I imagine a really good synergy between the OLPC (or similar device for kids) and the Epos Digital Pen. This pen can work on ANY paper, unlike other devices that require the use of micro dots paper. Kids would keep on learning and practicing their hand writing, and they could easily handle homework and school work to the teacher or other classmates.

This could also be of great use for an email client device. You could eliminate the keyboard and the screen (that is the most expensive component), and have interaction with the TV for reading the incoming emails. Cheap, practical and easy to use for all ages

It would be nice if this digital pen incorporates a pressure sensor and the possibility to change ink colors in a future release.

Product Page Via: OCRegister

This is indeed an interesting project. The Interaction Design Institute Ivrea, developed an email client based on the classic Lettera 22 typewriter.With a different point of view, old mechanical technology was used to make new technology more accessible. Modern technologies are sometimes challenging for some people, and this new interface will allow a large segment of “boomers” to adopt email in a more natural way.

The email is typed in a special form, and when the letter is finished and you take the paper out of the carriage, the email is sent via telephone.

As stated in the product page: “This project directly responds to the monopoly of electronic interfaces for email access. While the sudden proliferation of the Internet enables dynamic, remote and instant electronic communication for a technocratic society, it ignores or even dismisses the needs and sentiments of a generation of people caught in the rift between redundant technologies and ungraspable modern interfaces. For them emailing means reaching across all that is familiar, into a befuddling way of engaging with the originally simple, intuitive task of writing or receiving a letter. Its interface, the computer then becomes a discriminating device, which creates new social cleavages, between the ‘have’ and ‘have-nots’ of the digital realm.”

It would be also nice to incorporate in a seamless way, the possibility to embed hand writing, pictures or drawings (maybe gluing the picture on the form), voice and video recording. I know there are other products for similar use, but I bet your grandma will not be able to send you the traditional cake recipe with her own instructions with audio or video via fax or telephone. Off course you could receive that info via snail mail, but it would take longer and probably she will not be able to include multimedia. A camera phone could be also used, but they are still expensive and complicated for grandma, not to mention that she will need a more expensive service plan.

I still see the need of a new product that combines the natural interaction of a personal conversation and hand writing with the benefits of modern technology. It love the idea of changing the keyboard for a more intuitive input device, like a block of paper. And change the computer for a cheap and small device maybe connected to the TV, and that way be able to receive multimedia letters (emails) from your children or grandchildren.

Product page.

Last 3rd of July The Institute For The Future hosted a talk by Colin Bulthaup, CEO of Potenco, a spinoff of Squid Labs, based in Alameda, California. Colin characterized SL as a Do Tank, not a think tank.

Fourteen months ago they had been working on smart rope, a rope that knows when it is about to break, but with a grant from the OLPC team they developed a pull-cord generator (PCG) that can be used to charge mp3 players, mobile phones, LED lights, portable batteries, GPS devices, and the XO laptop.

Their base line human is an eight year old pulling on the yo-yo device. They even tested the amount of CO2 produced as a kid uses it, as well as calories expended (very few). One minute of pulling generates enough energy for 20 minutes of talk time on a mobile phone and four hours play time on an iPod Shuffle. Colin explained that they had done research on the best kind of string, using some new synthetic material, and as backup, there are two extra sets coiled inside the housing of the device. They have designed it so that it can be hacked. For instance, by removing the cover (top picture) it could be attached to a bicycle hub and generate more than 20 watts of power. Here is a short YouTube video where Colin demonstrate the PCG.

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A team of Korean researchers, has developed a new solar cell technology without increasing the costs. The team lead by Lee Kwang-hee of the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, has reported a diminutive solar cell that has an efciciency of 6.5%. While that number pales in comparison with other alternatives, it is the price that matters here. Existing silicon semiconductor cells costs around $2.30 to generate 1 Watt of electricity, wich is 3 to 10 times higher than the production cost of thermal or hydro power.

“The efficiency of converting solar power to electricity should be at least seven percent for commercialization. Many foreign researchers even failed to develop solar cells with more than five percent efficiency,” Prof. Lee said.

While this new alternative costs just 10 cents per Watt; the plans are to increase efficiency up to 15% and release to market by 2012.

Source: Engadget

Dr. Ashok Ganguly and Microsoft’s Will Poole discuss innovative ways of creating and delivering products that are relevant, accessible, and affordable for everyone.

CDI–Committee for Democracy in Information Technology–was chosen by CNN, Time, Fortune, and Shell as one of the world’s top three Principal Voices in the field of Economic Development along with 2006 Nobel Peace Prize Winner Muhammad Yunus and Jeffrey Sachs, head of the UN’s Millennium Development Goals.

Watch OWWA Administrator Marianito Roque and Microsoft’s Will Poole talk about how technology can help keep overseas Filipino workers connected to their families.

Dr. Ashok Jhunjhunwala is currently Professor of the Department of Electrical Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology in Chennai, India. He leads the Telecommunications and Computer Networks group (TeNeT) at IIT, closely working with industry in the development of new technologies that will provide broader access to information and communications technology (ICT) in rural India.

Watch a Q&A with Dr. Jhunjhunwala as he explains how increased access to the benefits of ICT can enable social and economic growth in rural markets, how technology and the IT industry have already transformed India, and how access to technology in rural India can increase the confidence and improve the livelihoods of its citizens.

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