Aurion
08.07.08, 17:52
Microsoft added an award for Rural Innovation for the first time to its Imagine Cup competition this year, and it attracted a number of projects aimed at solving problems faced by people in developing nations.
The point of the Imagine Cup is for students around the world to come up with solutions to problems using technology. In the Rural Innovation category, two of the finalists have developed projects aimed squarely at people in poor nations.
One of those projects is a system to provide timely bus information in South Africa. It's no small matter. Many people in South Africa can't afford a car yet road and other conditions ensure buses are late most of the time. Worse, waiting for a bus isn't a smart option, according to the South African team, Smile, because it makes you a target for thieves.
The government can't solve the problem with electronic sign boards to follow bus activity, either, because such boards would be stolen as quickly as they're put up, Smile said.
"We therefore needed to find a means of reaching people from all classes of society, and which takes heed of the limitations within South Africa. It was then during our research that we discovered that South Africa has the single highest mobile usage density per capita in the world. With this knowledge, we immediately had our answer. The humble SMS," the group said.
Source :
PC World - Microsoft Imagine Cup Attracts Projects Aimed at Poor (http://www.pcworld.com/article/148050/microsoft_imagine_cup_attracts_projects_aimed_at_p oor.html)
The point of the Imagine Cup is for students around the world to come up with solutions to problems using technology. In the Rural Innovation category, two of the finalists have developed projects aimed squarely at people in poor nations.
One of those projects is a system to provide timely bus information in South Africa. It's no small matter. Many people in South Africa can't afford a car yet road and other conditions ensure buses are late most of the time. Worse, waiting for a bus isn't a smart option, according to the South African team, Smile, because it makes you a target for thieves.
The government can't solve the problem with electronic sign boards to follow bus activity, either, because such boards would be stolen as quickly as they're put up, Smile said.
"We therefore needed to find a means of reaching people from all classes of society, and which takes heed of the limitations within South Africa. It was then during our research that we discovered that South Africa has the single highest mobile usage density per capita in the world. With this knowledge, we immediately had our answer. The humble SMS," the group said.
Source :
PC World - Microsoft Imagine Cup Attracts Projects Aimed at Poor (http://www.pcworld.com/article/148050/microsoft_imagine_cup_attracts_projects_aimed_at_p oor.html)