KioskNet System Release Annnouncement
We are pleased to announce the availability of the KioskNet system
[1] developed by the Tetherless Computing Research Group at the
University of Waterloo, Canada.
Rural Internet kiosks in developing countries provide a variety of
services such as birth, marriage, and death certificates, land
records, and consulting on medical and agricultural problems.
Fundamental to a kiosk's operation are the robustness of the kiosk
computer and its connection to the Internet. Unfortunately, most
existing solutions do not reflect the underlying constraints, leading
to widespread failure [2]. We address these issues in KioskNet,
which builds on two key ideas:
- Using a single-board-computer-based, low-cost, low-power ‘kiosk controller’ at each kiosk. The controller communicates wirelessly with another single-board computer mounted on a vehicle (as was pioneered by Daknet). These vehicles carry data to and from a gateway, where data is exchanged with the Internet. This 'mechanical backhaul' avoids the cost of trenches, towers, and satellite dishes.
- Allowing refurbished PCs to boot an OS from a kiosk controller. Kiosk controllers are tamper-proof so they offer reliable virus-free boot images and binaries. By avoiding the use of the hard disk of the PC, hard disk failures or viruses on the disk do not affect users. Moreover refurbished PCs are cheap and spare parts are widely available.
Besides:
- Our code is free and open-source with no patent, copyright or intellectual property restrictions, under the Apache license.
- The system is low cost and economically viable: we estimate that our system requires a capex of ~$100 - $700/kiosk, depending on the configuration, and an opex of ~$70/kiosk/month, including the cost of field technicians and capital depreciation [3].
- The solution is rapidly deployable: we successfully installed a prototype in Anandapuram village, Vishakapatnam district, AP, in two days during May 2006 [4].
- It is easy to remotely manage a kiosk, so a kiosk operator requires little or no IT expertise.
- Kiosk controllers are low-power (6-8W), so they can be run off a solar panel.
- Recycled PCs can run either the (Linux) binaries that are packaged with the kiosk controller, which are guaranteed to be virus free, or can boot into an existing operating system (typically Windows) from their hard drive for stand-alone computing.
- Our software is shipped in the form of a LiveCD that can be booted on any Windows or Linux PC and used to burn OS images directly onto hard drives, that are then installed in single-board computers.
We have developed a comprehensive deployment guide [5] to plan,
purchase, deploy, and operate a KioskNet installation. Please feel
free to contact keshav@uwaterloo.ca with any questions or comments.
[1]http://blizzard.cs.uwaterloo.ca/tetherless/index.php/KioskNet
[2]http://blizzard.cs.uwaterloo.ca/tetherless/index.php/Why_Kiosks_Fail
[3]http://blizzard.cs.uwaterloo.ca/tetherless/index.php/Details_of_cost_structure
[4]http://blizzard.cs.uwaterloo.ca/tetherless/index.php/Installed_a_prototype_in_Anandapuram_village
[5]http://blizzard.cs.uwaterloo.ca/tetherless/index.php/
Deployment_guide
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