THINK of it as Facebook forgrandmas and grandpas.Cubigo is an interactiveplatform bringing togetherhealthcare-relatedapplications for seniorcitizens. The digital platformhas a simple interface madeup oflarge cubes so thatthey are visible even forusers with poor eyesight.The cubes representapplications grouped undertwo main themes: Socialinteraction (such as a chatapp with large characters)and healthcare needs (suchas an app to set up medicalappointments and access toa 24-hour call centre).The project brainchildof Mr Geert Houben, 33 was launched this year. Ithas been named by Googleas one of the most promisingdigital projects worldwide.Registration on theplatform with some start-upcubes is free. The fullsubscription costs up to 30(S$46) a month. Cubigo hasclose to 14,000 clients.AMANDINE CLOOT/LE SOIR(BELGIUM)THE HarassMap is aninitiative launched by fourwomen confronting sexualharassment in Egypt.The initiative came as aresult of the rising rates ofsexual harassmentamidgrowing tolerance towardsthe phenomenon onEgyptian streets.The organisation operatesusing open-source softwareFrontlineSMS and Ushahidito create a system thatreceives anonymous reports.The data is then used tocreate maps for areas wheresexual harassmentoccurs.The HarassMap alsoorganises events such asworkshops and open mics,where victimsrecount theirexperiences. It recentlylaunched a video teachingwomen how to respond toharassers, focusing onharassment in universities.Since thelaunch, activistsfrom 25 countries havecontacted the group forhelpto establish similarinitiatives in their countries.OMAR ABDELAZIZ/AL MASRY AL YOUM (EGYPT)WHENhis digital camera brokeduring a vacation in Greece in2012, Mr Dave Hakkens decided totake it apart and see what hadgone wrong.He found the source of the trou-ble: The lens motor had died andcouldnot bereplaced. Hewouldhave to buy a whole new camera.Mr Hakkens, 26, wanted to findsomethingtochangethat.So,forhis graduation project at the Eind-hoven Design Academy,he decid-ed to try and upgrade anotherpieceofelectronicsalmostevery-one uses the smartphone.His concept was to design amodulartelephonebuiltofmove-ableblocksthatwouldallowpeo-pletoreplaceindividual compo-nents of their phonesseparately.Hecalledit Phonebloksandposted a short video explainingthe idea on YouTube in September2013. Within24hours, thevideohad more than a million views.In less than two months, he hadengaged 800,000 people in aThunderclap campaign to promotetheideaviasocial media. Offersfrompotential business partnerscame in. Then Google called.It turned out that its developershad been secretly working on amodularsmartphonequitesimilarto Mr Hakkens concept, underthe name Project Ara. He was invit-edtothe UStoseethe project,andGoogleofferedhimajob, hesaid.He turneditdown,andinsteadmadea deal withGoogle that itwould open up its product develop-menttothepublicandallowhim,and his new community ofmodu-larphonebackers,tobecomepartof the development process.I wasnt interest-edinworkingforaphone company,andI didnt reallywant to dedicatemyself to onecompany ei-ther, he said.He regularlyvisits ProjectAra headquar-ters and re-ports back tohis followersonsocialme-dia. ProjectAra is planning to launch a limitedmarketpilotofitsmodularphonethis year.Mr Hakkens Phonebloks sitehas become a campaign HQofsortsfor promotingelec-tronicsthatproducelesswaste.Whilethereweresuggestions on howtoleveragesupportforhisproject toraisecapitaland set up a company,he is not lured by theideaof gettingrich,saying: Theideaistokeepthingsopenand free, becausethat way everybodygetssmarterandevery-body wins.NINA SIEGAL/SPARKNEWSA US group has given theterm kids play a newspin.Empower Playgrounds, ahumanitarian group thatspecialises inelectricity-generatingplayground equipment, ishelping to generateelectricity in Ghana in anovel and fun way.In Pediatorkope, a tinyimpoverished island insouth-east Ghana, theresidents do not haveelectricity because the islandis not linked to the nationalenergy grid.Empower Playgroundscame up with the idea ofinstalling aspecialmerry-go-round in theplayground of a localprimary school. When thechildren push and spin itaround, it powers a turbinewhich creates energy.The merry-go-round alsorecharges batteries whichcan power energy-savingLED lamps for more than 40hours.The children areresponsible for rechargingthe batteries during theirplaytime. In the eveningthey take these lamps home.Thanks to these lamps which are less dangerousthan the oil lamps whichmany villagers use thechildren are able to continuestudying at home.L'ACTU MON QUOTIDIEN (FRANCE)INAnarrowpatchoftheAmazonrainforest,membersoftheTembeindigenoustribehavepinnedtheirhopesforsurvival onwhatseemslike animplausible idea: Equippingtrees with mobile phones.TheTembehavepairedupwithRainforest Connection, a SanFrancisco-basednon-profitwhichuses a treetop mobile phone devicetolistenforthetrucks,chainsawsand other telltale sounds of en-croaching loggers.The brainchild of physicist-turned-forest crusader TopherWhite, the device looks like adaisy, with a weather-proofed mo-bile phone from which solar panelsradiate out, to charge it. Hidden inthetreecanopy,thedevicetrans-mitsambient soundtothecloud,where software programmed to rec-ognise the sound of chainsawssends real-time alerts to rangerswhen such noises are detected.It hasbeen testedinWestAfri-ca and Indonesia, where it broughtan end to logging on a small sanctu-ary for one of the worlds most en-dangered primates, the gibbon.Mr White, 33, cameup with theidea while he was volunteering at asanctuaryforgibbonsinIndonesiain 2011. To give the gibbons a fight-ingchance, heknewtheirshrink-ing habitat had to be protectedfrom illegal loggers. I got to think-ingthatthebestwayofdoingthiswould be to listen for the sounds ofchainsaws, pick them up automati-cally from the forest and be able tofigure out where the chainsawswere coming from, he said.Mr White said the stakes areeven higher on the Tembe reserva-tion in the Brazilian state of Para ground zero of the fight over the fu-ture of the Amazon.Devices will be installedalongtheperimeterofthe6,000sqkmreserve. Once the system is up andrunning,alertswill besentinrealtime to the about 30 tribe memberswho are the Tembes rangers,charged with repelling invaders.Despite its size RainforestConnectionis a two-manopera-tion, aidedbyvolunteersithasbig ambitions. Mr White said: Wewant toshowthat this is some-thing that can be used elsewhere.ASTRID CHRISTOPHERSEN/SPARKNEWSMOVE over Baywatch. An Iranianrobotics engineer has come upwitha life-saving drone that isthreetimesfaster thanahumanlifeguard.Mr Amin Rigi, 28, hopes his in-ventioncanchange the publicsperception of drones which arestill regarded with suspicion.Mr Rigis drone was initially de-signedtoflyabove the sea anddrop up to three lifebuoys todrowning victims.The latest iteration of his robot-ic lifeguard, however, can convertitself into a hovercraft and bring apotential victim back to the shore.Wethinkwecanreducethenumberofdrowningsandwecansave lives, said Mr Rigi, who op-erates froma 250-sqmLondonco-working space for start-ups.Hehopeshisdevicescanlaterbe used to aid people who falloverboardfromships as well asthose involvedincar accidents,floods andfires,orpeopleinjuredon hikes orstranded on oil rigs.We are thinking of dronesthat can actually be part of rescuemissions, he said.Roboguard, his most recentmodel, is waterproof and can landon and take off from the water sur-face. It cancarryupto15kgofequipmentandmoveatspeedsofup to 50kmh.It can be outfitted with thermalcamerastoaidinnight-timeres-cues.Italsocomeswithdetacha-ble armsand functions withmoreautonomy, relyingmoreonGPSthan on manual control.MrRigihopeshecancomeupwith a solar-powered landing plat-formwhere the drone can re-charge its batteries.Twosummers ago, successfultrials of his rescue drone were car-ried out in the Caspian Sea, wherehundreds drowneach year.Thetrialsincludedaracebe-tween the drone and a human life-guard. HisfirstprototypenamedPars, after the ancient kingdom ofPersia,reachedapotentialvictimthreetimesfasterthanitshumancounterpart, in 22 seconds insteadof 90 seconds.Today, therescuedroneisonthe vergeoftest production,witha first limited run of about 200.Distributors fromBrazil, ItalyandMexicohavealreadyboughtthe drone, priced at about 8,000(S$12,000). Customers from eightother countries, including Austral-ia, LatviaandtheUnitedStates,are in negotiations to buy it.Mr Rigi startedRTSIdeas inIran, but relocated his company toLondon last year, after he was ac-cepted to Sirius, an acceleratorprogramme that brings young en-trepreneurs to Britain to helpthem launch their businesses.Nowhereceiveshelpwithlivingexpenses,officespace,mentoringand access to investors.Said Mr Rigi: Its not a matterof drones being good or bad. Its amatter of why we are misusingthese technologies.MILDRADE CHERFILS/RTS IDEAS /SPARKNEWSTHE name Jib.li, whichliterally means bring it tome in Arabic, is apt for anonline platform that offersfast and cheap packagedelivery services.The site was founded in2011 by two Algeriancomputer scientists based inParis. Theres alwayssomeone in ourneighbourhood who needs tosend medicine from here(France) or bring back adocument from there(Algeria), said co-founderRiyadh Dahimene, 27.It works this way:A userwho wants somethingdelivered or to offer adelivery logs on to Jib.li viahis Facebook account.Both parties negotiate aprice. The fee, which can bepaid by credit card, isdeducted only after the itemis delivered. The site chargesa fee equivalent to 4.99 percent of each transaction.Jib.li has nearly 4,000 users.SAMIR GHEZLAOUI/EL WATAN (ALGERIA)During its trial in the Caspian Sea in 2013, the Pars rescue robot reached apotential victim three times faster than its human counterpart, in 22 secondsinstead of 90 seconds. PHOTO: SAEID TALEBIThe merry-go-round producesenergy when spun around andpowers electric lamps which thechildren take home so they cando their homework at night.PHOTO: LACTU-MON QUOTIDIENMapping out sexual harassment casesSharing luggage spaceIranian engineer sees life-saving function for his robotsSNIPPETSHelping seniors with health, interactionHello, therainforestis callingPlay puts fresh spin on producing powerThe lifeguardis a droneUNUSUAL PHONESJust replace the part, not the phoneTechnologyS A T U R D A Y , J U N E 2 0 , 2 0 1 5 D9