This work consists of two main components:
(a) a longitudinal ethnographic study in Kyrgyzstan that
demonstrates the importance of transportation resources in the
developing world and how to plan for an appropriate ICT
solution, and (b) the results of a proof-of-concept system
engineered to create a bottom-up, transportation information
infrastructure using only GPS and SMS. Transportation is a
very important shared resource; enabling efficient and effective
use of such resources aids overall development goals.
The system, *bus, involved the development of a hardware
device (a *box) containing a GSM modem and a GPS unit, that
can be installed on a vehicle and used to track its location. The
*box communicates via SMS with a server connected to a basic
GSM phone. The server runs route a prediction algorithm and
users can send SMS messages to the server to find when a bus
will arrive at their location.
The paper discusses the system and early testing, as well as the
development implications for a range of urban and rural
environments where transportation is scarce or inefficient, and
where a central authority or institution is not in a position to
provide robust information resources for users. We describe how
the solution is also situated within technology usage patterns
common to the developing world.
This work consists of two main components:
(a) a longitudinal ethnographic study in Kyrgyzstan that
demonstrates the importance of transportation resources in the
developing world and how to plan for an appropriate ICT
solution, and (b) the results of a proof-of-concept system
engineered to create a bottom-up, transportation information
infrastructure using only GPS and SMS. Transportation is a
very important shared resource; enabling efficient and effective
use of such resources aids overall development goals.
The system, *bus, involved the development of a hardware
device (a *box) containing a GSM modem and a GPS unit, that
can be installed on a vehicle and used to track its location. The
*box communicates via SMS with a server connected to a basic
GSM phone. The server runs route a prediction algorithm and
users can send SMS messages to the server to find when a bus
will arrive at their location.
The paper discusses the system and early testing, as well as the
development implications for a range of urban and rural
environments where transportation is scarce or inefficient, and
where a central authority or institution is not in a position to
provide robust information resources for users. We describe how
the solution is also situated within technology usage patterns
common to the developing world.
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