March 05, 2004
Project Status
We are currently conducting a six-month pedagogical test of 45 Kinkajou Microfilm Projectors with our partner World Education in night-time adult literacy classrooms across rural Mali. Also in Mali, Ashoka Fellow Maria Kieta Diarra and her colleagues at the Institute for Popular Education (IEP) are evaluating the Kinkajou for use in primary school education. Finally, in Bangladesh, Ashoka Fellow Muhammad Ibrahim and his colleagues at the Center for Mass Education in Science (CMES) are evaluating the Kinkajou for use in their 500 village basic schools.
The design under test is our fourth-generation "delta" prototype, representing the work of over 180 volunteers including students from MIT, Stanford, Worcester Polytechnic, Harvard, Tufts, Babson, Stanford and Cambridge University (UK) and professional volunteers from Fisher-Price, Optikos and Chipwrights.
The Kinkajou Microfilm Projector: Fourth-Generation or "Delta" Prototype Assembly, Including 12v Power Pack and 12W Solar Panel
Kinkajou in a night-time adult literacy classroom, Kati, Mali
Demonstrating image size outside a classroom in Digani, Mali
As we collect user feedback from field testing, we continue to develop the Kinkajou project along the following lines:
Identify additional users and markets for Kinkajou Projector - in addition to researching other organizations running night-time adult literacy courses, we are working to identify additional adult education markets (including technical training and health education), as well as applications in small-scale businesses, for example as a marketing tool for micro-enterprise.
Develop a low-cost, renewable power supply - the current solar panel and battery power supply developed for the World Education test is far too expensive for volume production. Our specific need is for a low-cost, 5-7W (or 15-21 W-hr/day) off-grid power supply. The Kinkajou is representative of a range of useful low-power appliances for underserved communities in developing countries, from medical devices to teaching tools, that appear slightly too big for a Freeplay radio-style hand-crank, and very small to justify the expense of a major solar power installation. [Read the Kinkajou Power Supply Design Challenge Summary]
Investigate the feasibility of a Multimedia Projector - As an extension of the microfilm projector design, DtM is currently studying the technical and economic feasibility of developing a low-cost multimedia display device as a stand-alone or as a companion product to a PC as a teaching tool and curriculum enhancement for underserved communities, primarily in developing countries. As a baseline, DtM is requesting assistance in reviewing the current situation and trends in commercially available data projectors. We are also interested in exploring design concepts that would enable lower cost with adequate functionality for the developing world. Desired features include low lifetime cost of ownership, meaning (a) low initial cost, (b) long life, (c) low maintenance costs and (d) low cost of lighting and other consumables. The resulting design must be maintainable on a local basis. [Read the Multimedia Projector Design Challenge Summary]
Posted by Timothy Prestero at March 5, 2004 09:28 AM
