Processing .....please wait.. 
The article has been forwarded.... 
News >> Technology >>
Mapping technology to make IT villager friendly
Monday, 09 September 2002, 19:30 IST
BANGALORE: Information and communication technology (ICT) may not bring food and water to the villagers, but can make a difference to the way they perceive their village and its problems and find solutions.
With the help of GramChitra -- a GNU/Linux-based geographic informatics systems (GIS) software for handheld computers -- Ravi Gupta took his passion for maps and applied his skills to the needs of neglected villagers.
Using the computers, Gupta helped villagers map their environs and found that the resultant images and data could be used for a large number of purposes.
GramChitra -- literally village picture -- is the "first product" coming out of the Mumbai-based Media Lab Asia. It was developed in collaboration with Gupta's Centre for Spatial Database Management & Solutions (CSDMS).
Gupta said the GIS software enables creation, storage, editing and accessing of map-related databases for "visually intuitive and effective decision making". He found it made a world of a difference to how villagers view their world.
Before this project was implemented, "we went to schools in a village and organised a primary drawing competition. We got students to write poems (about their village). Then we asked villagers to identify all types of trees and houses that they were aware of," Gupta says.
He said the global positioning system (GPS) is attached to the hand-held computer on which the software is loaded. Walking around the area created a rough map of the village.
"It is possible to create in the youth excitement about different maps possible -- telephone maps showing where the village's phones are located, car maps, water maps -- showing who gets access to what water, agricultural maps and the like," says Gupta.
GramChitra, launched in April 2002, will be one of the world's first open-source GIS software for handheld computers, said the Media Lab Asia.
It has been developed on the popular "free" GNU/Linux operating system to serve as a "cost-effective means of enabling community level resource management".
Media Lab Asia says the software has "vast potential applications" in areas like census data collection, revenue maps, and village level planning for water wells, tube wells and epidemiological data for rural healthcare.
"The cost of GIS software on computers starts at around 
65,000 and goes up to 400,0000-500,000. Media Lab Asia has decided to release GramChitra free of cost to promote the use of GIS software for developmental purposes."
Gupta says the project has achieved "some big things".
"It is a case of empowerment through information -- a case of 'information of the people, by the people, for the people'. You no longer have to bribe the local village land-record official to get a map. It also gives students a chance to learn geography from a local map."
It has built up map-awareness at the village level and created a participatory model for GIS studies at that level.
"Maps can be an effective way to collect data and simultaneously display results. Simple notional maps are a good starting point for identifying and planning basic village resources.
"We have worked with village youth and schoolchildren to bring about awareness of the utility of maps using GramChitra. GIS software need not be limited to scientists and technologists."
Alex Pentland of Media Lab Asia said the GIS software could serve as a fundamental tool for planning at all levels.
"We developed GramChitra to ensure this technology can be used even by villagers. The combination of free software and low-cost handheld computers opens up a world of possibilities," Pentland said.
"This software can be used at the grassroots level for collection and analysis of local data all the way up to the national level for strategic planning."
In future, GramChitra would be extended to support data collection using low cost sensors for water and soil analysis, meteorological data, livestock management, environment and ecological conservation and planning, Media Lab Asia has said.
Media Lab Asia -- an offshoot of MIT's Media Lab -- is a network of research and development institutions. It promises to take the benefits of new technologies to everyone with special focus on learning, health and economic development.
Set up as a not-for-profit company with seed funding from the Indian government, it has been appointed by the U.N. as its academic and industrial body for the region in the newly created U.N. ICT Task Force.
CSDMS has been working to promote GIS's use in various development activities. It helps the Asian community in developing their "capabilities and policies" to maximise benefits obtainable through GIS.
Source: IANS
65,000 and goes up to 400,0000-500,000. Media Lab Asia has decided to release GramChitra free of cost to promote the use of GIS software for developmental purposes."
Gupta says the project has achieved "some big things".
"It is a case of empowerment through information -- a case of 'information of the people, by the people, for the people'. You no longer have to bribe the local village land-record official to get a map. It also gives students a chance to learn geography from a local map."
It has built up map-awareness at the village level and created a participatory model for GIS studies at that level.
"Maps can be an effective way to collect data and simultaneously display results. Simple notional maps are a good starting point for identifying and planning basic village resources.
"We have worked with village youth and schoolchildren to bring about awareness of the utility of maps using GramChitra. GIS software need not be limited to scientists and technologists."
Alex Pentland of Media Lab Asia said the GIS software could serve as a fundamental tool for planning at all levels.
"We developed GramChitra to ensure this technology can be used even by villagers. The combination of free software and low-cost handheld computers opens up a world of possibilities," Pentland said.
"This software can be used at the grassroots level for collection and analysis of local data all the way up to the national level for strategic planning."
In future, GramChitra would be extended to support data collection using low cost sensors for water and soil analysis, meteorological data, livestock management, environment and ecological conservation and planning, Media Lab Asia has said.
Media Lab Asia -- an offshoot of MIT's Media Lab -- is a network of research and development institutions. It promises to take the benefits of new technologies to everyone with special focus on learning, health and economic development.
Set up as a not-for-profit company with seed funding from the Indian government, it has been appointed by the U.N. as its academic and industrial body for the region in the newly created U.N. ICT Task Force.
CSDMS has been working to promote GIS's use in various development activities. It helps the Asian community in developing their "capabilities and policies" to maximise benefits obtainable through GIS.
Source: IANS