Archive for category: Technology

Information and stories about technology news.

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Green Technology

Action Against Hunger Foundation
Go Green. Green is good. These are just a pair of expressions that represent society’s current attitude towards energy and environmental matters. In 2015, being environmentally conscience is progressive. People make more of an effort today than ever before to recycle and take care of resources. Another norm in our modern society is technology. Advances in technology occur more rapidly each year, constantly improving aspects of society. Pairing a positive environmental attitude with a rapid technological development gives us green energy, as a potential future power source.

The idea of green technology was born from Tokamak Energy, a start-up company that aims at pioneering fusion energy for the near future. An excerpt from Tokamak’s website explains the process by which this can be achieved. The website says, “Tokamak Energy aims to accelerate the development of fusion energy by combining two emerging technologies – spherical tokamaks and high-temperature superconductors. Tokamaks are the most advanced fusion concept in the world, but we take an innovative approach to develop fusion faster.” A tokamak is “a device using a magnetic field to confine a plasma in the shape of a torus.” By using advanced fusion technology, scientists are getting closer to creating a clean, renewable energy source for the future.

Fusion energy is gaining more and more momentum, garnering large investments for humanitarians and tech giants alike. No investment will likely be bigger than Bill Gates’ healthy contribution of two billion dollars. An article from Financial Times reported on the boom coming from green energy building around Tokamak Energy. Gates is the focal point of the piece as his commitment to green energy has started to garner public attention.

An excerpt from the article reads, “Gates is also calling for a tripling of public support for renewables research, to help fight climate change, from the present level of about $6 billion a year worldwide.” With Gates leading the charge, clean energy has a chance to become a reality in only a few years rather than in the previously anticipated decades.

– Diego Alejandro Catala

Sources: FT, Tokamak Energy

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4 Charity Apps and Websites

charity_apps
Making a difference has become increasingly easy in the technological age. Various mobile charity applications, websites and internet services have made effortless giving entail just another click of a button in one’s daily routine. Here are four digital platforms that allow you to give while doing the things you already do, without spending an extra penny:

1. Tab for a Cause

Tab for a Cause is a browser extension that resets a user’s homepage to a customizable Tab for a Cause page. Every time a user opens a tab, this page is displayed. Tab for a Cause generates between 1/10 and 1/3 of a cent of ad revenue with every opened tab because of the various advertisements displayed on the page. For every tab opened, users receive a “heart” which they can allocate to different causes of their choice including human rights, water, education, health and the environment. The money generated is allocated accordingly at the end of each quarter to corresponding charities that have partnered with the company. The site reports that it has raised over $135,000 for charity since its launch.

2. Charity Miles

Charity Miles pairs users with corporate sponsors that donate to charity for every mile users bike, run or walk. When users are ready to exercise, they can open the app to select one of nine non-profit organizations and then proceed with their routine. While the app is open, an advertisement from the sponsor is displayed. The charity app uses mobile GPS services to measure distance traveled. Biking earns up to 10 cents per mile, while walking and running earns up to 25 cents per mile. Sponsors include Timex Sports, Johnson & Johnson and Kenneth Cole.

3. Feedie

Feedie is a mobile charity app that is an excellent effortless giving tool for foodies who love to share their experiences with others. The app allows users to check in at participating restaurants around the United States, take a picture of the food and share it via social media. For every picture, participating restaurants donate 25 cents for the publicity. This pays for approximately one meal from The Lunchbox Fund, which distributes daily meals to at-risk students in South Africa.
Therefore, every photo of a meal translates into the provision of a real meal to a child in need.

4. Check-in for Good

Check-in for Good is a mobile app that allows users to raise money for causes when they check-in at participating businesses on their mobile devices. When consumers download the app, they have the opportunity to choose the causes that they want to support and find local businesses that support those causes. When they check-in using GPS services on their phones, the businesses donate a small amount to the given cause. Participating businesses also provide promotional offers through the app, which gives consumers a good deal. Users have control of whether or not they want to share their check-ins on social media. They can also use geo-targeted advertising to find new businesses to explore. Behind the scenes, the platform allows fundraising groups to ask local businesses to make micro-donations when someone checks-in with an offer to support that group. This allows consumers to save money and businesses to expand their reach, along with raising money for specific causes.

While these charity apps and websites may not produce life-changing results on an individual scale, the donations can certainly add up.

– Arin Kerstein

Sources: ABC News, Check-in for Good, Feedie, Life Hacker, Nonprofit Quarterly, Tab for a Cause
Photo: Verizon

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How Mobile Phones Help the Poor

How Mobile Phones Help the Poor
Mobile technology has been shown to have a tremendous effect in helping alleviate global poverty. Over six billion of the approximately seven billion people in the world have access to mobile phones, as shown in a 2014 UNESCO report. By 2016, it is estimated that there will be one billion mobile phones in Africa. Such widespread access opens up a window of opportunity to utilize mobile technology as an instrument in improving the lives of users in developing countries.

According to UN Millennium Project Director Jeffrey Sachs, cell phones are the key instrument in transforming poverty-stricken lives.

“Poverty is almost equated with isolation in many places of the world,” he said, as quoted in a CNN article. “Poverty results from the lack of access to markets, to emergency health services, access to education, the ability to take advantage of government services and so on. What the mobile phone — and more generally IT technology — is ending is that kind of isolation in all its different varieties.”

From the educational sphere to the economy, access to mobile technology has already significantly improved the lives of many across various aspects of life.

 

4 Ways Mobile Phones Help the Poor

Literacy and education
Where there are no books, there are still mobile phones. Utilizing mobile technology is one of the easiest ways to increase literacy rates simply because phones are already in the hands of members of developing nations. Mobile reading provides a much cheaper and more convenient alternative to reading from books. While cell phones cannot teach users how to read, they are shown to significantly increase literacy retention rates. Several mobile applications and programs exist to increase access to mobile reading in the developing world. Programs such as MobiLiteracy Uganda provide parents with daily reading activities to complete with their children via audio SMS so that illiterate parents can still work to improve their children’s literacy. It is not necessary for users to own smartphones because even the cheapest mobile models allow access to mobile reading.

Agriculture
Mobile technology has completely transformed the lives of farmers in developing nations, as it allows them access to market prices without the timely concession of long-distance traveling to faraway markets. Additionally, access to weather information can help farmers prepare for in-climate conditions that may affect their crops. Several mobile applications exist to provide farmers with information about nearby markets and prices, mapping to potential clients, feeding schedules for cattle and local veterinary information.

Banking
Millions of Africans utilize mobile technology as a banking instrument. Since 2007, Safaricom and Vodafone’s M-PESA application has allowed users to store funds on their mobile decides in order to transfer funds to other users, pay bills, or make other purchases. In 2009, a 10th of Kenya’s GDP was being circulated via M-PESA. Former Safaricom CEO Michael Joseph noted that mobile technology has been transformative for the informal business sector, which comprises about 70 percent of jobs in Kenya. This increase has been instrumental in helping surge GDP rates throughout the developing world.

Health
Mobile phones allow endless distribution of health resources, which has led to the development of mHealth, or mobile health, programs. Field workers can use their mobile devices to work with experts to determine what conditions are treatable at a local level and what patients need to be transported to a hospital. This increased communication saves time and money and also helps to ensure appropriate treatment. Text messages have also shown to be vital in communicating stock levels of medications and resources in remote locations. Additionally, public health organizations have organized text message campaigns to increase preventative habits against fatal diseases.

– Arin Kerstein

Sources: CNN, Fortune, National Geographic, UNESCO, USAID,
Photo: Sustainable Brands

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Photonic Fence Zapping Malaria, One Mosquito at a Time

Photonic_fence
A laser defense system from the scientists at Intellectual Ventures may prove to be an effective weapon against malaria-spreading mosquitoes.

The device is known as a “photonic fence” and works by monitoring a virtual field for disturbances caused by insects. Once an intruder is properly identified as a mosquito, it is targeted with a deadly laser. Within a fraction of a second, the device shears off the bug’s wing, leaving it dead or incapacitated.

Bees, butterflies and humans need not worry, however; the software powering the photonic fence is precise. It can determine not only the type of insect but also its gender and species. This accuracy is needed because only mosquitoes of the genus Anopheles carry malaria and only females bite people. The software analyzes insect size, wing movement pattern, airspeed and other characteristics to discern friend from foe.

Naturally, the idea is not without its skeptics. One concern is that rural areas often have unreliable power grids. The scientists at Intellectual Ventures hope to solve this problem with the use of solar cells. The laser itself doesn’t require much energy, as it targets the wings of a mosquito rather than its tough exoskeleton.

Intellectual Ventures sees the device as supplementing, rather than replacing current measures of control. These include habitat destruction, nets for homes and beds, as well as pesticides. Nonlethal uses of the photonic fence are also possible, such as monitoring mosquitoes or agricultural pests so that they can be treated with more traditional methods.

The company is currently field testing the device in a partnership with Lighting Science Group. Models are not yet for sale and the so-called mosquito laser will need to be produced cheaply in order to be effective.

The device couldn’t come at a better time. Over three billion people—more than half the world’s population—are at risk of malaria worldwide. An estimated 584,000 people died of malaria in 2013, out of 198 million cases. Although the disease is present in the Middle East, Asia and Latin America, most deaths due to malaria occur in Sub-Saharan Africa. Young children are particularly vulnerable to the disease; it is estimated a child dies of malaria every minute.

Its widespread economic effects worsen malaria’s human devastation. Several studies have demonstrated a relationship between malaria and poverty, and many of the world’s poorest countries have high rates of the disease. Refugees and transient people are at heightened risk of malarial infection, as they may not have developed any immunity.

– Kevin Mclaughlin

Sources: Intellectual Ventures, NCBI, WHO
Photo: Intellectual Ventures Lab

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This Generation’s Billionaires Start as Technopreneurs

technopreneursIt’s no secret that technology has been the key to success for decades now. A truly original program or interface may as well be a golden ticket to superstardom, if Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg or Bill Gates are any lesson. So it comes as no surprise that many development agencies are encouraging countries to invest in ‘technopreneurs’ – young people with a penchant for invention and a business plan to match.

Bill Gates has an annual income higher than that of many countries. If he were a country, he would be the sixty-fifth richest in the world. He has an estimated net worth of $77.8 billion and is widely considered to be the wealthiest individual in the world. All that from selling computers and software.

In 2011, President Barack Obama called for an “all hands on deck” approach to innovation, encouraging government officials, academics and philanthropists to “spark … creativity and imagination.”

This is an important priority of America’s domestically and abroad. Partnership for Growth, a bilateral effort to promote inclusive economic growth, has enabled USAID to place a new emphasis on innovation and education, most notably in the Philippines, which recently played host to the Global Entrepreneurship Symposium and Workshop, a summit designed to help young Filipino inventors hone their ideas, connect with possible investors and launch their businesses.

Aid professionals are hopeful that an emphasis on launching small tech startups will drive long-lasting growth in countries like the Philippines, which have an undersized middle class.

“Entrepreneurship is the fastest way to move wealth in society. Education gives people the tools to innovate and build businesses,” says Dado Banatao, a Filipino-American engineer and entrepreneur who now runs the Philippine Development Foundation and works with young inventors. “Entrepreneurship leads to the creation of jobs and redistribution of wealth, and puts the Philippines on the global economic map.”

In the United States, two-thirds of jobs are generated by small and medium-scale businesses. These small businesses are at the heart of a middle class, the sweet spot between struggling to survive and living to excess. Most developing countries lack a robust middle class. Instead of small and medium-scale businesses, developing countries like the Philippines have offices for mega-corporations like McDonalds, and nameless micro-enterprises like street food vendors or family-run convenience shops.

Even if a technopreneur does not strike it rich, she or he could still run her or his venture like a small or medium business. More businesses mean more jobs, which is an improvement for everyone. With this growing push for innovation and empowerment, it would not be a stretch to predict that the next generation of billionaires will be making their first millions as the founders of tech companies in developing countries.

– Marina Middleton

Sources: USAID, Brookings Institution, Universiti Kuala Lumpur
Photo: Flickr

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How Cellphones are Fighting HIV/AIDS in Africa

cellphones
For the 23.8 million people living with HIV/AIDS in Africa, there are two realities. The first is the reality of the disease, which kills over one million people in Africa per year and requires treatment. The second is the stigma surrounding the disease, which itself creates a major social barrier to treatment. This stigma creates the need for patients to be able to seek treatment while protecting their privacy.

Cellphones provide a great opportunity to fill this need.

Mobile health, or mHealth, is the term used to describe the growing number of health services offered on cell phones. mHealth platforms have been particularly common in Africa due to a demand for services and Africa’s status as the fastest growing mobile phone market in the world.

mHealth has been shown to be effective in a variety of contexts. For HIV/AIDS patients, it can be greatly effective due to the variety of services offered to both patients and health care providers.

South Africa’s HIV Confidant, developed by Dimagi, is one such service. According to Dimagi’s website, the service seeks to provide “confidential distribution of the results of HIV testing” in South Africa. This a particularly difficult to accomplish in rural regions.

Along with securely distributing results of testing, HIV Confidant also allows patients to receive counseling on their infection status without sending in a second sample.

With studies finding that over 80 percent of patients are comfortable using mobile devices to manage their HIV treatment, services such as HIV Confidant provide a valuable service to patients concerned with anonymity and the stigma surrounding infection.

Programs focusing on HIV/AIDS prevention education are valuable in engaging communities. In addition to focusing on data collection and treatment adherence, Uganda’s eMOCHA program focuses intently on education, allowing it to address contributing trends to HIV/AIDS such as IV drug use.

Though mHealth symptoms are valuable tools in managing HIV/AIDS in Africa, they are not without their faults. The programs have been criticized by some as unlikely to reach certain at-risk groups, such as drug users, who are significantly less likely to own a cell phone. In addition, the cost of airtime currently makes the engagement of these programs difficult for patients living in poverty.

Despite these limiting factors, the growth of mobile phones in Africa creates hope that mHealth could become an important tool in the battle against AIDS. Perhaps the greatest challenge for mHealth platforms going forward then is ensuring that these valuable tools of defense against HIV/AIDS are available for those most at risk.

– Andrew Michaels

Sources: UNAIDS, DoSomething.org, IRIN, oAfrica, Johns Hopkins Center for Clinical Global Health Education, Dimagi
Photo: mHealth Blog

FCC Proposal Seeks to Bridge the Digital Divide

FCC-Proposal-Bridges-Digital-DivideThe head of the Federal Communications Commission has proposed an update to the FCC’s 30-year-old Lifeline program. The program was created in 1985 as a way of ensuring that low-income households would not lose phone service if company rates were raised. Under the old provisions of the program, the FCC provides these households with a subsidy of $9.25 to use to pay for mobile/landline phone service.

At the time of the program’s conception, it was phones that were considered crucial to participation in the economy and society. In the modern day, however, it is the internet that is most useful in the rapid exchange of information. FCC Head Tom Wheeler recognizes that the internet serves as a vital gateway to economic opportunity and recently proposed a new dimension of the program—giving the subsidy recipients the choice of putting the money toward internet, phone service, or some combination of the two. Wheeler argues that the existing Lifeline program doesn’t provide enough, as broadband rates are too high; the current subsidy barely covers cell phone bills.

What would an update to the program cost? The proposal outlines that the expanded program will be covered by the universal service fee that consumers pay on the bills from landline telephone companies and wireless phone service providers. In 2014, at least 12 million households were served by Lifeline at the cost of $1.7 billion, paid for by surcharges on customer phone bills.

Although internet access seems pervasive in American society today, only 48% of American adults making under $30,000 have access to internet, in contrast to the 95% in the $150,000 and up income bracket. This means no access to educational programs, employment opportunities, or online social programs that could help pull these households above the poverty line. The reason isn’t that low-income consumers don’t see the benefits of the internet. They simply cannot afford the often astronomical broadband rates.

Providers like CenturyLink, Cox, and Comcast already have programs helping to grant internet access to low-income families, but these efforts have come under attack. Comcast, for example, offers an Internet Essential program at a monthly cost of $10. A limited number of customers are eligible for the program, however, and it has been criticized for very slow speeds of 5MB per second. Broadband, as defined by the FCC, should have download speeds of up to 25MB per second and higher.

Non-profit organizations hope that the proposed change will help bridge the so-called “digital divide” that contributes to the vast income gap. If America paves the way on this issue, perhaps other countries will follow suit in assisting their underprivileged populations.

Wheeler believes that if the subsidy helps to make even a marginal difference, internet providers will see the benefits in giving discounts to low-income consumers. The private sector will gain access to a whole new market.

In addition to the suggestion of an expanded subsidy, some point out that the government could alternately pay subsidies directly to broadband providers. This way, they could get a better deal than low-income families can get on their own.

The new proposal is scheduled to undergo voting on June 18, and a final vote is expected to take place by the end of the year.

– Katie Pickle

Sources: Wired, Tech Times
Photo: Trinity P3

NASA Technology Helps Nepal Victims

NASA technology
Rescuers in Nepal are using NASA technology to find survivors buried under piles of rubble.

A new piece of equipment, known as FINDER, detects very slight movements under piles of debris. By using low-powered microwave signals, the suitcase-sized device can find heartbeats and signs of breathing, even when the victims are unconscious. So far, four men have been rescued from the ruins of collapsed buildings thanks to FINDER.

This is the first real-world application of the device, which was effective in detecting heartbeats through 30 feet of rubble in testing. The technology uses an algorithm similar to one developed by NASA to monitor orbiting space satellites. The device is sensitive enough to distinguish between humans, animals and machines, making it valuable in post-disaster situations.

Considering the severity of the disaster, such devices are certainly needed. The 8.1 magnitude earthquake, known as the Gorkha earthquake, has killed more than 8,000 people and injured many more. The quake was rated as “Extreme” on the Mercalli intensity scale and caused an avalanche on Mount Everest that killed 19 people. Rescue efforts have been hindered by over 120 aftershocks, which are expected to continue for months, if not years.

Gorkha was the worst earthquake to hit the region in nearly a century. Most victims died in Nepal, though hundreds were also killed or injured in India, China and Bangladesh.

Earthquakes are especially disastrous for the world’s poor, who often live in substandard and unhealthy conditions. When disasters strike, rescue services are inadequate and access to healthcare is restricted. Buildings in poorer countries may be overcrowded and may not be built with safety or earthquake resistance in mind. Damage is less likely to be repaired.

Small, landlocked Nepal is one of the world’s poorest and least developed countries. The United Nations estimates at least 25 percent of Nepalese live below the poverty line. Literacy rates are low with nearly half of women reported as illiterate. Most of the population is rural and most roads are graveled or earthen.

In addition to poverty, the remote and hazardous terrain of Nepal hinders rescue efforts. International aid and innovations in technology are both needed to assist those affected by the disaster.

Alongside FINDER, a few other innovative technologies have been included in rescue efforts in Nepal. The online, crowd-sourced mapping group OpenStreetMap organized over 4,000 remote volunteers to assist rescuers in their efforts. Meanwhile, drones have seen significant use by reporters and photojournalists recording the earthquake’s extensive damage.

– Kevin Mclaughlin

Sources: The Guardian, LA Times, NASA, JPL, NCBI, United Nations, Wired
Photo: Engadget

Solar Suitcase Saves Lives in Developing Countries

Childbirth can present risks anywhere in the world. However, in developing countries, giving birth can often be lethal for both mother and child. The most common causes of infant mortality include infections, premature birth, or birth asphyxia, while maternal deaths are usually the result of severe bleeding or high blood pressure during pregnancy. Effective care before, during, and after childbirth is necessary to treat such complications, but many areas lack the basic resources to provide such care.

In 2008, Dr. Laura Satchel traveled to Nigeria to research possible methods of lowering the country’s maternal death rate, which currently stands at 630 deaths per 100,000 births. Nigeria also has the 10th highest infant mortality rate in the world, with 74.09 deaths per 1,000 births. While working in state hospitals, Satchel realized that many of these deaths were not simply due to illness, but unreliable electricity interfering with the doctors’ ability to treat their patients. Nighttime deliveries were often illuminated only by candlelight, cesarean sections were frequently cancelled or conducted by flashlight, and patients were forced to wait days for life-saving procedures that could not be performed without electricity. This resulted in many deaths from treatable conditions.

Satchel’s goal was to come up with an affordable solution. She contacted her husband, Hal Aronson, a solar energy educator in Berkeley, California. Aronson began designing an off-grid solar electric system, specifically intended for use in maternity wards and labor rooms. This resulted in the development of the Solar Suitcase.

The Solar Suitcase is a bright yellow pack containing high efficiency LED medical lighting, a universal cell phone charger, a battery charger, and outlets for 12V DC devices. The maternity kit also includes a fetal Doppler. The suitcase is designed to last between 10 and 20 years, only requiring a battery change every two years. When Nigerian health clinics began receiving the suitcases, doctors were immediately able to charge headlamps and walkie-talkies while they waited for larger solar installations at their facilities.

In 2009, Satchel and Aronson founded the non-profit organization We Care Solar, aiming to improve the design of the Solar Suitcase and distribute them to more clinics in need. In 2014 alone, the suitcases are estimated to have served 256,800 mothers. As of November 2014, approximately 900 suitcases had been distributed to 25 countries worldwide, from Sierra Leone to Malawi.

Although the suitcases are primarily used in maternal health clinics, they have also saved lives in the wake of natural disasters. We Care Solar sent the device to Haiti after the 2010 earthquake at the request of medical relief teams.

Currently, the organization is in the process of sending 100 suitcases to Nepal, where thousands of pregnant women are in need of medical care following the recent string of earthquakes. In the coming months, We Care Solar plans on expanding its programs in Ethiopia, Tanzania and the Philippines. In a world where mothers and newborns die each day from preventable causes, devices like the Solar Suitcase provide doctors with the tools they need to give women and their children a chance at life.

– Jane Harkness

Sources: CIA 1, CIA 2, Huffington Post, Issuu, We Care Solar, WHO 1, WHO 2
Photo: Flickr

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Water Billboards: Turning Humidity Into Potable Water

Water-Billboards
Receiving only a half-inch of precipitation annually, the 7.6 million residents of Lima, Peru are in the midst of a serious water shortage. One point two million Limans do not have running water at all, and 700,000 people have no access to clean water for drinking or bathing. With advanced climate change affecting the natural water sources of the Andes, engineers from Peru’s University of Engineering and Technology (UTEC) have turned to science, and specifically water billboards, for an answer.

Like a magician pulls a rabbit from a hat, they’ve figured out a way to pull water from thin air.

The process of scientific magic occurs inside a billboard in Lima’s Bujama District, erected by a group of UTEC engineers in partnership with marketers from the Mayo Publicidad ad agency. The billboard takes advantage of Lima’s high degree of humidity, nearly 90 percent in the summer months, and transforms this moisture into usable water.

When moist air hits the billboard, five condensers cool it and convert it into liquid form. The newly created water goes through reverse-osmosis purification and then flows into a 20-liner storage tank at the billboard’s base. The filtration system is simple and straightforward, though not entirely self-sufficient, because it uses electricity from Lima’s power lines.

Active for 3 months, the billboard has had a significant effect. It has produced nearly 2,500 gallons of water, averaging 26 gallons a day. According to the UTEC engineers involved, this is equivalent to the water consumption of hundreds of families per month.

Efforts have been made in the past to magically pull water from the air. Most notably Eole, a French company, installed a wind turbine in Abu Dhabi that was said to generate more than 370 gallons of water a day. The commercial launch of this technology, however, came at too high of a price.

That’s the genius of UTEC’s water billboard – if the technology expands, it will be inexpensive to install thanks to funding from advertisers. The inaugural billboard costs only $1,200 to construct, and advertises both UTEC and the technology itself. UTEC has not gone unrewarded, since the erection of the billboard enrollment has substantially increased. It hopes that companies will see UTEC’s own results and seek to advertise on water billboards themselves.

It is unclear whether more billboards like this one will be installed throughout Lima, but UTEC’s water billboard has successfully started new discussions about providing clean water. Advertising can be more than a commercial tool; it has potential as an effective method of helping those in need.

– Katie Pickle

Sources: Popular Mechanics, Time
Photo: Fast Coexist