Iconic and ingenious, Madagascar designed a solar powered computer. A precious technical work that reminds us that no country has a monopoly on technological innovation.
The birth of this computer is relayed by article by RFI. We owe that to the Kasai brothers, the founders of the startup Gyrogazi. its name ? Gerodesk. His privacy? Integrated batteries directly connected to the solar panels.
Yan, the eldest of the brothers (33), looks at this adventure in pillars RFI :
“We started from scratch with a single 3D printer to allow us to create a few plastic parts and to be able to create our first solar systems that we make here. We quickly needed a second 3D printer that we made for ourselves in a range with salvaged components we found here. “We realized that we could do a lot of things on the island. This is how we ended up with our technical team creating the first solar powered personal computer manufactured in a range locally, from design to core PC, to printed circuits.”
Jirodesk is in its second version (64 GB hard disk, Intel Celeron processor, 4 GB of RAM and 21 inch screen). 24 copies have already been sold and will be distributed in the bush in schools and health centers without electricity.
Besides the technical side of this feat, this innovation sends a very powerful message to all of Madagascar’s inhabitants, which is one of the poorest countries in the world:
« Why do we import foreign innovations when we ourselves are able here, with our team of 100% Malagasy technicians and engineers, to innovate on our own? Why in the 1980s did American companies build computers in a garage and what were we in Africa to be able to? This is what I am trying to prove with my team »
The impossible is not Madagascar.
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