While computers are commonplace in urban areas, they are rarely seen in poor rural areas. For these developing markets, Intel has announced its "Jaagruti" initiative to develop a "ruggedized" computer for financially troubled villages throughout India.
The idea is that local business people will run the kiosks and give access to online services to villages across India.
Intel describes it as a PC platform specifically meant to meet the needs of rural communities in this country. This Intel-powered “community PC platform†can operate in a community setting, adjusting to varying environmental conditions in the country.
Rugged PC's :
This computer is meant to be used in community computer kiosks, and can withstand high temperatures and humidity. It also features an integrated uninterruptible power supply, consuming less than 100 watts.
Its unique features include a ruggedized chassis designed to withstand dusty conditions, varying temperatures and high humidity, with a removable dust filter and integrated air fan to regulate the temperature of the motherboard. The chassis is designed to keep the motherboard cool at temperatures as high as 45 degrees Celsius and the PC resistant to humidity levels of 70 to 85 RH (Relative Humidity).
The community PC was developed to be a fully functional, expandable and shared-access computing solution and be a reliable system that supports remote diagnostics and control features under low power requirements.
Community Computer Kiosks :
Intel has also announced its “Jagruti†(awakening) initiative meant to provide rural communities in the country with more economic and social opportunities by collaborating with leaders in business, government, education, online services and Internet service providers. The program supports the spread of rural internet kiosks based on the new Intel-powered Community PC. These kiosks will help accelerate access to the benefits of information and communications technologies (ICT) in villages across India.
Villages will station Jaagruti computers as Internet kiosks, to be operated by local businesses. In addition to providing basic Internet access, they'll also provide tools for users to complete those pesky government forms, which for villagers could save as many as several days of travel time.
People not computer literate can have their data keyed in by certified operators. Many areas of rural India have poor infrastructure, few people have telephones, and a large number of STD phone kiosks cater to that need.
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Related News
Via intros low cost, dust resistant computers
Via introduced the Intrepid Computing project here in Mumbai today, and opened an office in the city to push that idea forward.
The Technology Innovation centre in Mumbai will develop PC-1 machines at inexpensive prices and aimed at combating dust, heat and other related problems for developing countries around the world.
The company will also create server appliances to be used for wireless mesh networking in order to provide high bandwidth machines for both town and country.
Why India ?
India is a perfect example of this type of market because it consists of hundreds of thousands of villages with the telecommunications not being what they might be.
Via said that the Mumbai technology centre will work with government, industry and educational institutes to make Power Heat Dust (PHD) appliances that consume a lot less power than conventional machines.
Ravi Pradhan, country manager of Via India said his firm wanted to bring the price of PCs for people down. It’s not just the price of PCs, but electricity that’s the problem in rural India.
There are also electric power cuts in even towns and cities from time to time in India. The machines Via is developing will run for as long as 16 hours in some cases.
PC-1 would help extend computing from the current one billion users to the next billion people. Less than 20 per cent of the population can use PCs now and in developed markets penetration is high, but countries like India, Russia, in Africa and other emerging markets have low penetration.
A thin client is easier to maintain, has a lot lower cost of ownership, the security is better and it’s a dream machine for corporations, said Wen Chi. China and India moved swiftly to mobile phones because they didn’t have the legacy infrastructure of some countries. India and China will lead the way with new types of thin clients. Other parts of the world will be playing catchup, he said, and will be later on the scene.
PC-1 & Wireless Mesh Server :
PC-1 running off car batteries
In the last six months Via has introduced an affordable PC but now it's showing the wireless mesh server and the dust resistant appliance. The dust resistant machine runs off a car battery, is deliberately designed to be rugged and has no fan.
The new model, he claimed, is community access where you buy computing and Internet usage as a service, rather than a device. Performance, robustness and a long life rather than the two to three years of a PC are some of the technical challenges. There's also challenges for deploying machines. Machines need to be both easy to use and be localised and customised for particular markets.
Via has set up a PHD powered wireless mesh based at a temple in Tirupati, Andra Pradesh and will extend this idea elsewhere.
The idea is that local business people will run the kiosks and give access to online services to villages across India.
Intel describes it as a PC platform specifically meant to meet the needs of rural communities in this country. This Intel-powered “community PC platform†can operate in a community setting, adjusting to varying environmental conditions in the country.
Rugged PC's :
This computer is meant to be used in community computer kiosks, and can withstand high temperatures and humidity. It also features an integrated uninterruptible power supply, consuming less than 100 watts.
Its unique features include a ruggedized chassis designed to withstand dusty conditions, varying temperatures and high humidity, with a removable dust filter and integrated air fan to regulate the temperature of the motherboard. The chassis is designed to keep the motherboard cool at temperatures as high as 45 degrees Celsius and the PC resistant to humidity levels of 70 to 85 RH (Relative Humidity).
The community PC was developed to be a fully functional, expandable and shared-access computing solution and be a reliable system that supports remote diagnostics and control features under low power requirements.
Community Computer Kiosks :
Intel has also announced its “Jagruti†(awakening) initiative meant to provide rural communities in the country with more economic and social opportunities by collaborating with leaders in business, government, education, online services and Internet service providers. The program supports the spread of rural internet kiosks based on the new Intel-powered Community PC. These kiosks will help accelerate access to the benefits of information and communications technologies (ICT) in villages across India.
Villages will station Jaagruti computers as Internet kiosks, to be operated by local businesses. In addition to providing basic Internet access, they'll also provide tools for users to complete those pesky government forms, which for villagers could save as many as several days of travel time.
People not computer literate can have their data keyed in by certified operators. Many areas of rural India have poor infrastructure, few people have telephones, and a large number of STD phone kiosks cater to that need.
________________________
Related News
Via intros low cost, dust resistant computers
Via introduced the Intrepid Computing project here in Mumbai today, and opened an office in the city to push that idea forward.
The Technology Innovation centre in Mumbai will develop PC-1 machines at inexpensive prices and aimed at combating dust, heat and other related problems for developing countries around the world.
The company will also create server appliances to be used for wireless mesh networking in order to provide high bandwidth machines for both town and country.
Why India ?
India is a perfect example of this type of market because it consists of hundreds of thousands of villages with the telecommunications not being what they might be.
Via said that the Mumbai technology centre will work with government, industry and educational institutes to make Power Heat Dust (PHD) appliances that consume a lot less power than conventional machines.
Ravi Pradhan, country manager of Via India said his firm wanted to bring the price of PCs for people down. It’s not just the price of PCs, but electricity that’s the problem in rural India.
There are also electric power cuts in even towns and cities from time to time in India. The machines Via is developing will run for as long as 16 hours in some cases.
PC-1 would help extend computing from the current one billion users to the next billion people. Less than 20 per cent of the population can use PCs now and in developed markets penetration is high, but countries like India, Russia, in Africa and other emerging markets have low penetration.
A thin client is easier to maintain, has a lot lower cost of ownership, the security is better and it’s a dream machine for corporations, said Wen Chi. China and India moved swiftly to mobile phones because they didn’t have the legacy infrastructure of some countries. India and China will lead the way with new types of thin clients. Other parts of the world will be playing catchup, he said, and will be later on the scene.
PC-1 & Wireless Mesh Server :
PC-1 running off car batteries
In the last six months Via has introduced an affordable PC but now it's showing the wireless mesh server and the dust resistant appliance. The dust resistant machine runs off a car battery, is deliberately designed to be rugged and has no fan.
The new model, he claimed, is community access where you buy computing and Internet usage as a service, rather than a device. Performance, robustness and a long life rather than the two to three years of a PC are some of the technical challenges. There's also challenges for deploying machines. Machines need to be both easy to use and be localised and customised for particular markets.
Via has set up a PHD powered wireless mesh based at a temple in Tirupati, Andra Pradesh and will extend this idea elsewhere.