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Announcements: jan.1.2008 Happy New Year! I just migrated my old site to a new server. Let me know if you find any broken links.
jun.22.2007 All my websites are in transition at the moment, so apologies in advance for the url flooding! Last Updated June 22, 2007.
Research:
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| Introduction | |
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| What are we doing? | The goals of the research projects and deployments here are to produce appropriate (i.e. useful in daily life) technology at low cost in a way that is both socially and financially sustainable. |
| What is the Digital Divide? | Today's world is shaped by availability of information and ability to communicate, both of which are enabled through the advance of the computer as a core part of our existence. However, while these technologies and advances in telecommunications are readily available in developed countries, the cost of setting up the necessary infrastructure is often too high for developing regions or urban areas. The Digital Divide is the phenomenon in which advances in technologies and communications, particularly the Internet, are not available to the urban poor or in developing regions, despite the fact that they are practically commodities for everyone else. |
| Who are we helping? | Current statistics show that only one percent of the people in the world's poorest countries have Internet access. 91% of the world's users live in industrialized countries, accounting for only 19% of the world's population (source). For more information, visit the illustrations at GapMinder |
| What technologies being researched? | Typical technologies used to bridge the digital divide are satellite communications and radio networks. This is rapidly expanding to include wireless mesh networks. More innovative projects include access points on public buses or even usb memory keys carried by couriers on motorbikes. Research groups are also studying user interfaces and education for developing countries, as well as social impact and sustainability. |
| What are the issues? | Main issues are initial costs of infrastructure, maintenance costs, and lack of technologists to work on these problems. Other issues include the impact of technology on the community (technology is far from being a silver bullet) and inter-cultural communication. Solutions need to be cost-effective, resilient to power failures, and sustainable. |
| Related Research and Projects | |
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| NetHope | This group seeks to provide a framework for consultation, education, coordination, productivity, and advocacy on the use of ICT in humanitarian initiatives. Notably, their NetReliefKits are helping provide communications infrastructure for tsunami relief in South India. [website] |
| N-Logue | Originally a part of the TENET group, n-Logue delivers content and services (primarily video-conferencing) throughout India. [website] |
| First Mile Solutions (a.k.a. DakNet) | Originally out of MIT Media Lab, this group has implemented a novel way of providing Internet access for a small village near Calcutta. In essence, they use couriers on motorbikes or buses to physically transport data from a networked base to a remote host. [website] [DakNet: Rethinking Connectivity in Developing Nations] |
| Saami Network Connectivity Project | In this project, researchers from Sweden combine sensor networks with remote internet access for the Saami tribe of Reindeer Herders. Using snowmobiles as data couriers, their research allows children of the nomadic herders access to educational materials from the towns, even as they are following the herds in their annual migration. The sensor networks allow the herders to better track the reindeer. [website] |
| Wizzy Digital Courier | Based in South Africa, this project brings affordable Internet access to students by allowing them to surf a cache of pre-chosen Internet pages. In addition to allowing filtering of content available to the students, downloading new sites overnight is cheaper because phone rates are cheaper then. [website] |
| ZebraNet | This is more of a sensor network project, but its ideas can be used to help deliver content to remote areas. Zebras are equipped with sensor hardware, which will collect data and use other sensors to eventually deliver the data to the researchers at an arbitrary location. [website] |
| Digital Gangetic Plains | Media Lab Asia Kanpur-Lucknow Lab is deploying 802.11b for rural connectivity along the Kanpur-Lucknow corridor. Using long range point-to-point wireless towers, they extend the range of network access to 50-70km. [website] [paper (HotNets)] |
| PalmSurv | PalmSurv is palm-based application for linguists to use to collect phonetic language transcriptions in the field. [website] |
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| Thin Client Networks | |
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| LTSP | The Linux Terminal Server Project allows diskless computers to serve as terminals for a dedicated Linux server, reducing the cost for setup of computer labs and centralizing management for computer services. It is the most frequently used solution for Thin Client Networks. [website] |
| K12Linux | K12LTSP is a distribution of LTSP specifically for schools. It is a member project of SchoolForge. [website] [SchoolForge] |
| Diskless Workstations | This vendor specializes in building diskless workstations for Thin Client Networks... [website] |
| Deployments |
Wizzy Digital Courier (S. Africa) Schoolnet (Namibia) more case studies |
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