AN ABSTRACT PROTOTYPE
As a slight bonus, we decided to envisage a way for Earth observation data to become accessible and understandable to all and not only Western and developed nations. This mean including impoverished nations.
Why is it important?
As we have observed in the previous sections of this project, having access to Earth observations can have immense effects. Whether this be predicting droughts or measuring the levels or air pollution in the atmosphere, Earth observations can have immense effects on the world. As such, it is important for farmers, organizations, governments and regular citizens to have free access to all this data. However, as we know, many citizens of the world are much less fortunate than others. This means that although it seems easy for citizens of the Western World to access this data it may not be as easy for others living in impoverished nations like Botswana or even some parts of India. Additionally, the level of education is completely different in these parts of the world. Some may find the data easy to understand whereas others might not. As such, as innovators we must ask ourselves the question, how can we make this data understandable and available to all?
2. What can we do with the resources available?
First, we have to find a way to make the data understandable by all. This can be done in many different ways. First, we can attach a guide to the mobile app or website that explains exactly how to read the given data. Next, we can focus on providing data in colored and visual representations. This can include colored maps with different indexes or even illustrations of different plants or ecosystems to aid in comprehending the meaning of our data.
Now that we have made the data understandable to all, we must focus on making it accessible to all. This section becomes quite difficult as we do not know what citizens around the world have access to. Do they have cell phones? Do they not? Since we cannot answer this question, we can divide our dilemma into two different cases: cases 1, cellphones, cases 2, no cellphones. In case 1, we can create a mobile app that feeds regular data from different satellites directly into the hands of farmers and/or organizations. These applications can be downloaded in the app store and be used anywhere, regardless of wifi connection. The second case becomes more tricky. Since these subjects do not have access to cellphones, they must rely on written information. This information must then come from reputable sources like the government or other organizations, like the Ministry of Agriculture. As such, we repeat the same process as case 1, but instead of feeding the information to an app, we feed it directly to the government who then hand out weekly or monthly information pamphlets that farmers or researchers can read and analyze.
This way, we make sure that this incredibly valuable information is accessible and understandable to all, no matter their origins or circumstances.
3. Prototype
We thus end up getting a decently simple prototype: colorful maps and images, simple explanations and guides given around either in a mobile app or in paper pamphlets. This prototype can be elaborated later on with specific codes, agreements with governments and other concrete methods.