Musings to Reality
I can’t believe sombody actually did it. In May of 2002 I mused about having a wireless network of cars, routing packets between access points along their route:
It would give new meaning to the concept of packet routing. “Hey, you - the Xterra. Can you take this email with you, and send it on its way if you find a public internet connection somewhere down this road?” The latency would be terrible, but for a packet network which would allow outgoing data readily and possibly incoming data if the nodes were densely packed, it would be pretty cool.
Well the New York Times has an article today about rural schools in Cambodia doing just this:
It is a digital pony express: five Motomen ride their routes five days a week, downloading and uploading e-mail. The system, developed by a Boston company, First Mile Solutions, uses a receiver box powered by the motorcycle’s battery. The driver need only roll slowly past the school to download all the village’s outgoing e-mail and deliver incoming e-mail. The school’s computer system and antenna are powered by solar panels. Newly collected data is stored for the day in a computer strapped to the back of the motorcycle. At dusk, the motorcycles converge on the provincial capital, Ban Lung, where an advanced school is equipped with a satellite dish, allowing a bulk e-mail exchange with the outside world.
Simply incredible. There are some days when I absolutely love what technology is doing in the world.