EMR PAD – A DATA TOOL FOR RURAL INDIA - Abstract (2006)

EMR PAD – A DATA TOOL FOR RURAL INDIA

Aim:                 To devise an innovative and cost effective application of communication systems for problems related to rural areas in India, which need technical inputs to make their effort worth while.

Summary: The advancement in technology helped in improving the life style of the upper class but not for the common village folk. Our project focuses in devising a tool that understands the farmers’ and artisans’ deprived economic condition and their need to overcome the exploitation by middle men. This marks the birth of our EMR PAD – A DATA TOOL FOR RURAL INDIA.

In India, the middlemen purchase crop from the farmers and in turn sells these crop for higher rates in the cities. The farmer, weaver or artisan who has no idea about the demand for his goods sells them for a low price. The government even though aware of the situation is not able to take any necessary action. Thus the original product makers are being exploited by the middle men. The farmer needs commercial guidance to deal with middle men. There are few measurement and recording methods transparent to the producer, villager, or the artisan, available in the present times. Our tool acts as a data transfer tool also comprising of a few measurement and recording methods which help for the product maker’s product quality measurement.. The method suggested here, is a new approach and is expected to be fast and accurate with very low battery power. It provides basic measurement and recording techniques along with simple application procedures of basic agricultural requirements.

All these features can now be provided using the modern Embedded Technology that is available at a very low cost. Embedded Processors are available with sufficient flash memory to store a variety of information. With suitable insertion of sensors, the unit can be used for measurement and storage of the above parameters, in such an ergonomic style that it is made easier for the rural folk for effective utilization. This unit is named as Embedded Measurement and Recording Pad. This ‘EMR pad’ can do measurements and display qualitative/quantitative values depicting the suggested areas of measurement, so that the innocent farmer/artisan is not duped by the smarter middle men. Weavers and Artisans may need different measurement tools than those needed by the farmer. This problem reduces the choice of proper plug-ins for the job on hand, with one processor containing all the needed programs and interfaces.

Further, using short range wireless telemetry, the farmer can get, with simple displays, the status of his pump set, and even be able to turn it on/off by monitoring the temperature. Solar recharging will no doubt make them attractive. All efforts will be made to reduce the costs and to keep the final product below Rs.1000/-

Initially, we will use an Integrated Development Environment where a number of processors could be simulated, programs written and tested. We will make the circuit after the basic algorithms have been proved along with the required hardware interfaces still using the development board.

The EMR pad we are designing will be first made as a prototype which consists of a processor with different interfaces for different applications. First we will concentrate more on making the tool as a data collecting unit for the suggested usage. The idea of a portable measurement pad for agricultural use is a novel concept using embedded applications in the village environment, in data collection, dissipation, analysis and tabulation. This idea needs further development to make it versatile. This extension will, we hope cover all the possible needs of a farmer/artisan with the technological background of embedded processor. This prototype will then be field tested. All the tests will be compared with the traditional chemical methods to prove their accuracy. The commercial product will be built after the prototype is successful. All the parts will be integrated to make the ‘EMR pad’ a compact one which can be held in a palm.

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SYSTEM BLOCK DIAGRAM

 Planned Future Enhancements:

According to Infrastructure provided by the Indian government, each village has a school and in turn each school has a computer with latest features. The villagers who are considered as farmers must maintain their identity with a photo session program. During this session if each villager’s EMR can be connected to the system, then the whole village’s data pertaining to food production and characteristics can be maintained in a database by making necessary software for this purpose. This information can help people also realize what crops can be grown in these lands with similar geographical and climatic conditions. In simple words we are trying to develop a Biological Flash Drive.