Digital Planet

First all African smartphone factory


Listen Later

The first African smartphone factory, where phones are made from scratch, opened this week in Rwanda. The smartphones are designed for the African market, so they are being made as affordable as possible, while being accessible and secure.

Tunabot

Professor Hilary Bart-Smith at the University of Virginia, USA went back to basics to develop a fast swimming robotic tuna - the tunabot. They took detailed anatomical data from the Yellow-finned tuna and Atlantic mackerel and 3D printed the fast tunabot. The tunabot swims faster than existing tunabots by increasing the frequency with which its tail beats.

Tech to help deal with dementia

An estimated 130 million of us could have dementia by 2050, but technology could help people live with the condition. Videos that pop up on your phone to help you perform everyday tasks like boiling the kettle or QR codes on your clothes that help others identify you and contact your family if you get lost are just some of the advances that Jason Hosken reports on.

Ushahidi

Ushahidi is Swahili for witness and it’s also the name of an open source software. It was originally created ten years ago to report reprisals and violence around elections. Since then it’s widened out into all kinds of crisis mapping – everything from monitoring natural disasters to illegal deforestation. Angela Odour Lungati is the recently appointed Executive Director at Ushahidi.

Producer: Ania Lichtarowicz

(Photo: MaraPhone factory. Credit: MaraPhone)

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Digital PlanetBy BBC World Service

  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6

4.6

105 ratings


More shows like Digital Planet

View all
Global News Podcast by BBC World Service

Global News Podcast

7,669 Listeners

Economist Podcasts by The Economist

Economist Podcasts

4,166 Listeners

Business Daily by BBC World Service

Business Daily

521 Listeners

Newshour by BBC World Service

Newshour

1,062 Listeners

In Our Time by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time

5,475 Listeners

The Documentary Podcast by BBC World Service

The Documentary Podcast

1,801 Listeners

6 Minute English by BBC Radio

6 Minute English

1,761 Listeners

Learning English Conversations by BBC Radio

Learning English Conversations

1,054 Listeners

Friday Night Comedy from BBC Radio 4 by BBC Radio 4

Friday Night Comedy from BBC Radio 4

2,108 Listeners

The Infinite Monkey Cage by BBC Radio 4

The Infinite Monkey Cage

2,080 Listeners

Tech Life by BBC World Service

Tech Life

57 Listeners

Unexpected Elements by BBC World Service

Unexpected Elements

356 Listeners

Health Report by ABC

Health Report

125 Listeners

The Daily by The New York Times

The Daily

112,250 Listeners

13 Minutes Presents: The Space Shuttle by BBC World Service

13 Minutes Presents: The Space Shuttle

4,166 Listeners

You're Dead to Me by BBC Radio 4

You're Dead to Me

3,204 Listeners

The Great Post Office Trial by BBC Radio 4

The Great Post Office Trial

38 Listeners