Providing access to knowledge
Solar-powered computers for remote locations
An MSU-designed computer system powered by the sun is empowering children in Tanzania by giving them access to the vast educational resources and information of the Internet.
Located southwest of Mount Kilimanjaro, the remote village of Losirwa is like many communities across Tanzania that lack not only computers but also electricity to power them. Books and other educational materials are scarce, and the Maasai people’s herding way of life is slowly disappearing as government regulations allow takeover of their land, leaving them little room for grazing. Sunshine, however, is abundant.
With that in mind, and with the support of computer manufacturer Lenovo, student and faculty researchers in MSU’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in the College of Engineering and the Department of Telecommunication, Information Studies, and Media in the College of Communication Arts and Sciences have collaborated to design and install a rugged, low-cost computer system that uses energy generated by solar panels.
Pioneering prototype
In spring 2008, senior engineering and telecommunication students designed an Internet-enabled, solar-powered computer system. Then in the fall, a second team of engineering and telecommunication students refined the design and produced a workable, four-terminal computer system as part of their senior design course project.
The project began a few years ago, when Erik Goodman, professor of electrical and computer engineering, and Kurt DeMaagd, assistant professor of telecommunication, information systems, and media, approached Lenovo with the idea of creating cost-effective solar-powered computers for developing nations and remote locations. Lenovo signed on to fund the research, and, today, MSU also is contributing to the program as part of a new undergraduate specialization in Information and Communication Technologies for Development. Students in the new specialization will take two classes focused on the developing world and a class on technology for use in developing countries, as well as participate in a field experience that extends the work begun in Tanzania.
In June 2008, Goodman and DeMaagd, joined by Jennifer Olson, associate professor of telecommunication, information studies, and media, went to Tanzania to find a local partner and a location to install a solar-powered computer system. Olson had been working with other researchers to identify Maasai villages that were suitable candidates for such projects.
Engineering professors Aloys Mvuma and Dominic Chambega of the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania’s capital were excited to partner with MSU. They provided the team with essential information about Tanzanian infrastructure, as well as direction and ongoing support to help ensure that the program will fulfill the needs of the community and be sustainable.
In December, the team of engineering students that designed the system—Ben Kershner, Jakub Mazur, Eric Tarkleson, and Josh Wong—traveled to Tanzania with faculty members Goodman, DeMaagd, and Olson. They met with their African colleagues and acquired computer and solar power parts in Dar es Salaam before moving on to Losirwa.
Working right up to the day they were returning to the United States, the team assembled, installed, and tested the multiterminal, Internet-enabled computer and solar power system in Losirwa’s Baraka Primary School—the first primary school in Tanzania to have Internet access. Finally, they trained community members and turned over responsibility for the system to the village.
Education for the future
Now the Baraka Primary School not only has blackboards, paper, and pencils but also access to information.
“The availability of a resource with which text information, maps, pictures, charts, and videos can be found changes the landscape,” says Goodman. “Imagine teaching science without pictures.”
The newly installed system operates from a list of approved Internet sites, including msu.edu, a special version of Wikipedia designed for students, and several Swahili resources. Plans call for more content to be added by the design-and-install team, working with MSU telecommunication faculty, MSU students who are studying Swahili, and university students in Tanzania.
Once young Tanzanian students learn to type, use a mouse, and navigate a computer, the first goal is to prepare older students for the secondary school entrance exam. “If we can get a higher proportion of students to the secondary school, that will be a major accomplishment,” says Goodman.
Many elders of the community believe their future depends on educating their children so they will be able to participate in public discourse and influence government decisions, protecting their land and their way of life and making possible more life choices.
“We know this is a small installation, but it is a start,” says Goodman. “The Maasai need trained professionals, including doctors, teachers, and entrepreneurs. If they have access to education, then the future can produce Maasai with advanced training who come back to the villages and are literally lifesavers. This program is one starting point to paving the path to education to provide a better quality of life for future generations.”
Life-changing experience
The installation of the computer system also proved a rewarding experience for the MSU faculty and students.
“Once word got around that we were in the village, the primary school students came from all over to see what we were doing,” says Tarkleson.
While the MSU students worked on assembling the computer system, the village students hung out with them—practicing their English, learning about computers, and enticing the team into some football—soccer—in the courtyard.
“I think I learned more from them than they did from me,” says Kershner. “They are so eager to engage in everything. It was awe inspiring.”
While delighting many with glimpses of a world they’d never before experienced, the computer system is quenching a thirst for information and helping break a cycle in which lack of modern infrastructure has led to lack of adequate education.
And with Baraka Primary School as the first in a series of schools that will receive assistance, the MSU project is paving the way for more cost-effective solutions that could make their way into many villages in Tanzania and other developing countries. It’s a pioneering prototype that’s already democratizing knowledge in one village and has the potential to transform lives around the globe.
*Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to read PDF documents.