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Human Rights Center


Kobo is a project of the Human Rights Center at the University of California, Berkeley.

Kobo Application Abstract

The KoBo Project data collection project will use certain hardware and software technologies to provide the ability for researchers (and others) to collect and collate information. Some of the basic principles of the system being developed are ease of use, flexibility, and openness to development by third parties.

Requirements

Open Source: The final product should be released without commercial licensing, under one of the open source schemes (see comparison here) so that the software can be downloaded for free by any person or group wishing to use it. Furthermore, the source code should be made available for non-commercial modification. GNU General Public License is probably most appropriate. This requirement affects the choice of hardware, software, and development environment. For example, it rules out using software components which cannot be freely redistributed. HRC must be able to distribute the software without having to pay royalties to a third party.

Limited Resources: Wherever possible, existing systems should be used as components in the final product. HRC has limited resources for development, and limited time. The project should take advantage of the community of developers who are already solving some of the same problems. Open source projects like DataDyne’s Episurveyor can provide a code base that can provide components in the PDA system.

Ease of Use: This project should provide a system that can be used by non-technical users. Basic software skills for word processing, spreadsheets, and use of a PDA are taken for granted. Programming, database development, etc. should not be required of the end user. Where possible, the system should support easy development of surveys, easy cloning of PDAs, and easy synchronization.

Dedicated Purpose: While a regular PDA is mean to be customizable to the user to the point that each PDA is unique, this project should field devices that are customizable by the project. Each team of researchers will use a ‘swarm of clones’, where devices are interchangeable between enumerators. When a research team is in the field, individual enumerators should not have access to applications that are not part of the research at hand. We need to be able to limit access to applications like the phone, the camera, etc. so that enumerators are not distracted from research. At the same time, the hidden applications must be available to administrative users. The home screen of the device should reflect the intended functions, showing icons only for relevant application. An enumerator might only have access to applications like “Survey”, “Emergency Phone”, and “Location”.

Security: PDAs should store data in an encrypted format, should transfer that data securely into a central encrypted storage, and should appear innocuous to external parties.