Bridging Communications Across the Digital Divide Edwin Blake Collaborative Visual Computing Laboratory Department of Computer Science University of Cape Town South Africa William Tucker Bridging Applications and Networks Group Department of Computer Science University of the Western Cape South Africa

Communication Across the Digital Divide The issues we intend addressing: 1.Changes in the way we design innovative IT based systems and services  the South African Digital Divide as a springboard 2.The notion of bridging central to developing communications systems 3.Putting the user at the centre 4.An abstracted communications system: SoftBridge 5.Showing what we did so far, and what we learnt

Edwin Blake & William Tucker {edwin, SID 2004, University of Twente Local South African Digital Divide Population 45 million 45% rural Mixed developed and developing world 14 million mobile users, 4 million landline 2 of 3 sharing handsets or using community phones 50% of households have no phone in dwelling 10% have no access to a phone at all Legacy of differentiated access

Edwin Blake & William Tucker {edwin, SID 2004, University of Twente The Phone Gap

Edwin Blake & William Tucker {edwin, SID 2004, University of Twente Bridging the “Digital Divide” DD = growing gap of access to Information Society Bridging ≠ “bringing the underdeveloped up to speed” social dynamics as well as technological tools that support social interaction  Community-centred approach build new artefacts  Change government policy that impedes development  cultural bias  gaps in education  personal handicap  poor digital infrastructure  lack of appropriate computer equipment

Edwin Blake & William Tucker {edwin, SID 2004, University of Twente IT Application and Contents Design Methodology User/Community centred Critical Action Research facilitating change by facilitating action cyclical software development: participatory design + prototype evaluation. Flaws users don’t appreciate technological possibilities software designers must bridge cultural gaps  “human access points”

Edwin Blake & William Tucker {edwin, SID 2004, University of Twente Social Intelligence Design Nishida: two aspects of Social Intelligence as 1.an individual’s capacity to act wisely in accordance with social rules (“conventional”) 2.the ability of a system to manage complexity of interaction This corresponds to 1.ability of designers to discover and operate within the rules of the community  our community-centred method 2.design a system to deal with some of the complexity  our SoftBridge abstraction.

Edwin Blake & William Tucker {edwin, SID 2004, University of Twente Automatic Communication Bridges: SoftBridge Embodiment of Social Intelligence Design both an actual implemented Computer Artefact and an Abstraction of all operations beyond current technology Abstracted social communication platform that bridges variation in network access different end-user devices interfaces to the user various communication modalities between people with different capabilities and needs

Edwin Blake & William Tucker {edwin, SID 2004, University of Twente Delay or Latency First result: the necessity of delay processing inherent in SoftBridge delay from poor infrastructure:  Power outages common  Phone lines down the way people use the system Dealing with delay switch between synchronous & asynchronous our current user based research maintain Co-Presence

Edwin Blake & William Tucker {edwin, SID 2004, University of Twente Quality of Communication (QoC) Generalization of the notion of Quality of Service (QoS) ability to support communication by bridging between different user abilities, sensory and media modalities, human computer interfaces, and end-user devices, and infrastructure capabilities In terms of “Social Intelligence” users conduct meaningful exchanges in spite of limited technology and macro delays  “where there is a will there is a way” system adapts automatically to user & system capabilities

Edwin Blake & William Tucker {edwin, SID 2004, University of Twente The SoftBridge Semi-synchronous Synchronous when possible Asynchronous otherwise Inspired by Instant Messaging, SMS and Quality of Communication measures effectiveness Device Interface Modality User Network Device Interface Modality User Network

Edwin Blake & William Tucker {edwin, SID 2004, University of Twente NurseDoctor Text, image, Audio, video GUI PC WLAN, solar Text, image, audio Hardware Handset, digicam webcam WLAN, solar Cuban Spanish Xhosa A softbridge for tele-consultation Nurse needs to consult doctor remotely for patient referrals Rural clinic serves community of 60,000 Nearby rural hospital with single doctor serving 200 beds, out-patients, maternity ward, and emergencies Main delays: power & network outages, Dr.’s schedule Short term: add links to other clinics, and possibly to Internet with satellite uplink Device Interface Modality User Network Device Interface Modality User Network

Edwin Blake & William Tucker {edwin, SID 2004, University of Twente Deaf UserHearing User voice audio handset Telephone text GUI PC Internet Spoken English Written English A softbridge for Deaf Telephony Semi-automated relay with an Instant Messaging delivery system  Converting Deaf text to speech for the hearing user with Text-to-Speech (TTS) and Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR)  Learned to use Wizard of Oz (WoOz) instead Pilot in the laboratory Field trials under way in the Deaf Community of Cape Town Device Interface Modality User Network Device Interface Modality User Network

Edwin Blake & William Tucker {edwin, SID 2004, University of Twente Conclusions Lessons from the developing world apply Design: Community-centred methodology (microcosm) Development: SoftBridge as concept and artefact Measurement: user as part of the system (QoC) Learning from field trials Influencing society at large (macrocosm)

Edwin Blake & William Tucker {edwin, SID 2004, University of Twente Acknowledgements Supported by many organizations and people Community members Our students John Lewis and Marshini Chetty Resources were provided by NRF: South African National Research Foundation Telkom SA Siemens SA SANPAD: South Africa Netherlands Research Programme on Alternatives in Development CSIR: Council for Scientific and Industrial Research bridges.org