Kenyan tech firm invents world’s first ‘back-up generator to the Internet’

By JOE KIARIE

Africa has been seen as a marginal consumer market rather than a potential producer of hardware in technology.

Developments around the world rarely spark any euphoria even for hi-tech appliances that ultimately end up here. Most are costly and some reach the continent long after upgraded versions are released in the developed world.

Thus, it is no surprise that plans by a Kenyan non-profit tech firm to develop a device uniquely designed to function in Africa is eliciting global attention. Ushahidi, better known for software development, hopes to solve the twin problems of constant power outages and vastly unreliable Internet access.

They have developed an innovative modem, the BRCK, with which users can connect to the web even without electricity and in the remotest of areas. The rugged device is a small, lightweight box about the size of a brick. Designed for portability, it provides a reliable means of staying online.

Dubbed a “back-up generator to the Internet”, it connects two mains and has a smart battery that could work for eight hours without power. It works much like a cell phone by gaining its connectivity through a standard SIM card and/or Ethernet or WiFi connections while intelligently and seamlessly switching between Ethernet, WiFi, and 3G or 4G connections.

Multiple devices

Once operating, it can connect up to 20 devices with a WiFi signal that can cover several rooms. With an in-built-programmer, the device connects to the BRCK Cloud and has 16GB of memory that can be synced to Dropbox and other connected devices and applications.

Erik Hersman, the director of operations at Ushahidi, notes that with the world fast shifting to mobile connectivity, the device will be useful not just to Africa and the developing world, but also in developed nations where internet connections are patterned.

“It is meant for the global, mobile market but will also come in handy in the case of extreme storms and other disruptions,” he explains.

The director says the idea was conceived in 2010 as a result of operational difficulties experienced by Ushahidi’s team of programmers who are renowned for the crowd-sourcing software they pioneered during the 2008 post-election violence.

“As a company full of engineers always on the move around the globe, including in remote areas with poor infrastructure, we have faced serious challenges getting online and could not get connected as reliably as our peers in the developed world,” he states. “Being constantly frustrated by unreliable internet access, we set out on a mission to redesign the modem for the changing way we all connect to the web.”

Philip Walton, the head of software and a key figure behind the BRCK, explains further.

“We appreciated the fact that we direly needed a smart, rugged device that could easily connect to the internet, hop from one network to another, create a hotspot for multiple devices, while plugged in or running on battery power”.

Commercial venture

The Burkina Faso-born systems architect says the device is physically robust enough to withstand dust, humidity and a few tumbles.

Hersman, who started the iHub innovation centre in Nairobi in 2010, says they started toying with the concept last year.

“It took us eight prototypes before coming up with the ultimate device. It consumed a lot of time, energy and resources. With this kind of a gadget, you need a lot of patience and people who do not worry about whether it is going to work or not,” he states.

While Ushahidi is a non-profit organisation, the director asserts that the BRCK will be a commercial product.

“We want to encourage others like us to come up with profit-making solutions,” he avers. He says 1,000 units are already at the production stage in the US and will be shipped to various parts of the world by November, with each going for USD$205 (Sh17,425). The devises are open for pre-orders through Kickstarter until the end of this month, with over 600 such orders already made.

“Our target market is anyone who wants reliable connection to the internet in the office, at home or outdoors. Security, mining as well as tours and travel firms across Africa have expressed great interest after learning that this gadget will ensure connectivity in less than optimal environments,” he notes.

- Additional reporting by Lillian Aluanga-Delvaux.