, transistors, diodes and integrated circuits, and associated passive interconnection technologies...
, he opted for engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
, and after obtaining his Diploma in Radio Engineering from Calcutta, India in 1962, he joined Radio Nepal
Radio Nepal
Radio Nepal was established on 1 April 1951. Initially, the transmission lasted for 4 hours and 30 minutes through a 250 Watt short-wave transmitter. Over the years, Radio Nepal has strengthened its institutional capacity considerably and diversified itself in terms of programme format, technical...
as a technician.
In 1970, Muni went to the UK on a British Council
British Council
The British Council is a United Kingdom-based organisation specialising in international educational and cultural opportunities. It is registered as a charity both in England and Wales, and in Scotland...
scholarship and obtained a degree in Computer Engineering. After his return from the UK, he designed and fabricated several devices; a laboratory type stabilized power supply and a sine wave
Sine wave
The sine wave or sinusoid is a mathematical function that describes a smooth repetitive oscillation. It occurs often in pure mathematics, as well as physics, signal processing, electrical engineering and many other fields...
generator. Muni went to France in 1973, where he worked from until 1979. It was in France that he decided to switch to the field of computers. He made microprocessor-based controllers and video card
Video card
A video card, Graphics Card, or Graphics adapter is an expansion card which generates output images to a display. Most video cards offer various functions such as accelerated rendering of 3D scenes and 2D graphics, MPEG-2/MPEG-4 decoding, TV output, or the ability to connect multiple monitors...
s while doing a course in Communication, Digital Electronics and Computer Techniques there.
In 1979, he made the first microcomputer in Nepal. For this, he made the power supply unit and video card himself. He bought a keyboard from the USA and made the monitor from a Russian television. At the South Asian Regional Conference on computers, held in Kathmandu in 1979, Mr. Sakya demonstrated his microcomputer.
Sakya went to the USA in 1981. He worked in developing floppy disk controller
Floppy disk controller
A floppy disk controller is a special-purpose chip and associated disk controller circuitry that directs and controls reading from and writing to a computer's floppy disk drive . This article contains concepts common to FDCs based on the NEC µPD765 and Intel 8072A or 82072A and their descendants,...
s with 900Kb (quad density) storage space. As there were no I/O cards, after he came back from the USA, he made I/O cards required for the hard disk. He also designed microprocessor-based traffic controllers in Kathmandu. Back in his own country, he opened the first company for manufacturing computer cards, Sun Moon Computer Industry, in 1995, and also established Hi-Tech Pioneer Ltd, an Internet Service Provider
Internet service provider
An Internet service provider is a company that provides access to the Internet. Access ISPs directly connect customers to the Internet using copper wires, wireless or fiber-optic connections. Hosting ISPs lease server space for smaller businesses and host other people servers...
.
Mr. Sakya’s primary interest is in designing systems that can be operated in the Nepali language. It is not easy to program in the Nepali language. Because of the difficulty in programming, computing in Nepalese was limited to word processing. He did his first demonstration of computing in the Nepali language on a microcomputer with the display of Nepalese National Anthem in Devanagari script in 1983 on a CP/M
CP/M
CP/M was a mass-market operating system created for Intel 8080/85 based microcomputers by Gary Kildall of Digital Research, Inc...
-based computer. He received the Science Award in December 1983 for this work. He also developed a software package complete with all Nepali characters. Certificates and checks were printed in the Nepali language using it. Now professional Nepali packages can be developed in the Nepali language. Mr. Sakya is still working towards computing with Nepali menus and commands so that people can work with computers without knowledge of English.
Muni Sakya has been experimenting on robotics
Robotics
Robotics is the branch of technology that deals with the design, construction, operation, structural disposition, manufacture and application of robots...
for number of years. Around 2004-2005, he developed a robot (known as the "Munis Robot") that can speak Nepali with the capability to discern obstacles by the help of built-in ultrasonic, infra red, mechanical whiskers, and other visual and audio devices.
In 2005, the Royal Nepal Academy of Science & Technology (RONAST) conferred Muni B. Sakya with felicitations and a cash award of Rs. 50,000 as an A class scientist in the field of Information Technology.
On May 17, 2006 for the first time in Nepal, Mr. Sakya's supercomputer
Supercomputer
A supercomputer is a computer at the frontline of current processing capacity, particularly speed of calculation.Supercomputers are used for highly calculation-intensive tasks such as problems including quantum physics, weather forecasting, climate research, molecular modeling A supercomputer is a...
with 16 nodes was demonstrated to the press and many other people as well. This supercomputer works on open source
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
OS with OpenMosix
OpenMosix
openMosix was a free cluster management system that provided single-system image capabilities, e.g. automatic work distribution among nodes. It allowed program processes to migrate to machines in the node's network that would be able to run that process faster...
and Oscar
Open Source Cluster Application Resources
Open Source Cluster Application Resources is a Linux-based software installation for high-performance cluster computing.OSCAR allows users to install a Beowulf type high performance computing cluster. Beowulf Clusters are scalable performance clusters based on commodity hardware, on a private...
. The supercomputer that used to cost millions of dollars in the past is envisaged by utilizing sixteen computers in cluster bringing down the cost drastically for computing bigger and complex jobs with the fraction of a time that is many giga-flops per second. This computer is on display at High Tech Pioneer Pvt. Ltd, located at Kalikasthan, Dillibazar, Nepal.
Programs Developed by Mr. Muni Sakya
- Voice Recognition System
- Voice Dictionary
- Computer-aided Education
- Actual Nepali to English, English to Nepali dictionary
- Radiation Monitor
- Nepalese Subtitle Display
- Nepali Multimedia