ENGINEERING

CONCORD, Mass. - A small, battery-operated microfilm projector designed in SolidWorks(r) software may become the most indispensable tool for tackling global illiteracy and giving adults in poor rural communities a chance at a better life. Called Kinkajou and designed by a team of MIT students, the lightweight projector delivers entire libraries of learning material more efficiently and at a fraction of the cost of the textbooks and lamps typically used in developing countries. Globally, nearly one in five adults over the age of 15 cannot read. The majority of them live in villages where electricity, teachers, and reading textbooks are scarce. Design that Matters, a non-profit organization born at MIT, set out to develop an affordable, low-tech device that would be portable, durable, easy to make, use, and fix. It also had to be capable of providing large volumes of information. Kinkajou - named after a monkey-like rainforest mammal with large, reflective eyes - delivers 10,000 pages of information on one microfilm cassette for under $100, compared to $400 for the cost of printing the same volume of information. MIT students working in conjunction with Design that Matters chose SolidWorks 3D mechanical design software for the Kinkajou project because of the software's intuitive interface, precise assembly capabilities, error troubleshooting capabilities, and affordability. With a limited budget, MIT students built a prototype for a pilot project in Mali and Benin in West Africa, where 55 percent of all adults are illiterate. Most adults spend all day working in their fields, leaving night-time courses as their only opportunity to learn to read. Typically, they must share a book with up to three others and squint to see the text by kerosene lamp. Teachers need tools that allow students to see the text clearly so that all of them can participate and learn at the same pace. "The MIT students had to overcome many design challenges to make Kinkajou an effective learning tool in West African communities," said Timothy Prestero, Design that Matters co-founder and direct advisor to the Kinkajou project. "Aside from being portable, easy to use, and sturdy, Kinkajou had to be dust-proof because the region is near the Sahara Desert and dust is everywhere. The projector needed to have some very precise fits." High tolerances, low time requirement Throughout product development, SolidWorks helped students work quickly and efficiently. "SolidWorks is extremely intuitive," said Stacy igueredo, one of the core undergraduate student designers. "You know what the buttons are going to do because the symbols make sense. That means you spend less time hunting for the right functions. The amount of time to complete the Kinkajou design in SolidWorks was about 10 percent of the time required for traditional drafting, including translating those sketches into 3D." SolidWorks also made it easy to troubleshoot design challenges, such as preventing users from completely unscrewing the focus knob or providing enough room for operators' fingers when changing microfilm spools. "Because of the nature of the design, we had to account for many interdependent tolerances, such as the sizing of the film advancing belt, whose measurement comes from other tolerances," said Figueredo. "SolidWorks helped us visualize these component relationships and ensure they match up exactly. This was especially important for ensuring a tight fit between the unit's thermoform plastic top and the base plate to keep dust out." Figueredo and the team had to make the design easy to understand in case humanitarian agencies decide to hire local manufacturers to build Kinkajou. SolidWorks 3D visualization capabilities will make it easy for these manufacturers to see how to assemble the projector to exact specifications for reliability and function. Figueredo was among a team of students developing the Kinkajou beta model field tested this summer. The team traveled to villages in Mali and Benin to gauge interest from non-governmental organizations that could sponsor efforts to bring Kinkajou to their communities. The Kinkajou team is the third group of students to have worked on this project through Design that Matters. Like the teams before them, this team has documented its results for successive teams who will finalize the Kinkajou design. According to Neil Cantor, Design that Matters co-founder, the next step is for other students at MIT and local universities to further refine the design prior to Kinkajou's widespread distribution. Cantor said Design that Matters is currently strategizing with a global literacy education organization about deploying the Kinkajou in community classrooms, possibly by next spring. "Literacy is one of the most effective tools for fighting poverty, widespread disease, corruption, and war," said Rosanne Kramer, director of worldwide education markets for SolidWorks Corporation. "From reading prescription labels to job applications and new laws, it is fundamental to everything we do. Kinkajou has not only given these MIT students invaluable product design and humanitarian experience, but it also seeks to overcome one of man's most enduring scourges. SolidWorks' role as the design software underscores its range, and highlights the company's commitment to improving everyday life."