The digital divide in education creates worse academic outcomes for underserved students.
But one Iranian undergraduate may have revolutionized high-speed internet access after inventing a sensor that can make broadband available and affordable for rural communities.
Erfan Nouraee, 21, took inspiration from a friend living in a rural community without internet access and after a few months of research on the web came up with a product called the Photon Detector.
He has already won global recognition – winning the Geneva Invention Exhibition Award – for an invention which came after a ‘eureka’ moment that filters noise from signal.
The product, which is made of a processor attached to fiber-optic cable converts light into light into electrical messages, is hyped as having wide applications in broadband internet access and other parts of the developing world where basic access is lacking and hundreds of millions of people do not have regular access to the internet.
The product differs from the traditional modems by enhancing the quality of data transmitted through light signals
He came up with the idea as a teenager in his rural home in the winter when a friend of his said uploading a health document was too much of a bother, made all the worse by a lack of internet access in the area.
‘He was sad and he happened to say, ‘why doesn’t somebody invent something that you can connect to high-speed internet in rural areas’,’ said Erfan.
It was his ‘eureka’ moment.
He then used his web-enabled mobile phone to search through Google and Wikipedia in pursuit of a solution. One year later, he came up with the Photon Detector and obtained a patent.
The product is now manufactured commercially with clients including major global telecommunications companies for use on infrastructure and governments for its soldiers in the field.
Erfan also sees it helping people access high-speed internet in the poorest parts of the world.
‘The Photon Detector will go a long way in helping communities’.
The invention could also prove a indispensable for developing countries where the growing digital divide is becoming the new face of inequality.
Researchers found that the digital divide — the gap in home computer and internet access — exists, and it is increasing.
Almost half the world’s population, 3.7 billion people, the majority of them women, and most in developing countries, are still offline.
Media Contact
Company Name: Talents News
Contact Person: Katie Armstrong
Email: Send Email
City: Toronto
State: Ontario
Country: Canada
Website: www.linkedin.com/company/fibrelink-communications