Dare to Innovate- A Make-Shift Series
For many of the innovations we take for granted, we miss out on hearing what went into making it happen. Even though It’s hard to tell the innovation story in a way that conveys the wow and wonder of human ingenuity, say it even then. Again, these stories need to be told in various ways to inspire the next generation of inventors.
Over several years of designing electronic products with Micro-controller technologies, Daniel Akpobare, a Nigerian electronic prodigy, and instructor, have seen a countless breakthrough in solving complex problems with simple electronic designs in broadcast media.
Knowing the facts and sentiments about broadcast media allowed Daniel to better tailor his solutions. No wonder it is believed that to build for the world, you must first understand what it means to live in it.
Occasionally when He tells his Story, it begins with a “crazy” idea bubbling in a radio station engineer’s mind, who was battling with how to achieve a live broadcast in a remote community without access to the internet for Streaming.
After overcoming several failed attempts and surviving against the odds, this is the account of what he’ll say birthed the innovative make-shift device (The Live broadcaster 1.0)- a portable device connecting Correspondents of Radio Stations while on the field to their base stations without expensive OB vans, Satellite transmission or the uneven distribution of internet connectivity and infrastructures for lives streaming services.
However, since we can’t truly understand technology without thinking about the Untold stories embedded in it and those of the people who enabled its growth. I don’t revere Daniel because he initiated the technology, but for what he revealed that no other station engineer could see at the time.
While the management of the company saw a major reduction in their running cost owing to this innovation, which nose-dived from N50,000 ( Nigerian Naira) per session to N500 (Nigerian Naira) per session, he, on the other hand, saw a giant stride among the people who use this technology;
The convenience experienced by the reporters who were the primary users of this device basked in the glory of a cost-effective alternative to cell phones as it was the practice before the LBC.
Daniel Story may not be the most inspiring you have heard in technology but we often miss the fact that stories drive technology too. I’ve always found this an incredibly useful way to approach technology and innovation because it highlights the importance of understanding not just the mechanisms of technology, but the basic forces that it brings forth.
To truly internalize those forces, we must first unlock the stories embedded in technology. Even Steve Jobs believed that humanity and technology are deeply intertwined and the power of a story which has a lot to do with the product’s awareness and considerations it attracts.
That said, the LBC was no more just Daniel’s story embedded in its making, but countless others as well. As a make-shift device, it was crude and looked like a Bumble Bee in Transformers, but it drives communications with crystal clear quality over an amazing distance which currently stands at anywhere within Nigeria.
It would also be hard to fully appreciate an iPhone without knowing anything about Steve Jobs right? Daniel in his spare time away from work volunteers as an instructor of Phycom Studio Bootcamp, a Tech Hive’s physical computing training, designed to introduce students to micro-controller technologies and IOT, believed he could use more hands at Tech Hive Innovations Hub when it became pertinent that an upgrade was required to keep this device relevant in an ever-evolving technology industry.
Owing to his dedication to the team and time he had sacrificed in building a younger generation of geeks at the hub, he got a much-deserved consideration. The faculty members in the hub took up the challenge to redesign the device new version after over a year of testing at the radio satiation.
At the Hub, a lot was considered for the upgrade to version 2 of the product. — Modifications were made to the Codebase, a 3D design of the Chassis was considered, improved charging circuit and power storage was considered, advanced controllers introduced, a touch screen enabled smart device with more features was created.
“It is through learning the stories of technology that new chapters are written”. — Greg Satell
This simple ripple of Daniel’s thought which had a great story had been plugged into by a dedicated physical computing team at the hub, led by Joseph Enesu, along with Micheal Ndem and Victor Nbidowo (Mechatronic prodigies) believed technology doesn’t live in a vacuum but co-evolves with Stories.
Of course, this innovation didn’t get the type of acceptance one would anticipate initially until it was able to broadcast in terrains other radio stations found difficult to gain entry with their vans or establish a link to their base station over the internet.
Nevertheless, as Tech Hive weaved their way through the maze of the stories embedded in the making of this device, they gained a new appreciation and began to see new possibilities in a story that changed live broadcast from a simple makeshift device to a market-ready product.
Stories are how we make sense of what we encounter in the world. And that gets to the heart of the matter. Recently the Stories of LBC echoed through the wave-guards of Tech Hive Innovations Hub and was able to secure Investors interest and grants from the government to encourage further research on this device.
Product Stories, when properly understood, is far more priceless than the algorithms, Codebase, controllers and other composition of the grand design.
What’s your innovation Story, give your product a voice, dare to be a Daniel, dare to innovate.
