App Deployment

One of the objectives of this project was to make the My Kana app available and accessible to as many people as possible, especially to people in remote areas. While it is easy to make the app available to people who have access to the Internet, particular consideration was also given on how to make the app available to people in remote areas, who may have limited or no access to the Internet.

As such, the following deployment methods were used enable access to the My Kana app:

1. Using Google Play Store
2. Portable Deployment

Using Google Play Store

The main method of app distribution is via the Google Play store. This is the standard way Android apps are made available to users of Android devices. For this method of distribution, users require Internet access on their devices to be able to download and install the app.

People with Internet access on their mobile devices can download and install the app from the Google Play store. Majority of the users should be able to get access to the app via this method.

Portable Deployment

The Portable Distribution method will be used to reach out to users in remote/rural areas, where mobile/Internet connectivity may not be readily available. In this method the app will be made available to the users via a portable webserver and wifi connectivity.

This method will be employed during NFNC community outreach programmes and field visits in rural areas of Fiji. During such programmes and/or visits, the NFNC teams will travel with a portable webserver and wifi access point setup. In sites where there is no Internet connectivity or when users may not have mobile internet available on their devices, users can download and install the app by connecting to the custom wifi network.

Portable Web Server and Access Point

For the portable web server, a Raspberry Pi was used. The Raspberry Pi is a tiny and affordable computer that makes it highly portable, and well suited for this project.

In the initial proposal, only one portable web server setup was included, which comprised of a laptop and a wireless router. This laptop and wireless router setup was later substituted by a Raspberry Pi. The Raspberry Pi came at a fraction of the cost of a laptop and it acted both as the web server and wireless access point. This cost effective alternative meant more portable web server setups could be acquired.

Apache HTTP server was installed on the Raspberry Pi for the web server. Since the Raspberry Pi is Linux based and highly configurable. The wireless module was reconfigured to act as a wireless access point. A web page was created to allow users to easily download the app's APK file.

Users would connect to the wifi connection served by the reconfigured Raspberry Pi. Using a QR code, users would directly go to the download link for the app's APK file. Users who could not use a QR code, could access the download link by typing it out.

Portable Power Solution

Apart from being an affordable option, the other benefit of using the Raspberry Pi is its multiple power options. Since it has a low power consumption, multiple power sources can be used to power up the Raspberry Pi, and hence, the portable web server. The Raspberry Pi can be powered using AC mains, or a power bank and even solar power.

Figure shown above shows the Portable web server setup, using a Raspberry Pi and solar power. With this approach, it is possible to make reach out to users in rural and remote areas, even when there is no mobile/internet coverage or no electricity.