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I posted the original idea on slashdot.org in response to a wi-fi "hands across america" project... creating a small wireless.
Let me see if I can re-write this a bit better: (re-written from original post)
Living and working in a devastated area (say, after a hurricane) is bad enough, but
compound the fact that emergency and relief efforts are hampered by lack of power, computing, and communication services.
WireLess Internet connections (Wi-fi) are good, but only provide access to a limited area around the "HotSpot", and still need an "uplink". Using VoIP (Voice of IP), you can even make a telephone call from a laptop.
Pringles cans (and coffee cans, and other stuff) have been made into "Yag" style antennaes to provide Wi-Fi connections in a sort of "directional" antenna.. so you could connect to your "Hotspot" from down the street or in the park (ata specific location).. or a wireless connection to your buddy's house.
Now, I am proposing a device that has a "local" hotspot for emergency personnel, as well as one or more "directional" antennaes to point to *OTHER* emergency hotspot devices.. you then build a relay system to a local center point that has a satellite link, or relay until you can get to a functional internet connection.
Now the Device might have a router built in to only allow certain emergency traffic, and - if your building a small router, you might as well put a phone jack on it and set up emergency VoIP.
Power with a battery/solarcells/carlighter and you have an on the spot civil-defense networking system.
Pringles Can WiFi Antenna
http://www.techtv.c...330,3406172,00.html
Build one yourself. In an emergency even. [Cedar Park, Oct 21 2004]
Warchalking
http://www.warchalking.org/
Used to indentify Wi-Hi connection points. [Aristotle, Oct 21 2004]
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Hello.
Whats a wifi?
Whats a VoIP?
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wi-fi is the short-range wireless network that you might use with a palm PC. VoIP is two-way conversations over the network. I'm not sure I completely understand the rest of it, but I'd bet it's pretty cool. |
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Why "directional"? Is that to boost the signal? |
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The nature of the Pringles can design creates a directional antenna. |
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VoIP is "Voice over Internet Protocol", which is using the internet for chat or in place of telephones. |
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Wi-Fi stands for Wireless Fidelity, a wireless system through which you can use the internet with a whole range of computers. In addition people can use "Warchalk" marking [see link] to describe Wi-Fi internet connection points so someone can spot a connection point and know how to connect. |
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The idea would be to have a network/phone device (using TCP/IP - internet ) that could easily be powered up and used to create a network between communities in a devastated area... the device would connect to one or more points around, and those points would connect further on (and so on, and so on) until there was a link to the actual internet or other network. My idea was to build the device for use by emergency services when everything else has been flattened (by a hurricane, tornado, etc) |
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We've done the underground Internet idea already, though not necessarily for civil defence. In fact, that is about the only reason I'd generate enough altruism to let someone else ride my bandwidth. |
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Why does this have to be a grass roots effort rather than a government-funded project. And is this really any better / cheaper / more reliable than satallite communications or ham radio? |
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It doesn't have to be grassroots.. but a grassroots movement to get it to be government sponsored might be a good idea. |
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My idea was actually for more of a commercially developed tool. |
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i don't have the site handy, but i ran across one site that allowed you to calculate optimal can size and wire placement.
its all baed on wavelength, there suggestion for the best cans were small coffee cans and large "chunky man" type soup cans |
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By the way [bigattichouse], it's a "Yagi" style antenna. A "Yag" is a furry creature that lives high up in the Himalayans and steals Pringle cans in the middle of the night using Yttrium Aluminum Garnet lasers. I'm not usually a spelling cop, but misspelling Yagi is like being an aeronautical engineer and saying "eirplane" :) |
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