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Making a Difference

It’s time for a change. I’ve made a lot of interesting software in my life, and built some fun hardware projects, but none of it was especially useful in the big scheme of things. The past year has seen lots of flux in my personal and professional lives, sending my thoughts in new directions, and I’ve been wondering why smart tech-minded people focus so overwhelmingly on building random web sites and gizmos instead of something that might do real good in the world. Check out this list of AngelList startups: I could almost write those business summaries with a buzzword generator script.

I get it: saving the world doesn’t really pay the bills, and people need the lure of a big payout to justify all the time and hard work they put in. Business, communication, and entertainment are all vital and noble pursuits. Isn’t making a difference in someone’s life noble too? When such huge numbers of the world’s best and brightest devote their energies to projects like “a smarter restaurant menu for smartphones”, doesn’t that seem, well, wrong? Like if you were an alien newly arrived on Earth, and observed how humanity’s technology efforts were focused, you’d just scratch your head and say WTF?

So I’ve been thinking about ways I can make a difference, with my brain and my hands. I’m pretty comfortable with writing software, and not too bad at making hardware, so there’s got to be something I can do. I’m casting my net pretty wide, considering everything from the rural poor (as in the video above), to the elderly, the disabled, the sick, and anyone with needs more pressing than “my phone charger won’t reach my bed”. I’m just one guy without a lot of resources, but you’ve got to begin somewhere right?

My biggest challenge is knowing where to start, and what kinds of problems need solving. I have no first-hand experience with the day-to-day trials of people confined to a wheelchair, or people living beyond the reach of electricity and clean water, or any other groups outside my own circle of friends. So I’ve been searching around for ideas and inspiration to help get myself launched. Here are a few projects I found that resonated with me.

Sip and Puff Joystick – I first heard about this a year or two ago. It’s basically a one-man operation, building mechanical interfaces to enable quadriplegics to use game controllers for the Xbox and Playstation. Helping people to play video games may not seem like “making a difference”, but in this case I’ll argue that it is. If you’re a young person who’s left by accident or illness with no good way to interact with your friends, those friendships may wither and die. Being able to compete with others and keep a social life going is HUGE.

Gravity Light – The first time I saw this, I literally slapped my head. Why didn’t I think of this? It’s a super-bright LED light, powered by a falling weight. Hang it from the ceiling, fill the weight bag with a few pounds of dirt, lift the weight, and illuminate the room for 30 minutes. There’s no need for mains electricity, no battery system like you’d need for a solar kit, and no harmful indoor pollution from a kerosene lamp.

Contact Lenses for Diabetics – This was a Google project, not something from a solo inventor, but it hit the news recently and got me thinking. The promise of a “smart” contact lens to monitor blood sugar levels (instead of a finger prick to draw blood) sounds like a real step forward. Though one diabetic scolded Google for a well-intentioned but misplaced effort, since the majority of the world’s diabetics lack the money and access to medical care needed to benefit from this project.

Philips LightAide – My wife brought this home from work yesterday, and to be honest I’m not exactly clear what it does, but it’s an LED light board intended for kids with vision and cognitive difficulties. It’s certainly part of the “tech to make a difference” space, and I’ll try to learn more about it.

Smartphone Interface for the Blind – On several past occasions, I’ve wondered how blind people make use of iPhones and other smartphones. Is it even possible? Is voice recognition and text-to-speech enough? The smartphone has become a nearly indispensable tool for many, so it’s a cruel irony that its featureless glass screen is actually worse than an old phone’s from the blind’s standpoint. What if the screen had a dynamic tactile interface, maybe some kind of Braille peripheral that plugged into the phone?

What similar projects have made you think “aha!”? Got any great ideas of your own for something that would make a difference?

 

Read 4 comments and join the conversation 

4 Comments so far

  1. charles - January 22nd, 2014 10:52 pm

    hey, you are awesome… i want to be more like you!

    🙂

  2. Mark - January 23rd, 2014 7:45 am

    I think Bill Gates had the same epiphany, but of course he has more resources to apply to the problems of the world.

  3. Zinahe - January 29th, 2014 10:12 pm

    Hey, thank you. I really enjoyed reading this post. It made me pause and ponder why I’m up right now at 1:10AM tinkering with this electronics stuff. Keep up the good work.

  4. Àlber Filbà - January 31st, 2014 7:57 am

    You’re right. I hadn’t realized how most of the R&D is focused in solving (silly) first world problems. It’s always nice to read you 🙂

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