Project Details

Sponsor: SOMAS

Mentor(s):

Camila Achutti camila@somas.org.br

Ana Beatriz Bretos anabeatriz@somas.org.br

Dr. Bob Evans rjevans@ncsu.edu

Background of Company:

SOMAS is a non-profit organization dedicated to building alternatives in the field of

digital inclusion, through the promotion of appropriate researches and structural diagnostics, adaptation and creation of content, teacher training and the creation of educational artifacts. Our organization was created inside Mastertech, a school, created in 2016, that works with the development of skills and competences of the 21st century. Therefore, SOMAS is a non-profit organization that seeks to produce knowledge about education and technology. An organization that believes in the distribution of digital power beyond the status quo. Our mission is to develop a technology education in the public domain, diverse, replicable and of socioeconomic impact.

Project Background and Need:

​The Circular Computer aims to tackle the digital divide in Brazil and other developing countries, and to aid the educational and digital inclusion process of students,​ while also addressing the growing issue of the mass production of electronic waste. It is a computer that, from the operational standpoint, is like any other, nonetheless was created from reused, donated and discarded parts, combined with a Brazilian development board (Labrador board). Created to be used exclusively for educational purposes, the Circular Computer is accessible, low cost, energy autonomous and enables a connectivity experience even if the student is offline. Therefore, it not only helps the educational development of students by supporting their learning processes, but also assists their digital inclusion process.

Problem Description/requirements (List of high-level functionality you expect to see in the end product):

Today, the Circular Computer is created with donated peripherals, such as mouses, keyboards, monitors and power cables and VGA or HDMI. An issue that has not yet been resolved or worked around is the issue of resolution and frequency of Labrador plates. As donated monitors are often older, many have a resolution or frequency different from the Labrador board, and it is not possible to change these settings on the board, neither through the operating system settings interface, nor through the terminal. Due to this incompatibility, several monitors that were received as donations couldn't be used. To chance that, we had the idea to attach a small projector, that doesn't consume too much energy from the power bank, so that the Circular Computer can still be energy-autonomous, to the DOCK- with that, other than reduce the size of the kit, the student could project it's image anywhere, even in a sheet of paper. That's what we need help with.

Required Skills / Desired Competencies (in order of importance):

• Embedded hardware and programming

• Programming experience

• Power electronics and systems

• PCB design and layout

• Analog circuit design

• Networking

• Wireless communications

• Creative commons

How often and how would you be available to meet/chat with the team (Zoom, Hangout, Skype, Phone)?

Once a week, if needed; if not, once every two weeks. Zoom or google meet.

Will the students be required to sign any of the following before they start with the project? NDA / CDA / IP assignment / IP protection form

No.