INDIA – The concept of a mobile-based universal remote control isn’t new, yet the hope of one remains a hugely popular prospect that we’ve collectively scribbled on our wishlist. And whilst the reality of a successful one-size-fits-all solution is being researched as part of the Homebird project, others are taking it into their own innovative hands to solve their personal remote control needs (trust Jan Chipchase to spot this one, highlighted in his post entitled The Power of Remote / Field Hacks’).
One farmer created a hack that enables him to control his water pump remotely via his handset, an idea that has been developed commercially with the emergence of a device called the Nano Ganesh which can be used in conjunction with the simplest phones, including none other than the Nokia 1100 (another notch on the 1100 Club‘s belt).
Read on to find out more about the 29 year-old farmer behind the idea, and watch a video of his hack in action…
What’s interesting from the video is that the inventive farmer has created a reasonably simple solution which has huge benefits, both personally (eliminates dangers of walking to water pump at night and having to “dodge snakebites to get the water flowing again”) and professionally (saving time and improving efficiencies).
Now, the Nano Ganesh is a completely different set-up, but its relatively low cost starting at around Rs.560 (around £6.50 / US$11.8) makes it a viable option for farmers across India. But as Jan Chipchase points out in his article it’s solutions such as Nokia’s Village Connection initiative that help make this sort of tech tool possible, in turn encouraging the wider adoption of innovative homegrown solutions tailored towards rural life.
Are these sorts of in-the-thick-of-it developments the types that are truly going to push innovation in emerging markets? And can this sort of small-scale initiative co-exist alongside the visions of big organizations in those territories? It seems to work here, but what do you think?
Photo from mckaysavage