Traveling Tech Bus
Traveling with technology is difficult in Latin America because technology is delicate and easilty damaged by climate and humidity. We pack cutting edge computers and robotic technology and travel to remote areas of Latin America, where children and their families can get a hands on workshop for at least a full day. We carefully pack laptops, camaras, drones, and other robotic equipment, and give kids a hands on workshop. Kids will get workshops in how to use laptops for basics like communication, and also advanced topics such as programming a game or making an aerial map of their village. This saves children and families from having to purchase technological equipment, and risk damaging it while traveling to school or cities.
The problem that a mobile technology bus will solve, is how far away communities are from learning centers in cities. Even if they are in a city, there may not be centers or opportunities for learning, so this mobile technology bus solution will bring technology to remote communities and through one day workshops, allow them to learn and use laptops, camaras, drones, and other robotic equipment in their lives. The people will be able to learn to communicate with families through computers in a workshop. Children will also be introduced to topics they wish from aerial photography of their own village, to computer games and programming.
The solution is a mobile motorized vehicle designed specifically to carry laptops, camaras, aerial drones, and other robotic parts like Raspberry Pi's and soldering equipment, including a team of educators for local day long workshops in remote areas of Latin America. Because of the humid climate and rough roads in Latin America, it is designed specifically to introduce technology in areas where people wouldn't otherwise usually get to see because of how delicate technology can be for people living remotely. The vehicle will carry enough laptops and technological equipment to do full day workshops with 20 participants.
Firstly it is designed to target children primarily to introduce them to computers and programming. The program however will be available to both adults and children, if limits need to be placed, it will allow one adult and one child per household. The children recieve mentorship in programming while working on laptops, as well as learn basic computer skills with camaras and internet technology.
- Offer training and flexible curriculum in hard (technical) and soft (social and interpersonal) skills, preparing people for the work of the future
This solution aligns with providing teachers with the tools and resources to educate families in remote areas of Latin America. The traveling tech bus will be staffed by at least three educators that are skilled in teaching computers and educational courses for a day long workshop. The solution also addresses the need for offering hard and soft skill training courses, which would be through the hands-on workshops offered in remote villages of Latin America. When the traveling tech bus is not teaching in remote areas away from the cities, they will be housed in a city center offering a school to children to visit for day long workshop courses.
- Concept: An idea being explored for its feasibility to build a product, service, or business model based on that idea.
The team leader has several remote village locations that are in need of technological training. The team has located a base in the city to work out of and develop the traveling tech bus vehicle. The city base is a building to rent where the computers and tech equipment are stored and maintained, and the vehicle will need to be purchased and outfitted with the required look and feel of the concept. The team leader has a teaching assistant and professors available for mobile workshop and educational materials development.
- A new business model or process that relies on technology to be successful
The primary innovation is that the city where the traveling tech bus will be based in Peru has no other venues where educational and technological workshops are available to the public, especially the families that live outside of the cities. Our solution will not only provide that space to families in the city, but we are going a step further and providing mobility to the educational workshops, to bring the training courses to the families that live far away from the cities. These families generally rely on no income for survival, and do not travel to the cities seeking educational opportunities. So the solution is innovative for the region which it is going to be developed.
The core of the traveling tech bus is hardware including laptops, an aerial drone for aerial photography, and digital camaras. That is the required core for teaching a class. The software side will be done depending on the needs of the workshops, but will generally include photo editing, Autocad software, programming IDE's, and any other cloud based software technology. The final piece is to develop certain core educational ideas in the workshops. One serious problem is trash and waste training for remote areas. We want the villagers to learn of the dangers of throwing plastics in rivers and how to properly sort waste, so there will be basic hygiene courses taught using the technology.
We are using software and educational programs for training workshops. The main workshops will be centered around basic hygiene, trash sorting, and clean water training. The advanced technology training will be to use camaras and drones to take aerial photos of their villages and see problem areas, or just create a map.
- Biotechnology / Bioengineering
- GIS and Geospatial Technology
- Imaging and Sensor Technology
- Robotics and Drones
- Software and Mobile Applications
Risk of damaging the laptops and other equipment. Care will be taken to maintain equipment to working standards.
- Women & Girls
- Children & Adolescents
- Elderly
- Rural
- Urban
- Poor
- Low-Income
- Middle-Income
- Peru
- Peru
Currently serving: 0;
Serving in one year: 250;
Serving in five years: 1250.
The one year target is based on also providing printed handouts of workshops, allowing extended family to learn the important basic lessons the workshops cover.
You can not estimate the impact goal of communities that properly dispose of waste plastics and initiate reducing plastics use. Because most of the waste ends up in rivers, education is critical now to stop improper use of plastics and waste.
The number of educational workshops held per year. The number of children that attend educational workshops in person in the city.
- Hybrid of for-profit and nonprofit
The team leader to guide the vision of the program and technology. The team leader teaching assistant to provide direct education during workshops, along with all other team members. Educational development volunteers and assistants for assisting with workshops and training.
- Individual consumers or stakeholders (B2C)
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