With scientific and technological innovation taking lead in the global agenda, local innovators known as Amagezi innovation club found in Ntinda Kigoowa, a Kampala suburb have picked interest in bringing the smart home innovation system to Uganda.
Led by the senior innovator Neal Kelly, these thinkers are investing a lot of their talent in making portable rain predictors that can also automate an irrigation system for farmers.
“The rain predictor nicknamed Martha (will) help farmers in a way that it takes temperature in humidity, senses the environment and calculate the due points. And the due points can actually predict if rain is eminent or there is no rain in the immediate time,” Kelley says.
Kelley also called the innovation a Smart Farm Innovation.
The team comprise a team of scientific and software diehards who have labored to put together various electrical appliances to innovate automated systems that can ease life.
Among their first creations was a 3D printer which helped them to melt and mold plastic materials to manufacture solid hardware used to making various appliances.
Neal Kelley is one of the senior innovators who believes in turning Uganda and Africa into a continent rich in innovation.
“My objective is to innovate and be able to solve some of the problems that Africa has been plagued with using technology that is inexpensive, very affordable and effective,” he pointed.
Despite the slowness in innovation endeavor, Kelley says him alongside young and technologically active individuals have managed to come up with a rain predictor that helps in predicting rain on the side of farmers.
The team has also managed to develop a wheel project intended to turn motor bicycle wheels into mobile bill boards. This will in turn earn motorcycle riders some money.
In addition, the team was also in advanced stages of developing a wheel project that will turn motorcycle wheels into moving advertising bill boards and equally serve as tracking device to slow down boda boda theft in the country.
“I looked around the many boda bodas around Kampala. I started thinking about a system that will use wheels to produce an image for advertisement and I came up with a wheel project,” he emphasized.
Once the system becomes operational, Kelley said bodaboda riders will earn a penny per kilometre ride across the city.
Andrew Mukasa, one of the innovators, was equally surprised about their innovations saying it will earn many youth employment and extra skills.
Also in their innovation field, the team can also connect home appliances to a computerized system through which one can command home appliances and they respond as required.
