Village Computer Command and Control

I have been thinking someone should develop an appropriate command and control system technology for village level use in developing nations.

Remember the invasion of Iraq? American forces blitzed into the country with detailed maps and information on laptop computers in every vehicle. There was real time information on battlefield conditions as a result of remote sensing, and it was sent to every vehicle. Geographic information systems linked the remote sensing data to the maps and background information. Using GPS, the location of every vehicle was known at all times. Communications among coalition units via radio was constant. Less obvious, there was detailed information at every step of the logistics chain.

It seems to me that a comparable system could be made available at low cost for use by civil authorities in developing nations. Certainly there are low cost computers and low cost GIS software. Micro-aircraft can be flown by ground operators with remote sensing equipment. Cell phones can provide cheap communication networks. There are now lots of ground sensors that could be established in networks that could uplink to central information systems.

An article titled "The trees have eyes" in the June 7th edition of The Economist describes the application of systems of this type for protection of endangered species from poaching in game parks in the developing world.

It seems to me that such a system could be developed now for deployment in emergency situations, such as in the aftermath of earthquakes and/or hurricanes. Emergency relief requires that rapid surveillance of the situation, establishment of replacement communications, and management of the complex logistics to deliver the relief.

Similarly, such systems could be moved from village to village for national campaigns. There are many public health applications one might consider -- managing vector control campaigns, immunization campaigns, even health education campaigns. I could imagine an agriculture extension service using such a system for campaigns dealing with crop and animal diseases and pests, or traveling from village to village alerting farmers to soil conditions and fertilization techniques linked to soil conditions.

Food security teams could use the technology in conditions of drought or harvest failure to identify needs for food support and management of logistics at the local area.

The prices for all the technological pieces for such systems are going to continue to decrease, and development of the pilot systems and applications would enable national gatekeepers to begin to find new and better applications for VCCCs as they became economically feasible.