Category Archives: Ideas
Groundshots in an Age of Moonshots
April 15th, 2020 by Erik Hersman
I love the “moonshot” ideology, a type of thinking that aims to achieve something that is generally believed to be impossible. I first came across this concept with Google X and their way of thinking about hard problems. Who wouldn’t get inspired by solving a massive challenge using next generation technology? Especially when it’s backed […]
Read moreIntroducing BRCK Labs
October 16th, 2019 by Kurt Unger
BRCK has always been committed to innovating in emerging markets. Regardless of what we’ve accomplished in the past, we aren’t going to be complacent about the future. And BRCK Labs is how we plan on ensuring that. At BRCK, we understand that the technology paradigms that work in other parts of the world do not necessarily […]
Read moreBRCK, INTEL – Designing at the periphery
April 7th, 2016 by Juliana Rotich
There has been a lot of talk about “inclusive business” since the term was coined by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development in 2005. A business is said to be inclusive when it’s value chains purposefully “include” the needs and wants of low-income people and communities, and the company then implements on a business model […]
Read moreCrisis Stack: A microserver for disaster response teams
February 5th, 2015 by Erik Hersman
The heritage of BRCK is that we were born out of Ushahidi, which builds platforms for changing the way information flows in crisis and disasters events globally. It shouldn’t be a surprise then that we think a lot about how BRCK hardware can help extend the ability of disaster response teams around the world. 1: […]
Read moreBRCK+ED Expedition: Part Two
November 9th, 2014 by Paul Birkelo
The BRCK team is back in Nairobi! We’ve just spent six days testing BRCKs in the wild and learning from those who use our products to solve problems they face everyday. We’ve been a bit remiss in providing regular updates as we go. It turns out Jinja, Uganda, is an exciting place, and we were running from […]
Read moreThinking Unidirectional and Omnidirectional Antennas
May 12th, 2014 by Erik Hersman
At one end of the BRCK you’ll find a flap with an antenna post hiding underneath it. This is connected to the wireless modem inside of the BRCK and allows you to extend the range of your Edge/3G/4G considerably. Many times we find that the signal from a mobile tower is a bit weak. Sometimes […]
Read more“Our Problem is Internet” on BRCKs in Schools
April 16th, 2014 by Erik Hersman
Yesterday we spent the morning taking a few new pictures of the BRCK, since there had been some cosmetic changes to the design (we moved the light on the top, and put the power button on the side). One of the first places we stopped was a school in Kawangware, one of the lower income […]
Read moreThe Case for Engineering the BRCK in Africa – Part 2
January 21st, 2014 by tapswap
(Yesterday’s post: Part 1) I came home this weekend to find that the water pump that goes from our outside tank to the house was no longer functioning. One of the daily challenges that we deal with in Nairobi is that water is both unreliable and – when available – delivered at very low pressure. […]
Read moreGifts for the Hackers and Adventurers in Your Life
December 17th, 2013 by Jonathan Shuler
With Christmas just days away, and with some of us just getting to our holiday shopping, we at team BRCK wanted to help you find that perfect last minute gift for the hardware hacker or adventurer in your life. Most of these items are things we’ve used and depend on, the rest are just cool! […]
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