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'Info-Thela' may take IT to the masses

Bipin Chandran

The ubiquitous thela (cart) may soon sport a computer on board and bring e-mail, e-banking and entertainment services right to your doorstep.

In what could be the only such project in the world, Media Labs Asia, a Rs 50-billion joint initiative of the ministry of communications and IT and the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is working on the concept of an 'Info-Thela' to bring IT to the masses in the true sense of the word.

Media Labs Asia believes that the 'Info-Thela' project can not only provide high-class information technology services to the community, but also make a commercially viable venture for educated wannabe entrepreneurs.

A Media Labs Asia concept paper on the subject states that the humble push-cart or cycle-cart can be fitted with a computer and associated peripherals to provide mobile e-mail, news, on-line banking, entertainment and educational services on a payment basis.

Initial estimates by Media Labs Asia project that a prototype of the Info-Thela can be developed for about Rs 50,000. In fact, the first prototype of the contraption, which would be propelled by pedal power, is already being developed.

On the viability of the project, the paper says that the service be offered at public places like railway stations, bus terminals or near courts and police stations on payment basis to ensure adequate returns.

But that is not the only innovative project Media Labs Asia is working on. Another project, called 'Interactive Tabla Teacher' is also on the drawing boards. The package aims at developing tools and resources for developing a computer programme that would help students learn musical instruments like the Tabla on a PC.

The tool would have an interactive element and students would be able to get programmed feedback from great masters. A model of the interactive tabla under development would allow a student to listen to instructions from the teacher as he practices and make necessary corrections.

Media Labs Asia also wants to preserve the tradition of story telling for posterity. A story telling tool is being developed that would compile village folklore and stories and enable the information to be shared by people across the globe.

The project would create employment opportunities in the field of videographics and multimedia, the project paper by Media Lab Asia says. Finally, the lab is working on a project to solve the multiplicity of languages in the country.

A team in Media Lab Asia is working on a project to help easy translation of content into any Indian language so that information sharing becomes easy.

The research team in the organisation is developing a system called 'Agro Explorer' with multi-language facility.

The Agro Explorer would use a search engine to locate the exact meaning of a word, phrase or sentence and translate as desired.

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