Slidedeck about the Kasadaka ICT4D rapid prototyping platform. Kasadaka is a rapid prototyping platform build on a Raspberry Pi computer, designed to enable knowledge sharing between farmers and experts in rural developing areas across several domains. The Raspberry Pi is affordable, robust and easily replaceable, which makes it the ideal hardware to be used in this context. The software is open source and enables voice-based interaction, enabling illiterate, marginalized people to make use of the system.

1. Kasadaka
a rapid prototyping platform for the rural poor
Awa Gossa Lô, Stefan Schlobach & Victor de Boer
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

2. Can the Web (be made to) mean something for
information sharing even under very
constraining conditions?
No internet, no computer, no electricity
Multitude of languages, levels of literacy

3. The last mile
Mobile phones, Radio, other interfaces as an
alternative for the last mile connection?

4. European project (2010-2013)
• Integrate local community radios and mobile
ICT for knowledge sharing
• Better support and integrate local languages in
voice-based services
– Development of appropriate speech
elements (text-to-speech and Speech
recognition)
• Investigate self-sustainability
– Develop appropriate business models
– In collaboration with local communities.

5. June 2013Jan 2010
First cycle:
Knowledge
sharing for
regreening
Second cycle:
Use Case elicitation and
selection
RadioMarché:
Pilot System
development
(Malian French)
RM: 3rd version
(Bambara,Bomu
)
Jan 2011 Jan 2012 Jan 2013
First field trip:
Burkina Faso
Second field trip
Mali, Burkina Faso,
Ghana
RM: 4th version
Third field trip
Mali
Fourth field
trip
Mali
Fifth field trip
Mali
Foroba Blon:
pilot version
FB: 2nd version
(Bambara,Bomu)
Third cycle:
Requirements
elicitation and
validation
Business Model integration
Sixth
planned field
trip
Mali
Fourth cycle
Use case and
Requirements
validation
Fifth cycle:
Use case and
Requirements
validation
Sept 2009
Cycle 0
Preliminary
visit
BF sept 2009
RM: 2nd
version
(production
version)
FB: 3rd version
(Bambara,Bomu)

6. Local market data
Communiqué
GSM/Voice interface
Web Interface Text-To-Speech
Community radioSahel Eco operative
Buyers

7. Voice channel: Multiple solutions
Netbook
running
Prophecy
SIP over Ethernet
Netbook
HTTP
Officeroute
running Asterisk
Orange Emerginov Platform
Low-powered hardware
running Asterisk
GSM dongle

8. Mobileusers
VOICES User Content
VOICES Platform & Toolbox
Telecom
Access
Radio
Program
Output
Web
Access
Mobile
Training Lab
Local ICT developers
Speech
Tools
Local end-users
Sustainable
business models
Mobile
access
PRODUCTS

9. (Computer) literacy
Physical, Cultural distance
Complex and expensive hardware
Hinders iterative development
Hard to (co-)develop relevant applications

10. Rapid Prototyping
Use
Case
Gathe-
ring
Rapid
Prototy
ping
Prototy
ping
Deploy
ment
Business
Deploy
ment

11. KASADAKA(.com)

12. Low-power, ubiquitous, cheap hardware
FLOSS components
Rapid Prototyping + deployment
Access information
Voice services
SMS-based
Visual
Internet or GSM network
Data store (Linked Data)
Kasadaka allows for easy development of information services
relevant to local communities in their preferred language
KASADAKA(.com)

13. Rapid prototyping platform
André Baart
(Bsc project)

14. DigiVet (N-Ghana)
Poultry vaccination service (Mali)
Seed market (Mali and Burkina Faso)
Current KASADAKA use cases

15. DigiVet
Gossa Lo, Myrthe van der
Wekken, Romy Blankendaal
Network Institute
Academy Assistant
project 2015
Multi-disciplinary team
Extended field visit
N-Ghana
Knowledge-based system
(CommonKADS)

17. Seed market
https://github.com/biktorrr/voiceseedmarket

18. Welcome to the Seed market application.
Would you like to
1) Sell 2) Buy 3) Have more information
What type or seeds
1) Rice 2) fonio 3) nere 9) back
What type or seeds
1) Rice 2) fonio 3) nere 9) back
What quality or seeds
1) De base 2) R1 3) R2 9) back
What quality of seeds
1) De base 2) R1 3) R2 9) back
What is your Cercle
1) Tominian…. 9) back
You are offering…
Is this correct?
1) yes, 2) no
Please enter phone nr.
[phone]
You will now return to the main
menu. You can also hang up

19. Plan de vaccination des poules
Amadou Tangara
FARM RADIO
INTERNATIONAL MALI

20. Semantic Web in an SMS
?

21. Semantic Web in an SMS
Onno Valkering
(Msc Project)

22. What’s new in this ICT4D research ?
New approach to innovation and ICT4D (e.g.
bringing the Web to those without the internet)
Validation of iterative approaches to ICT
development in a low-tech context;
Case studies from a rural area in Mali, Burkina
Faso, Ghana.

23. With the mainstream
Dev. countries can leapfrog directly into the
information age,
jumping many phases of immature technologies
Img: flickr/n3v3rv0id
Development Informatics
as mainstream computer science research.
Test hypotheses in domains/environments

24. ICT4D Course @
MSc Computer Science course
this year 4rd time
Core Computer Science: CS4D
Make students aware of
importance of context
Hands-on experience
With KASADAKA
Train CS researchers in ICT4D

25. Register now at http://w4ra.org