ZIMBABWE – CEO of UK-based start-up Academy of Robotics, William Sachiti, has published an open-source technology known as ‘Trees of Knowledge’ to improve access to education through smartphones in Africa.

This free-to-develop technology enables a tree or rural landmark to broadcast a wifi connection providing access to a pre-loaded package of educational content.

The wifi connection and content come from a micro-computer molded into the landmark to protect it from theft or damage.

The free wifi connection will be available to mobile devices including phones, tablet, laptop or computer within a roughly 100m radius. Users can also charge their phones by plugging it into the accompanying solar-powered battery charging station.

The micro-computers will run on the power equivalent of a small rechargeable battery and can run for years without maintenance.

Basically, there is no need for the phone to be connected to a carrier or any network provider, removing the issue of expensive data charges, Sachiti explains.

Speaking on what prompted him to develop the open-source technology, Sachiti said the inspiration came from the background most African students come from.

“One of the challenges in providing education through smartphones is that, while many people have access to a basic smartphone of some description, in many areas 3G coverage is still patchy.

“The data costs are high for most people and in rural areas keeping the phones charged is a problem when there is limited or no electricity. Trees of Knowledge aims to address all these challenges.”

“Everyday millions of children walk for hours to get to school in the hope – often a vain hope – that they will find a teacher present at their school. In other cases, children are unable to attend school because they need to take care of the family’s cattle or support their family in other ways.

There is an urgent need to improve access to education for these children. For many children their classes are taught gathered under the shade of a large tree, so ‘Trees of Knowledge’ seemed a natural technical extension of this existing system.”

The technology uses a basic computer like the Raspberry Pi computers which have been used in refugee camps in Lebanon by UNICEF as part of its Raspberry Pi for Learning initiative.

Sachiti believes that Africa’s burgeoning tech ecosystem can play a vital role in this collective effort.