Kids Test Solar-Powered Computer Tablet for Schools in India
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
The One Laptop Per Child project might need to step up, now that tablet devices are on the scene. Rice University has partnered up with Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and Villages for Development and Learning Foundation in India to develop a solar powered tablet computer that can be used in schools that lack electricity. Dubbed the “I-Slate,” it is already being tested out in classrooms.
Rice University states that the I-Slate is currently in development at the Institute of Sustainable and Applied Infodynamics (ISAID) at NTU, but the first protptypes built this summer are undergoing tests this month in India.
“President Obama’s visit to India this week highlights Indian economic achievements, but India’s full economic potential will only be realized with sustainable, low-cost technologies that benefit all segments of the population,” said Krishna Palem in apress release. Palem is a Rice University professor leading an effort to create a low-cost, electronic tablets that can replace the handheld slates currently used by school kids.
