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Paul Burgess and Dr. Ken Owens, Jr., 2004 winners of the Intel Environment
Award.
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Students collaborate as part of the Intel Learn program in India.
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Intel technology helps panda researchers at China's Wolong Nature Reserve.
© K. Feng/GLOBIO.org
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In a sensor network, tiny computers, or "motes," sense, compute and
communicate.
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Students in Malaysia learn to assemble a computer.
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Inspired by the opportunities
around them, individuals, organizations and communities use Intel technology in
myriad ways to improve society.
Intel and CICT roll out People's PC program
It sounds like an unattainable challenge: to make affordable, high-quality PCs
available to every citizen of a populous developing nation. Yet that is
precisely the aim of the People's PC program. The first personal computer
ownership program in the Philippines launched in September 2004. It is a joint
effort of Intel Philippines and the Philippine government's Commission of
Information and Communications Technology (CICT) to lower the cost of PC
purchase utilizing local assembly and fulfillment.
CICT Chair Virgilio L. Peña said, "By making it more affordable for government
and the general public to own PCs, we will come closer to bridging the digital
divide and providing our citizens with access to information to uplift the
quality of their education and livelihood."
Work with the World Economic Forum
As part of an international team established in 2004, Intel works with the
World Economic Forum (WEF) to study the technical challenges of providing IT
access to people in emerging markets. The research project IT Access for
Everyone (ITAE) will help medical practitioners use computers to look up
medical information, maintain records and access professional organizations
online. It will also help teachers use computers to raise the standard of
education in the classroom and promote citizen access to government services
online. The Intel ITAE team looks for opportunities to apply the capabilities
around the globe. They are currently focusing on developing a business
framework that will develop and deliver solutions to the Brazilian marketplace.
Through the IT Innovation Centre in Ireland and the company's education program,
Intel is working on another WEF program, the Jordan Education Initiative (JEI).
Begun in 2003, the program is equipping schools and training teachers;
establishing broadband and wireless networks; and developing teaching and
learning management resources in math, science and other subjects.
Intel Community Solutions
Launched in 2003, Intel's Community Solutions program identifies opportunities
to develop and implement new technology usage models to meet the social needs
of communities worldwide.
Italy. Intel designed solutions for the use of wireless technology in
healthcare delivery. A new "wireless hospital" in Milan has become a model for
the Italian government in its efforts to enhance the use of technology in
medical facilities nationwide.
Malaysia. A "wireless university" initiative at the University of Science
of Malaysia has become a model for educational technology enhancement
throughout the region.
Arizona, USA. The Intel Tech Center at the Chandler Chamber of Commerce
is exploring ways to improve how small businesses use technology to enhance
their competitiveness and profitability.
By connecting Intel's technology acumen with leaders and organizations eager to
solve unique social problems, we are helping to develop new solutions that
expand the role and benefits of information technology in improving government,
education and healthcare.
The Community Solutions effort isn't without challenges. After years of trying
to bridge the gap between the computing technology haves and have-nots, we have
learned that the digital divide goes beyond computers and Internet access.
Technology alone cannot create meaningful, lasting solutions-people create
them. As a result, communities need to be fully involved in determining how
technology will be used to make a difference.
Progress with sensor motes
Several years ago, Intel embarked on a project using Intel remote sensors to
optimize winemaking while saving water and minimizing pesticide use. Work on
new and innovative applications of this remote sensor technology continues.
In April 2004, an Intel team assembled such a system by strapping 120
plastic-encased motes to the trunks and limbs of redwoods at a grove near
Sonoma in Northern California. The goal is to build a detailed picture of how
the microclimate enveloping such trees changes and how the trees shape the
local environment through their shade, respiration and water transport.
Intel Environment Award at Tech Museum Awards
The Intel Environment Award highlights innovators and their achievements,
illustrating Intel's commitment to improving the environment. Intel has
supported The Tech Museum Awards, which recognize individuals and organizations
working to solve global challenges by creating and using simple and complex
technology, since the inception of the Intel Environment Award in 2001.
In 2004, the Intel award went to Dr. Ken Owens, Jr. and Paul Burgess of Humboldt
State University, who designed a more precise, safer method for clearing
landmines from the world's war-torn regions. Owens and Burgess equipped a
mine-clearing robot with centimeter-accurate Global Positioning System
receivers and a navigation system. The U.S. Army is already considering the
technology for use in its de-mining vehicles. The researchers see WiFi
technology as a possible next step, with the establishment of a local area
network to control the robot via a handheld device.
www.techawards.org
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China.
In 2004, Intel initiated the "Volunteer Go Rural Area" program in conjunction
with the Shanghai Association of Science and Technology in the rural Song Jiang
district. Intel's site in Pudong, China donated desktop PCs to each of seven
rural area science departments. As part of the program, Intel volunteers
deliver science lectures, consultations, road shows and surveys in these areas.
China.
To aid researchers in the study, care and preservation of the endangered giant
panda, Intel deployed a campus-wide broadband and wireless communications
network within China's Wolong Nature Reserve. In addition to significantly
improving the communications network at Wolong, Intel collaborated with GLOBIO,
an international nonprofit educational organization, to create the Intel
Children's Learning Lab within the Wolong Giant Panda Museum of China.
Partnered with labs in Portland, Oregon, USA, the Wolong lab enables children
around the world to collaborate, study and interact in creative new ways. In
addition, using GLOBIO's online education platform, students from China's Sha
Wan and Oregon's Woodstock elementary schools will interact with each other
while learning about the diversity of their respective local environments.
India.
Intel is working with the Ministry of Communications and IT (MoCIT) in three
areas of focus: bringing IT to the general population, investing for technology
competitiveness, and education. Intel will form a consortium to design a
low-cost computing platform for rural kiosks. The collaboration will include
joint initiatives to make broadband wireless technology a viable option for the
delivery of rural services. In the area of education, Intel will proliferate
the Intel Learn program across the country and work with educational
institutions on curriculum design, faculty development workshops and research
collaborations.
Malaysia.
Intel Malaysia opened the first Intel Wireless Community Computer Center,
adjacent to the Georgetown Library. Intel employees also volunteer as mentors
at the center as part of the Intel Involved program. The center is accessible
to more than 60,000 registered members of the Georgetown Library and to
non-registered library users as well.
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Nigeria.
Intel equipped the Bola Ige Information Technology Center in Abuja with
high-end computers powered by Intel® Pentium® processors. The center provides
adaptive technology, which is used to teach blind or visually impaired people
how to use computers. Minister for Women's Affairs, Obong Rita Akpan, described
the training "as an opportunity to publicize the talents and contributions of
the blind, build the capacity of young men and women, and strengthen youth
networks to influence governance processes at all levels."
Peru.
The Center of Competitiveness and Development (CCD) in Lima provides computer
training and jobs to visually impaired Peruvians, enhancing their
competitiveness in the academic and business worlds. Working with the center,
Intel helped transform a concept cyber café into a one-of-a-kind professional
enterprise for the visually impaired. The CCD is an innovative solution for
promoting training, business opportunities and personal independence to
Peruvians with disabilities. We plan to replicate this successful model at 10
additional centers in Latin America.
Philippines.
Intel and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
launched an effort to improve computer literacy and Internet access, provide
teacher training in the use of computers and the Internet, and expand access to
global information for teachers and students in schools located in the
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
Philippines.
Intel Philippines installed a wireless network at Malacañang, the official
residence of the Philippine head of state. The project is viewed as the first
step toward electronically linking government institutions and public officials
for more proactive and dynamic governance.
"Our corporate social responsibility initiatives include enhancing the
technological capabilities of Philippine government institutions so they can
cope with the challenges of today's ICT [information and communications
technology]-based global economy," noted Intel Philippines General Manager
Peter Iredale.
Saudi Arabia.
Intel supplied high-end processors to Saudi Arabia's "PCs for Homes"
initiative, which will make affordable PC ownership a reality for a wider
population and increase IT awareness. The aim is to promote social and economic
development by accelerating the transition to the digital economy and spreading
the computer and Internet culture across Saudi society. |
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