A cheap solar powered tablet computer is being developed to help children in developing countries have access to computer technology.
Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University (NTU) Houston’s Rice University and an Indian nonprofit, Villages for Development and Learning Foundation (ViDAL) are working on the I-Slate, an electronic version of the hand-held slates that millions of Indian children use in schools today and similar to the iPad.
Developed at the Institute of Sustainable and Applied Infodynamics (ISAID) at NTU, the first I-Slates will undergo their second round of tests in India later this month.
The I-slate is based on power-sipping microchips that use just a fraction of the electricity of processors in today’s notebook computers. The chips will allow the I-slate to run on solar power using small solar panels embedded in the frame, like those used in hand-held calculators.
“The I-slate can help bring the marvels of ICT into thousands of rural schools and contribute to an improved learning experience,” said Rajeswari Pingali, ViDAL president.
Most of the students involved in the tests have never used a computer, but have immediately taken to the technology said those involved with the project.
In March last year, the I-Slate was selected by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) as one of seven technologies that “will have world-changing implications on the way humans interact with machines, the world and each other.”
Villages in Development and Learning Foundation is a non profit organization working to promote development of rural communities in India. It seeks to nurture technological innovations to benefit communities that are far removed in economic, geographical and social contexts.
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(Photo credit: ISAID/NTU)
