Design
Indian farmer uses phone to remotely control the farm
By Mike on 30 September 2008
INDIA - The concept of a mobile-based universal remote control isn’t new, yet the hope of one remains a hugely popular prospect that we’ve collectively scribbled on our wishlist. And whilst the reality of a successful one-size-fits-all solution is being researched as part of the Homebird project, others are taking it into their own innovative hands to solve their personal remote control needs (trust Jan Chipchase to spot this one, highlighted in his post entitled The Power of Remote / Field Hacks’).
One farmer created a hack that enables him to control his water pump remotely via his handset, an idea that has been developed commercially with the emergence of a device called the Nano Ganesh which can be used in conjunction with the simplest phones, including none other than the Nokia 1100 (another notch on the 1100 Club’s belt).
Read on to find out more about the 29 year-old farmer behind the idea, and watch a video of his hack in action…
What’s interesting from the video is that the inventive farmer has created a reasonably simple solution which has huge benefits, both personally (eliminates dangers of walking to water pump at night and having to “dodge snakebites to get the water flowing again”) and professionally (saving time and improving efficiencies).
Now, the Nano Ganesh is a completely different set-up, but its relatively low cost starting at around Rs.560 (around £6.50 / US$11.8) makes it a viable option for farmers across India. But as Jan Chipchase points out in his article it’s solutions such as Nokia’s Village Connection initiative that help make this sort of tech tool possible, in turn encouraging the wider adoption of innovative homegrown solutions tailored towards rural life.
Are these sorts of in-the-thick-of-it developments the types that are truly going to push innovation in emerging markets? And can this sort of small-scale initiative co-exist alongside the visions of big organizations in those territories? It seems to work here, but what do you think?
Photo from mckaysavage
Related posts:
- Indian farmers to reap tailored mobile benefits
- Calling all innovators - Emerging markets challenge
- Squashing the ant-farm syndrome
Tags | 1100, 1100 club, conversations, Farmer, Homebird, india, Nano Ganesh, Nokia, Remote control, Village Connection
September 30th, 2008 at 6:45 pm
I like reading about solutions like this. The mind is only limited by its own self, not the environment.
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October 1st, 2008 at 2:14 am
Speaking about INDIA, i’ve heard that a Nokia employer has committed suicide because of her managers, which she said to be harassed by, in the past few days.
As far as I know, of course this si being investigating by the police, but what Nokia has to tell about this? Sometimes you post here some material about working at Nokia bla bla bla God in heaven, Nokia on earth, but… the guys are still there.. shouldn’t they be taken away from their jobs at least until the end of the investigations??! It makes me thinking that probably there are more people at the same situation that that woman was. Come on, she’ve committed suicide!
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October 1st, 2008 at 2:30 am
I’m not telling that Nokia is a bad company to work in, I bet it is one of the best companies in the world. But… this “shakes” everything..
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October 1st, 2008 at 8:43 am
Charlie…! what are u guys plannin on next. (Chaplin, this is news to me, i had no idea, sounds very bad, will update this after i have a word with my friends in Nokia india)
to know what is best for india you should have sent an indian too, for the job, who really knows what the grass root level story is. besides, i have been saying a it for long, we need 1100 in india.
For eg:- im out on a holiday and i lose my N95 (or someone steals it) with it gone, i wud look for a cheap solution like a 1100 to go for the rest of my holiday and when i come back home, i may upgrade to a new phone and give the 1100 to my chauffeur or gardener…
or there can be other tips and taps that can be coupled with these devices to make them more friendly with the common man and COST is no.1 factor.
i hope you guys are working on something cool for us.
PS.
just registered for Nokia Pilots, i hope to get a call soon
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October 2nd, 2008 at 11:24 am
Anirudh, I heard that we now have phones better and cheaper than the 1100, such as the 1209 and 1202. Indeed, I cannot even get my hands on an 1100.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 11:32 am
The 1100’s been a pretty huge hit in India. But yeah, now there are phones here that are even cheaper ! Gotta hand it to Nokia for taking the initiative.
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October 3rd, 2008 at 10:22 am
well, the point i want to address is more deep that it seems.
1. Why would nokia STOP makin 1100s when they were selling like hot cakes?
2. The new versions like 1202, 1209 etc. have a rather bulky size when compared to 1100 with hardly anything new*?
3. If these new devices (1200s) are cheap than 1100 then i may presume that 1100 ought to be cheaper considering it is less feature packed according to you in the present scenario, so why not give out the cheapest to those who need em?
i knw it wud not make sense to u as only the expensive models fetch you some profit and enables nokia to fund its various activities. Well to be honest the reason why i am saying this is because i feel Nokia has the quality and durability that can make their phones last long, which is something good as poor ppl hardly or simply cant change their phone once bought. After all the NEXT BILION has 50% population BELOW poverty line.
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February 7th, 2009 at 9:03 pm
Kudos! good Job.
My comment below intends to add a value to your already existing product. I and my team have already made the similar, on the contrary more advanced real time based application in 2006.
According to my application, I can set the timings for various activities to be scheduled automatically for whole day.
and this schedule would repeat in a cycle of 24 hours.
So added value to your application is that person will not have to wake up every day early just to trigger remotely.
Once SMS set and sent, its done for ever.
And most importantly the cost that I claim is less than half of what mentioned.
If anyone wants to know about the technique of real time operation automation do contact me on ID rp0018783@gmail.com.
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