In this issue of the Tuesday Technical, you will find a round-up of some great innovative ideas from recent trade events such as the Mobile World Congress, Aid and Trade and the Emergency Telecoms Cluster open day. We will also take a close look into a great product from the Finance Technology Sector (known as “FINTECH”) which could potential save money for the frequent travellers who work in the aid sector.

In this issue of the Tuesday Technical, you will find a round-up of some great innovative ideas from recent trade events such as the Mobile World Congress, Aid and Trade and the Emergency Telecoms Cluster open day. We will also take a close look into a great product from the Finance Technology Sector (known as “FINTECH”) which could potential save money for the frequent travellers who work in the aid sector.

Fintech: For the longest time, the banking sector has made huge sums of money from Aid workers as they move from country to country. Whether its hard cash being changed to a different currency or we use debit or credit cards, it’s the bank who always win. The new Fintech companies are starting to challenge traditional banks. MPESA is a great example where mobile money changed the way people got paid and settled bills in Kenya.

For international travellers, there is now a great solution known as the borderless account from Transferwise. This new type of account allows the account holder to keep multiple currencies linked to a single debit card (facilitated by the Mastercard network). The debit card can be used to pay for items or to draw cash from an ATM.  The debit card can be topped up online via a bank transfer in many leading currencies. Once funds have been added to the Transferwise account, they can be converted to a wide range of other currencies using the mid-market standard rate (which is the same as currencies listed on XE.com) Here is an example of what rates would look like at today’s rates using Transferwise vs other accounts:

£100 buys $125.84 via Transferise (Including a fee of £0.92), $123.23 via Barclays Bank and $124,18 via Travelex.

Another benefit with Transferwise is that with each account, you will get a local bank account for each currency. On my Transferwise account, I have a USD balance with its own USA bank account information. This is now starting to save me money as when I am paid expenses in USD, I have the choice of keeping the cash in USD for future use or switching to GBP or EUROS at competitive rates. This could be a great money saver for those who get paid in one currency but live in a location which uses another currency. In April, my bank charged me at a rate of 1.34 to change USD to GBP, where Transferwise was 1.30 ! 

For more information, please visit https://transferwise.com

Power for the communities: One of the things which really frustrate me in the energy sector is when I get some smooth sales pitch from so-called inventors who claims to have a unique idea to solve energy in the Global South. As we approach the end of the sale pitch and we approach the great reveal, the solution often turns out to be yet another solar lantern. Whilst solar lanterns are really useful, this concept is so mainstream now that innovators need to stop pushing the solar lantern as something new!

So as you can imagine, with my scepticism around this portable energy area it does take something special to grab my attention. At the London Aid and Trade show this year, Yolk, a company based in Korea  has developed the “Electric Cow”. This is an innovative way to get small amounts of energy to families in return for allowing their children to attend school. This is how it works:

The system is very simple. A solar panel is built onto a frame which is made in the shape of a cow. The udder underneath (see photo) is a docking station to charge small batteries. When a child arrives at school for the day, he/she will place the battery in the dock. Here the attendance of the children is logged and the battery will be charged during the day. Each battery has a unique code which enables the child to be identified.

At the end of the day, the child takes the battery home where it can be used to power a LED light for three hours or charge a mobile phone. It’s a simple idea, but one which can have a sustainable impact on communities as batteries can be replaced by the school as and when they wear out. See more at http://yolkstation.com/solar-cow-project/

Innovation in communication: Push To Talk (PPT) is a well-known open method used to communicate in an open setting. This is where one station transmits by pushing a button, and all other people on the same channel can hear what is being said. The PTT method has its origins in radio and has been used in mainly a safety and security context. In fleet management is a great way to reach all vehicles simultaneously with important messages to multiple vehicles. In a security related situation, a PTT call can be made to ask for assistance.

PTT has been slowly declining over the years as people move to the more private direct dial calls using mobile phones. Whilst this change is great for privacy, I still believe that PTT is still the best means of communication for fleets as its simple to use, and certainly safer for drivers who might need to pass important messages whilst driving. PTT is initiated at the push of a button, where as a privately dialled call requires some attention from a driver and if answered, the message goes to one person.

The PTT method is still as relevant now as it has always been for decades. The good news is that PTT innovation is delivering some great new solutions for the aid sector. Motorola has introduced some new technology which could have some impact at a local level. Iridium introduced its satellite PTT solution a few years ago (as reported previously in the Tuesday Technical). I have an update on new iridium technology from Icom, a well-established maker of radios.

So let’s first take a look at what Motorola is doing.  

The new TLK100 looks like a radio and works like a PTT radio, but it’s not a radio! It uses the internet to establish talk channels through either its built in WiFi or GSM SIM card. With additional infrastructure, these devices can communicate with traditional VHF radios. But if you wanted to run a small radio network locally over WiFi hotspots or a larger network over a wide area via the cell network, this solution has some advantages over radio as follows;

• Unlike VHF radio, PTT over the internet is private.
• Radio licenses are not required.
• Communications cover could be better than VHF as it relies on internet connections rather than a single base radio station.

VHF has a limitation of cover; roughly 20KM max. Traditionally where PTT radio has been needed beyond the range of an urban setting, HF radio from manufacturers such as Codan and Barret would be used. HF has not been a massive success due to its complex nature. But in areas where mobile phone networks are reliable, the TLK100 could be a suitable option.

Finally, it is also possible to download an app from Motorola so that a standard mobile phone can be used to communicate with TLK100 handsets over the internet!

So let’s look at take a look at what Iridium has been doing in the PTT area recently.

Towards the end of 2018, Iridium complete its launch series and now have a completely new satellite constellation in place. A couple of years ago, Iridium launched its PTT service as part of the new satellite fleet. There are also plans to improve the Iridium data offer, but we will look at this in a future edition of the Tuesday Technical.

In 2017, I tried out Iridium PTT in the UK, Nepal, USA and South Sudan. Whilst I was impressed with the technology and coverage, the audio quality from the PTT version of the Iridium Extreme satellite telephone was far from good. The problem was down to the way Iridium was trying to use the built in earpiece (designed for low volume next to the ear!) as a loud speaker. The audio distortion was so great that it made the handset almost useless. The workaround for the PTT Handset is to plug in an external microphone/handset.

So it is good news that ICOM has entered the game with its new IC-SAT100. Icom is a traditional radio manufacturer from Japan, which means that the handset looks like a radio and will operate like a radio. But as it uses the Iridium satellite network, it will have global cover without the dead spots which HF Radio users frequently experience.  

The ICOM is yet to appear on the market, and when it does, I will test the new tech and report back!

Responsible deployment of drones: In some regions of the world, the word “Drone” has a lot of negative meaning. Here in the UK, the use of drones brought Gatwick, one of the UK largest airports to a standstill for almost two days. In other places, military drones owned by nation states have been used to bomb people whilst small cheap domestic drones have been used by ISIS to deliver IEDs.

So the word “Drone” has a lot of negative baggage and for the same reason, UAV is getting a bad press as well, So guess what?  Some bright person has come up with a nice new acronym; UAS which stands for Unmanned Aviation Systems!

OK, let’s look at the  positive. Drones are increasingly heading towards becoming a major tool for humanitarian work. Over the past year I have seen plenty of examples ranging from aerial photography to delivering items. At the Mobile World Congress this year, one organisation was showcasing a drone cell-phone transmitter which is able to cover a wide area following a major disaster such as an earthquake.

Drone’s, UAV,s, UAS’s or whatever we might call these devices in the future are coming our way quickly. It is important that as the aid sector that we develop our organisations strategies and polices to handle this technology properly. The World Food Programme is showing some great leadership in this area by running a training course which covers the topic very thoroughly over three modules as follows:

1. 2 days flight experience: This is the “hands on” training where students get to fly a range of UAS technologies including long range fixed wing models.
2. 4 days data training:  This module explores what sort of data can be collected from UAS and how it can be used to inform decision makers. There is some GIS Mapping included in this module.
3. 4 Days Regulatory & Coordination: In any country, you cannot just show up and fly. Same applies for UAS. This technology is super sensitive in some places which means that if an unregulated drone is flown, the pilot can end up in a deep trouble.  So in the model, students will cover aviation law and other hot topics such as data protection and privacy. As part of the same session, coordination is also covered. It’s much better for perhaps a small number of organisations operate drones and share data rather than NGOs filling the skies with loads of expensive and noisy hardware.

Hopefully as organisations start to build up their institutional UAS capacity, we will see this new technology being operated legally and responsibly for the benefit of the communities we all serve.