The right of Michelle You to be identified as the author and Sol Linero to be identified as the illustrator of this work has been asserted.
All rights reserved.
This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, hired out or otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of Nosy Crow Ltd.
The publisher and copyright holders prohibit the use of either text or illustrations to develop any generative machine learning artificial intelligence (AI) models or related technologies.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Printed in China following rigorous ethical sourcing standards.
Papers used by Nosy Crow are made from wood grown in sustainable forests.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 (HB)
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 (PB)
WHAT IS TECH
Technology, or ‘tech’, is all around us: it’s in our homes, it’s on the street, it’s in hospitals, it allows us to travel and communicate with each other. But what actually is it?
Tech is the products or tools humans create to solve problems and make life easier. Phones, computers, TVs, cars, lights, washing machines and cameras are all tech. So are the apps that allow you to listen to music, play games, find your route on a map or send messages to friends and family.
While you’re reading this book, new types of technology are being invented! That’s the exciting thing about tech – it is always changing, and new types are always being created.
A tech start up, also known as a company is a group of people who work together to create tech products. To be successful, they must create something that a lot of people want or need.
DID YOU KNOW?
Someone who launches their own start-up is often called an entrepreneur.
WHY DO
WE NEED tech
Imagine a world with no tech at all . . .
How long would it take you to travel to the next town or city? What would you do to speak to someone quickly on the other side of the world? Where would you go if you broke a bone and there were no X-ray machines? We don’t need tech to do everything. But it can help us live better, longer, happier lives. And it is a crucial part of almost everyone’s jobs . . .
Doctors and dentists need computers to store information about their patients as well as machines to take a closer look at their body or teeth and prescribe the right medicine.
DID YOU KNOW?
Tech also helps scientists to develop new lifesaving medicines.
Farmers need vehicles, tools and sometimes robots on their farms to help them grow and pick their crops.
Police officers need security cameras to solve crimes, computers to store information (or ‘data’) and phones or radios to communicate with each other quickly in emergencies.
Without tech, we wouldn’t have animation software to make video games or cartoons. There would be no cameras, videos, TV shows or films.
Shopkeepers need cash registers and card machines to take payments, as well as security cameras and alarms to keep their shops safe.
Architects, engineers and builders need computer programs, tools and even drones to plan and construct buildings.
Banks use computers to store information about how much money people have. Cash machines make it easy for people to get money out, and banking apps let people pay using their phones.
Sometimes it’s difficult to believe that we didn’t always have tech in the world. In fact, much of the tech we use every day was only invented in the last 100 years . . .
THE HISTORY OF TECH
Humans have been inventing and using tools for thousands of years, but it wasn’t that long ago that we started using machines to solve more difficult problems.
French inventor Blaise Pascal invented the Pascaline, a clockwork calculator that could add up to 999,999.
Scottish inventor Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone.
English mathematician and writer Ada Lovelace wrote the earliest known computer program before computers even existed.
The world’s first television was demonstrated to scientists in London by Scottish engineer John Logie Baird.
THE BAIRD TELEVISOR
British Alan Turing and American-Hungarian John von Neumann developed the earliest form of computers.
American mathematician Katherine Johnson became a ‘human computer’ for NASA. Her calculations helped send many astronauts into space.
The first computer network (the internet) was invented. It was called ARPANET.
The World Wide Web was invented by British computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee. It is a system for accessing and navigating the internet.
DID YOU KNOW?
Artificial intelligence is when a machine or computer program can think and learn.
The first iPhone was created by Apple.
ChatGPT was launched. It is a type of Artificial Intelligence (AI) that can create human-like text.
Handheld games consoles became popular for playing games such as ‘Donkey Kong II.’
The first mobile app was created by Nokia. It was a game called ‘Snake’.
American robotics designer David Hanson created Sophia, a robot who can take part in conversations and show 60 facial expressions.
HOW DO YOU FIND YOUR IDEA
To start a tech company, you need a really good idea! What kind of tech product do you want to create? And what will it do?
In order to create something that lots of people want or need, you need to be good at observing, asking questions and listening.
Speak to your friends and family and ask them if there’s anything that would make their lives easier. Is there anything that is missing in your community? What might help your school teacher or classmates? For example . . .
When seven-year-old Brinda Jain, from India, discovered that ambulances weren’t reaching their patients quickly enough in her town, she created an app called Ambulance Whizz. It helps to find a quicker route for ambulances through traffic, helping to save many lives.
When 16-year-old Brandon Boynton, from the USA, was bullied by other children at school, he decided to create an app called BullyBox. It allows children to safely and secretly report bullying to their teachers.
Once you’ve found your problem, it’s time to get creative and start brainstorming solutions. You could make a mind map to ‘map out’ your ideas.
A machine that prints books for you at home.
Bad for the environment
A motorbike that delivers books?
Problem:
Granny loves reading printed books but she has broken her leg and can’t go to the library.
An electric robot that delivers books! An app to book the robot
A library app that asks people for help? location
This is where being good at working as a team can be useful. A lot of entrepreneurs like to launch their start-up with another person, known as a co-founder, or with a small team. You can often solve problems more easily when you have someone you trust by your side.
Once you’ve found your idea, it’s time to do some research! Find out if there is any tech out there that is already solving the problem – you could search online or ask your family, friends and teachers. If no one is already solving the problem, then there is a gap in the market.
