Sugar
Nomads Plants
FLISOL 2010
Lauretta Chupeta p. 12
Marina Bello y Alex Pérez p.20
María Inmaculado Sanseverino p. 6
ENGLISH VERSION
VOL I N9
Adolescents digital and labor inclusion
editorial
Spreading free knowledge in a fertile land When the results of our activities are not expected, it is common to begin an analysis to assess where we went wrong. However, in most cases the 'harvest' is the outcome of what we sow and how we take care of the planting. Unless exogenous variables (which would always be present), the status of the "harvest" is the result of our actions. The results we are getting in the Free Software world did not escape this analogy. If we don't plant continually and take care of the growing seeds, we should not expect good results. That's why, as the dissemination activities which in my last century time was called "Free Software evangelization," are an important part of the planting. Events such as the recently completed FLISOL, in which Latinux Magazine was present, are an important contribution to this ongoing process of promoting Free Software. However, such activities should not be limited to an annual meeting and much less be devoted solely to a captive community. Latinux Magazine has primarily focused on Free Software, but we understand that this is only part of an extensive network of exchange of knowledge. Free Software is only one component of what is the essence of our work: free knowledge. And here is where the issue
really starts to change.
cational institutions and professionals
I remember the first time that the term "free knowledge" was used as part of the third global forum of free knowledge, held in the city of Maracaibo, Venezuela in November 2005 . The event, originally called "Free Technology Global Forum." The first was held in Caracas, Venezuela in November 2004 and the second in India. Organizing the third event we realized that it was a mistake to talk only of Free Software and Technologies, that the right way was to speak and work for free knowledge universally. That is why we changed the name of the event. Unfortunately, the event only reached its sixth edition. What I call the "components of cancer� that erode the philosophical foundations of free software, such as the desire to be protagonist, selfishness and envy, were not outside the free knowledge event. Beyond the merely anecdotal, what is salvageable is work to promote free knowledge, using the free technologies as a mean, not as an end. This development must begin at the grassroots, working with children and adolescents. We need to be authorized to take ownership of the knowledge and use the Software (free or not) as tools. They must be trained to use, for example, a spreadsheet and not a specific program which make them dependent. This issue of Latinux Magazine covers some of these activities, including the excellent work done by Maria del Pilar Saenz with Sugar in Colombia. Businesses, organizations, edu-
who are part of the Latinux Cluster are fully committed to promote free dissemination of knowledge. That is why if you, dear reader, have any initiative you want to publish, or in which we could participate, please contact us using the Latinux Press email account (info@latinuxpress.com) or Latinux Magazine. Do not forget, that if we want to democratize knowledge and close the so-called "digital divide", we must sow the free knowledge in a fertile land, our children and adolescents. Ricardo Strusberg Venezuela strusberg@latinux.com
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content
editorial
In touch
"Renovación, eventos y participación en p. 1 «tiempos difíciles»." Ricardo Strusberg
Sugar Lauretta Chupeta
bazaar of Ideas
events FLISOL 2010 María Inmaculada Sanseverino
p. 14
p. 4
First Iberoamerican Symposium on Open p. 6 Government in Buenos Aires Jorge Cabezas
Internet, Freedom and debauchery Manuel Morán
p. 16
poster
p. 18
technology kiosk difussion zone Adolescents digital and labor inclusion Carlos José María Olguin Oscar José Busatta Carin Rosángela Krebs Redel
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"Nomad Plants" p. 8
Marina Bello Alex Pérez
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p. 10
p. 20
content
Comicnology
p. 22
Calendar
p. 23
Directory
p. 24
Editor in Chief Ricardo Strusberg Associate Editor Gustavo Maggi Editor María Inmaculada Sanseverino Illustrator and Graphic Designer Marina Bello Administrative Assistant Yeliana Villalobos Translation Martha Romero Administration Jacqueline Pérez de StrusbergEditor en Jefe For local contacts: brasil@latinuxmagazine.com chile@latinuxmagazine.com colombia@latinuxmagazine.com puertorico@latinuxmagazine.com republicadominicana@latinuxmagazine.com mexico@latinuxmagazine.com peru@latinuxmagazine.com uruguay@latinuxmagazine.com usa@latinuxmagazine.com venezuela@latinuxmagazine.com
LATINUX CLUSTER Sponsored by: Latinux Cluster The Cluster Latinux is an enterprises, educational institutions and consultants network specialized in solutions based in free technologies, including consulting and training for these solutions.At the same time, it focuses in consulting, support, maintenance, developing and enterprises solutions installation services based in free technology worldwide. Inside business opportunities opened from Latinux, one is to cover the no satisfied demand from organizations, companies and governments related to free software development and the chance to take advantage of products and services with a specific local success or in a whole conglomerate acting area.All Latinux participant enterprises are well established in their own working area and all have a long experience with free technology.
LATINUX PRESS Published by: Latinux Press, a division of Latinux Inc. Address: Av. Samuel Lewis, Edificio Central, PH. Panamá, República de Panamá Phone: + 1 305 5171853 / Email: info@latinuxpress.com Latinux Magazine is not responsible for the content posted. The information is responsability of the authors and/or associates mentioned here
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events
The continent celebrated the Free Sof Software ftware Installation Installation Latin American Festival in 18 countries and 200 cities
The LATINUX business community, a pioneer in open technologies and leader in the Latin American corporate and personal market , due to its solutions and services in the areas of education, certification, research and development, supports once again the
communities which simultaneously organize events where free software is installed, for free and in a completely legal way, on participants' computers . This is why the festival is recognized as the most important community event.
ment, experiences known, developments and research, clarify doubts about the technology issues and find alternatives or solutions for home, business, an academic institution or the government, among other aspects. FLISOL's purpose is to encou-
largest event broadcasting free software in Latin America. The Free Software Installation Latin American Festival (FLISOL for its acronym in Spanish), takes place every year since 2005 in various local
This activity is scheduled for April 24, it invites students, academics, businessmen, workers, officials, fans and even people who do not have much knowledge of computers to come and hear what it is the free software move-
rage the use of free software, extending knowledge about its philosophy, scope, progress and development to the general public. Therefore, the festival has also a series of talks and workshops on local, national and Latin American to-
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Venezuela says YES to Free Software
pics which are related to this technology. As every year, countries participating in the Free Software Installation Latin American Festival 2010 are Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela.
MarĂa Inmaculada Sanseverino Venezuela macu@latinuxmagazine.com
About 6,000 people attended this important event on April 24th in the 14 local offices in which they conducted the activity, which represents an increase in the number of quarters compared to last year (five more) and a 60% increase in public participation. In smaller cities there were over 300 attendees and in Caracas, the capital, there were over 2,000 visitors, 40 staff members in the area of logistics, 60 facilities, 11 sponsors, 24 conferences and 286 machines installed successful. The expectations for next year are positive and the goals are two,for Flisol to be opened in 20 local offices and to receive at least 8,000 attendees.
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events
First Iberoamerican Symposium on Open Government in Buenos Aires
Last Friday April the 9th, was held at the University of Buenos Aires (UBA),Faculty of Economics, the First Iberoamerican Symposium on Open Government, under a very large audience that filled from the beginning to the end the capacity of the assembly hall of this educational institution.
Last Friday April the 9th, was held at the University of Buenos Aires (UBA),Faculty of Economics, the First Iberoamerican Symposium on Open Government, under a very large audience that filled from the beginning to the end the capacity of the assembly hall of this educational institution. The event, organized by the Digital Society Foundation, brought together 17 specialists in the field, half of them Spanish and half of them Argenti-
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nes, who throughout the day presented before an enthusiastic audience different experiences, proposals and projects for the implementation of this way of exercising citizenship rights characterized by the use of computer tools, in particular, the so-called Web 2.0 . For the first time, thanks to the efforts of the Foundation and the support of sponsors, officials, businessmen, technicians and activists from Spain and Argentine it was possible to
exchange views, experiences, and perspectives on this phenomenon, known worldwide since the successful campaign of the current U.S. president, Barak Obama, that is changing the very concept of citizenship, adding to the everyday activists and citizenship practices the intensive use of Information and Communication Technologies. The opening panel featured the prominent presence of the State Secretaries Deputy Chief, John M. Abal
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Medina and the Spain's Ambassador to Argentina Rafael Estrella, both with a very active presence on social networks and the blogosphere. Among the Iberian speakers, stood out the Basque Country Open Government Director, Nagore de los Rios, the director of the Ideas Fundation, César Calderón, a Representative of the Assembly of Extremadura, Cesar Ramos Esteban and the Baleares Islands ICT Director, Antoni Manchado. Just as admirable were the lectures given for Javier Llinares Salas,
Argentine team led by Sebastián Lorenzo, shone with dissertations from Osvaldo Nemirovsci, Ariel Vercelli and Daniela Vilar. It was presented the experience of building INADI 2.0, with a presence in multiple social networks, which mobilizes today more three thousands and five hundred volunteers and serves as a channel of direct communication with the public, forming a first practical implementation of Open Government in the Argentine state.
Autoritas consulting President and Pablo Javier Diaz Cruz, from EVM Project Management. Additionally, the
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Diffusion Zone
Overview of the College of Computer Science, Cascavel Campus outreach projects' current state which is developed with adolescents who are at personal and social risk
After contacting the Unioeste Dean of Extension in late 2002, representatives of the College of Computer Science and the direction of Cascavel Mirim Guard met to discuss the possibility of providing collegiate basic computer courses for adolescents at Guardian Cascavel Mirim. Considering the need that these adolescents have to acquire basic computer skills to satisfy part of the requirements to access the labor market, the collegiate created the project called "Basic computer skills”. In early 2006, the Cascavel
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Mirim management again contacted the College of Computer Science to verify the possibility of extending the training provided to the teens also to their families. The project " Basic computer training " was created with the same format as above, to meet this request. To our surprise, there wasn't participation by adolescent's family to justify its existence, because of this the project went back to serve mainly teenagers. In 2007 this project was renamed as " Adolescents Digital Inclusion through Free Software Training” and its objectives were tailored to serve a new request from the Guarda Mirim administrators who, on
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that occasion, requested that the training should be offered on free software, claiming that several of the employers who hire young people after this training had made this request, as they were beginning to adopt open technologies. This work presents the training projects and activities that were conducted last year as well as the actions taken to comply with the administration request of Cascavel Mirim Guard to provide training in free software. These projects aim at the digital inclusion of adolescents. Digital Inclusion Inclusion is defined as the process of creating conditions for access to digital resources and effective
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Diffusion Zone
practical use of these technological
Science. Each group is composed of a
their homes, for this reason in Module
resources. This implies that in addition
maximum of 20 adolescents. This
1 - Introduction to Computing and
to having access to equipment, people know how to handle them. Digital inclusion involves the learning, use and mastery of software and systems needed to enable people to communicate and interact with other people using information and communication technology. Through the use of these technologies these individuals may assume different roles, from content
amount is determined by the number of computers in the lab used for training. Classes are offered on Saturday mornings, in the case of the "Basic computer" project (for adolescents from the La Guarda Mirim), and in the afternoon for the training offered to adolescents and their families (project "Digital Inclusion of adolescents through Training in Free Software ").
between hardware, presenting for all the computer, each of its components and their functions, and the software which manages all the hardware. We explain the difference between free software, which can be used, copied, studied, modified and redistributed without restriction, and proprietary software that limits the user just to use it and through the payment of a license.
producers to consumers. Inclusion is a complex process that incorporates new opportunities and challenges ahead. Rondelli (2006) stated that "... means creating opportunities for learning made from the digital technical assistance that can be used in everyday life and work." In other words, individuals, in addition to master the use of technologies, need to know how and where to use what they've learned. Just as those restricted from economic assets are excluded, those who are deprived of access to information technology and communication are digitally excluded. Thus, to provide digital inclusion means to rescue the digitally excluded from the margins of society and to integrate them into the context of production, circulation and consumption of information. This issue is of great relevance in today's society, driven by information and knowledge.
The methodologies used are: presentation of content through use of slides and, primarily, direct interactions with the computer, through specific exercises, proposed in the classroom, in order to use the most important features of each application used in the training. During Module 1 first class Introduction to Computing and Linux – we give students the notion that the space they are using is public, therefore it is a right, noting, however, that its use should be responsible. Also important is to show them their responsibility in order for the class to function properly, suggesting improvements, asking the supervisors about content and new technologies, discussing, in general, its functions. Another task done at this early stage is a small reflection on how their domain over technology, in this case the computer, can help them achieve their goals in society. Most of the students participating in the project did not have the opportunity to use a computer before this experience. Those who, on the contrary, used a computer, it usually did in cyber cafes or with friends or relatives, meaning, outside
Finally we present the history of Linux, free operating system that we use in the Fedora distribution, and its interface. In the next module - Text editing – it is used the BrOffice.org Writer. This module works editing and formatting texts in general, seeking to use everyday students issues, such as matters relating to school, current affairs, news, lyrics of music from their favorite artists and related to their social needs, among others. Arriving at the third module Spreadsheet we use Calc BrOffice.org. This module teach the template and cell concepts. Through practical classroom examples, worked inside the classroom, as payroll expenses, a shopping list and a school report card, we use all the features of Calc, learning to define and use formulas, conditional formatting and performing basic functions learned in the previous module, BrOffice. org Writer, which are now reused. In the fourth module – Creating presentations – is used the BrOffice.org Impress, BrOffice.org last application from the suite we work with in training. This module explains the functions of a Presentation for any
Materials and Methods The project features five modules per group of teenagers. During one year two groups are included in each project. A module is supervised by students from the College of Computer
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Linux – is showed the difference
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product or topic, using interactive resources like images, sounds and
Participants who comply with an assistance of greater than or equal to
to the projects (Figure 2).
videos, but giving special attention to school contents. Finally, in the browsing the Internet Module using the Mozilla Firefox, free browser characterized by its perfect functionality and navigational safety. But just a more secure browser is not enough, in this module is also shown the steps to be able to use the Internet more safely, avoiding going into unknown pages and opening emails with links to other sites. An email account is created for each student and they are taught to communicate via email. We show the capabilities of the browser for a website better use, adding pages to the Favorites list, and searching on the accessed page and working with tabs.
75 percent receive a certificate of participation in the activity.
2008 two of the supervisors involved in the outreach projects received scholarships. This number increased to 7 in the year 2009 which resulted in a greater commitment to projects from their part and at the same time, the encouraging of other participants to develop their activities as best as possible, facing the possibility to get this financial support. In 2009, half of the student campus supervisors were renovated and new members were incorporated into the projects, thus providing more training for students in educational activities and, logically, into the content offered. Additionally, there was an increase in the number of supervisors (8 more), which allowed more students
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Results and Discussion Since the creation of the the first project with the purpose of meeting the computer training needs for the Cascavel Mirim, approximately 520 adolescents were included, and this year another 80 will be trained. Currently in these projects participate 2 Instructors from the College of Computer Science, 1 laboratory technician and 25 supervisors (students in the course of Computer Science - Cascavel Campus) where one of the supervisors has the additional function of updating the page where is placed all information relating
It is interesting to note that in
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to participate in outreach activities and have a closer contact with the
made it feasible for two years to train
community. Besides this, the supervisors number increase allows the students advisement to be more personalized, as we now have four supervisors per module instead of three, as it was before. From the observation that not all people who participate in the course have typing skills, since 2005 it is included in Module 1 a space for participants to familiarize with the keyboard, so that in 2009 the exercises were rethought for make this activity more attractive. In the process of adopting open source technologies was sought the support of the Informatics Directorate (DRI) at the university which, through a extension project,
Currently this training is offered by students supervisors at the beginning of the year to all new students supervisors. The 30 hours training is about the Linux operating system study and use, the applications offered inside the BrOffice.org suite and Mozilla Firefox.
our students as supervisors.
Carlos JosĂŠ Maria Olguin Oscar JosĂŠ Busatta Carin Rosangela Krebs Redel BRASIL prof.olguin@gmail.com
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In touch
Maria del Pilar Saenz, MA A in Physics from th he Universidad Nacion nal dee Colombia, is also a member of the research group of Physical Systemss, lecturer at the Natio onal Peedagog gical University and founder of Sugar Lab bs Foundation Colo ombia
Lauretta Chupeta: Who is manufacturing the XO-1? Maria del Pilar: Quanta is the corporation responsible for manufacturing the hardware. They are being manufactured in Taiwan and are, in fact, the largest producer of laptops in the world. LC: What component is used to construct the XO-1? Is it resistant? MP: It is a plastic that is made to last five years or more, to withstand shocks and inhospitable conditions, for example, can fall from a height of five feet or almost seven feet, it can get wet as can be in places with moisture, dust and sun. It is the best machine for many adverse conditions ... LC: From what age a child is able to use the XO? Must they have some previous knowledge to use it? MP: The children can use it from age 6 to 12. However, there are children who can use it from 3 years of age and even from the 2. LC: Who supports OLPC? MP: The United Nations Programme for Development (UNDP), Google, AMD, Red Hat, News Corp, Brightstar Corp. and the collaboration of other companies.
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LC: What can you say about Sugar for children with disabilities? MP: Some of the tools of Sugar still work with children who have for example, visual or hearing problems, this is the reason the entire interface is more iconic, it helps and allows interaction with these children. Part of what is here already works with children with special needs, because it is a concern and that's why these improvements are being done things. LC: To what countries has extended this project? MP: In Uruguay and Peru are the largest deployments . LC: Is there competition to this idea? MP: There's Classmate, an Intel PC which basically came to compete with the OLPC. They have been developing the hardware in order for it to be func-
tional so it can be applied in different types of dvelopments. Now they're interested in Sugar Labs to see how it works and, also, are watching Sugar deployments. OLPC is not currently developing software for children of other ages. First we focus on covering as many children in the world, in fact, the idea is to boot from the little ones and then go up. But there are other places where they are raising these questions, for example, Uruguay has the largest deployments in the world, and have children that began in 2008 with the XO-1 and this year go from elementary to middle school. In these cases, they keep the machine. There is a Windows pilot program aimed to high school youth in
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XO, but it is unclear what criterion is
The latest Sugar's version has
LC: What about the technological trash
being done, it was assumed that this was going to implemented there in Uru-
a way to see its code. If I've learned enough I can modify the tool with
reality? MP: The machinery in ecological
guay, where the bigger OLPC with Su-
which I am learning to improve it, if I
terms is a complicated issue because
gar deployment is. The proposal comes to Elementary school and it is important to see what other things are needed to follow this same process. For the Middle/High school, formally, nothing has been developed as far as we know. We propose to take this and also have a dairy, store in it the daily activities we have been doing, instead of saving files and folders, in this way, simply , I return to the activity in whenever I am able, I can access the activity and see with who I did, how I did it, when I did it and from this it is created a different dynamic different from the conventional computer. All activities can be shared with the neighborhood, people can be invited, to write together, to study together, to play together. In this way you learn to learn, the way in which one learns to listen by listening, learning to speak to talking, ans so on.
can improve it I can share it, if I can share I can help others, and if I can help others I am helping to make a better society. At this time we have been conducting pilots, is being tested that children actually have the computers and that they can use it at school, because what we really want on the long term is for them to have access to computers, working with them at home and therefore assume that these computers enhance their learning. One can not say that seeing those pictures of smiling faces and children watching their computer is not rewarding, it is an achievement, it is, to come and crystallize an idea of this magnitude is important. The computer is a tool, but the computer without a substantive proposal beside it is still a machine. The most important thing we have is the software, because ultimately the tools bear a series of values. Sugar is the XO1 operating system, but at this time will
the idea is not to have more technology junk, so reusing them would be a good option. From my point of view, if children who get the machines will have opportunity to have other equipment, they can give it to other children who have not had the opportunity to interact with one, now if the case is children who will hardly have the opportunity to purchase a computer, it is best for them to keep it.
also be installed in other machines.
There are different implementations where the policy is not to give the child the machine to keep, so the machine stays at the school and is provided during school time. Personally, I think computers should be given to children so they own them. In Uruguay happens that the big boys of 16 to 17 years, ask the little kids for their machines because they never had the opportunity to manage a computer like that, so you find them tucked into the IRC channel and you realize that they pretend to be their little siblings. This is a natural ocurence, the idea is also that the computer ends becoming the home computer. Lauretta Chupeta Venezuela
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bazaar of Ideas
When people talk, I listen ... Several days ago I listened to a friend thanking God for the existence of electronic piracy ...
Today, Venezuelans live in a country where, being a technology's pirate is profitable and almost well recognized. This is so, that the Central University of Venezuela, our most important university, located near Caracas' downtown, the capital city, has an entire aisle full of “peddlers'� stands selling all the software, music and movies you can imagine. Even the series that are on prime time television right now. This, of course, downloaded from the Internet and burned onto compact discs and DVD's. Unfortunately, in Venezuela, many people have very low incomes, they don't have $800 to buy a licensed software, nor a friend who can help them get free software with similar characteristics to those they want .... It also happens that some people do have the money to buy the license of the software they use, but, Why spend so much money (this is worse in this country with a very restricted exchange control) when I can get the program for less than $2? And full loaded, including the cover!
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This is a reality all too familiar in Venezuela, many people go along with it, and few consider this important ... However, it is essential to understand, first of all, the Internet has no boundaries, in addition, nowadays with globalization, political systems have become hybrids, they are neither right nor left, to the contrary. And we must understand that while the laws allow it, people do what they want. If we can comprehend this, and we also understand that the overall economic situation of this country is not well off (the montly minimum feeeding cost for families is greater than the minimum wage), then the reason behind the indiscriminate and exacerbated piracy in this country comes out. And floats as well as human waste down a river. And that river, are the streets of our cities infected with software piracy on full blast, not to mention piracy on EVERYTHING else. Recently, I read in Elmundo.es, about Venezuela being the country which sells more than twice as
Blackberrys as Mexico and Brazil. In another article in a local newspaper, I also read that 60% of Caracas purchased Blackberrys are stolen in the first 2 months after the purchase. You have to wonder: What do the thieves do with these stolen phones? Well, they unlock them with anyone out there who knows how, and then resell them cheaper. Indeed, as a curiosity, let me tell you the costs of a Blackberry in Venezuela, three times the minimum wage, how about that!? So I live between consumption and thieves, but the real problem lies in freedom, because the consumerist can not consume because the thieves steal from them. And they are not the only ones who are robbed in this country. People exist who truly puts their effort to get free software, but there are people stealing codes and taking advantage of the vastness of the Internet to commit crimes. Years ago, when the Internet began to emerge, several U.S. companies conducted studies of what were the
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most searched words or phrases, and it was found that the first was "MP3". And among the most searched phrases is also "MP3" but accompanied by the word "Free". I think that if people want free music, they have to start by supporting the artists who provide it or, better yet, become one of them! AND THEY MUST NOT support people who steal and redistribute. There are many artists who live on what they earn, the music they make, and there are people who get that music free, illegally, over the Internet, then, How these artist support temselves? ... on the other hand, many other artists give us their music, they leave it free for all, but at the same time there are people trying to sell that music illegally. In both cases, it's theft. I consider there must be respect for the thoughts of others, and may be some people disagree, but that's no reason to take something which is not yours, which we have not won, we have not worked for . I'm no a musician, but I am an artist, and I would not want my work to be stolen, I sincerely believe that nobody enjoys being stolen, stripped of his ideas and thoughts, which have cost him so much work. Even as few people seem to care much about being robbed of their Blackberry,
I think that as consumers, they allow the threft to make an excuse and buy a new model (smile, You are in hidden camera!) ... (If you didn't understand, I was kidding). This is an appeal to the conscience of each one of us, we must learn to respect each other. If you support Software Libre, do it seriously, so every day,more and more people contribute their knowledge for everybody sake. And if you support the ideas which cost, monetary recognition must exists for work well done, so pay for it, some people live to make that software which makes everyday life easier, and many do not charge it to become millionaires, just to continue working and benefit you. I live surrounded by thieves and pirates, where dreaming is just a consequence of having fallen asleep a long time, and watch out! Do not go to fall asleep in the subway! I struggle every day so people understand each other a little better, because only through comprehension and understanding, differences will end, definitely this world
is full of differences, and without them, it would be terribly boring; I would not have anything to write, but we all, certanly, would be free. A crazy and drunk good guy once told me on the street "Knowledge makes you free", I decided to believe him ... sounds like a good plan. Manuel Morรกn (Venezuela) fullthrottle.moran@gmail.com
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technology Kiosk
For many years, until today, most of the humanity motivations for scientific creation are linked to progress and industry. The technology has focused on the development of machines and urban growth. It is strange that some divert from these roads to look around and become aware of environmental problems affecting the humanity and the planet. In this case it was
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the Mexican visual artist Gilberto Esparza, who used as a source for his inspiration the environmental problem that afflicts the planet to create environmental awareness. Currently being exhibited in the Center for Art and Industrial Creation in Gij贸n (Spain), this is a project that stands out among the newest robotic creations. A perfect symbiosis between
machine, plants and bacteria, or even a mobile ecosystem: The robot plant or nomad plant, a curious hybrid that can move and look for food, polluted water from rivers. Within the robot are Bacterial Fuel Cells (Microbial Fuel Cells), the bacteria stored inside it process the water, using glucose to create electricity in a low but constant voltage, suffi-
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cient to set in motion the robot. This process also produces hydrogen, which when combined with oxygen, becomes clear water which feeds the plants that live within it. The robot's sonar allow it to detect and avoid obstacles when moving in search of river banks where it absorbs water with its "trunk." His movements are slow so it doesn't spend too much energy, but sometimes, only when an energy excess is stored this is used to create sounds which integrate the plant-robot with its environment.
The original hybrid creator doesn't intend to populate the planet with plant-machines responsible for cleaning the water. What he actually is looking for with his creation, is a call for reflection. It is a grain of sand in the search of technology, to save what remains of nature, but what if, on the contrary, human beings make irresponsible use of it ... Marina Bello y Alex PĂŠrez aadisenos@gmail.com
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calendar
May Mon
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The sixth edition of CNSL Ciudad Bolívar, Venezuela
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Final face of Universitary Contest of Free Software Cádiz, España
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Telecommunication and Information Society Worldwide Day
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The sixth edition of CNSL Maracay, Venezuela
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The sixth edition of CNSL San Juan de los Morros, Venezuela
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