1. Fighting Hunger
with Information
­
Mashups in ICT4D
Increase Accessibility of
Vital Services
Florian Sturm, Thorsten Hampel, David Hauer, Andreas Hornich
University of Vienna

2. Fighting Hunger with Information
● ICT4D
– Already introduced
– Many technological devices / platforms /
approaches for improving social & economic
conditions in less developed countries
– Often isolated from each other
Florian Sturm, Thorsten Hampel, David Hauer, Andreas Hornich
University of Vienna

3. Florian Sturm, Thorsten Hampel, David Hauer, Andreas Hornich
University of Vienna

4. Florian Sturm, Thorsten Hampel, David Hauer, Andreas Hornich
University of Vienna

5. Florian Sturm, Thorsten Hampel, David Hauer, Andreas Hornich
University of Vienna

6. Fighting Hunger with Information
● Mashups
– Combine different technologies
– Don't create new platforms / services
– Connect existing ones
– Proof­of­concept: NoisR
Florian Sturm, Thorsten Hampel, David Hauer, Andreas Hornich
University of Vienna

7. Fighting Hunger with Information
● NoisR
– Aim: enable access to an e­marketplace for
● People with limited reading abilities
● People with bad eyesight
● People without a computer
– Only basic technologies & existing services
– → Mashup
Florian Sturm, Thorsten Hampel, David Hauer, Andreas Hornich
University of Vienna

8. Florian Sturm, Thorsten Hampel, David Hauer, Andreas Hornich
University of Vienna

9. Fighting Hunger with Information
● Technical Implementation
– XML database
– Google Maps
– eSpeak
– Podcast
– Podlinez
Florian Sturm, Thorsten Hampel, David Hauer, Andreas Hornich
University of Vienna

10. Florian Sturm, Thorsten Hampel, David Hauer, Andreas Hornich
University of Vienna

11. Florian Sturm, Thorsten Hampel, David Hauer, Andreas Hornich
University of Vienna

12. Fighting Hunger with Information
● Technical Implementation
– XML database
– Google Maps
– eSpeak
– Podcast
– Podlinez
Florian Sturm, Thorsten Hampel, David Hauer, Andreas Hornich
University of Vienna

13. Florian Sturm, Thorsten Hampel, David Hauer, Andreas Hornich
University of Vienna

14. Florian Sturm, Thorsten Hampel, David Hauer, Andreas Hornich
University of Vienna

15. Florian Sturm, Thorsten Hampel, David Hauer, Andreas Hornich
University of Vienna

16. Fighting Hunger with Information
● NoisR:
– Backend: Mashup
– Frontend:
● Simply call a number and listen to the newest offers
● Simply look at the map and get an overview of the offers
Florian Sturm, Thorsten Hampel, David Hauer, Andreas Hornich
University of Vienna

17. Fighting Hunger with Information
● Other mashup ideas
– Price alerts via sms
– Weather forecast with sms notifications
– Ushahidi – “Crowdsourcing Crisis Information”
Florian Sturm, Thorsten Hampel, David Hauer, Andreas Hornich
University of Vienna

18. Florian Sturm, Thorsten Hampel, David Hauer, Andreas Hornich
University of Vienna

19. Fighting Hunger with Information
● Mashups
– No extensive programming
– Many free services
– People themselves can create applications
– Existing user base
– Easy extension of services
Florian Sturm, Thorsten Hampel, David Hauer, Andreas Hornich
University of Vienna

20. Fighting Hunger with Information
● Conclusion
– Don't reinvent the wheel
– Use what's already there and working
– For NoisR:
● More mobiles & many illiterates
● Easier access to information can include those people
● → the gap between rich & poor is also addressed
Florian Sturm, Thorsten Hampel, David Hauer, Andreas Hornich
University of Vienna

21. Fighting Hunger with Information
● Issues / Further Research
– Apply the prototype
– Automated speech conversion
– Put everything on the web
– Localization / Customization
– Is the infrastructure ready for mashups?
Florian Sturm, Thorsten Hampel, David Hauer, Andreas Hornich
University of Vienna

22. Thank you
Florian Sturm, Thorsten Hampel, David Hauer, Andreas Hornich
University of Vienna