CARMO GALLO NETTO

UA new technology promises to revolutionize communications: it is called WiMax – Worldwide Interoperability for Microware Access. It enables the Triple Play service, which can be translated into the joint transmission of voice, video and broadband Internet, long range and high speed. Through it, the user can have simultaneous access to the telephone, video channels and the worldwide web, subscribing to a single server. However, there is a more revolutionary aspect: the system is wireless, that is, it uses a wireless connection. This means that, with a portable computer, the user will have access to the Triple Play service even on the go. The new system opens up the possibility of interactively reaching communication to the most distant corners, where access via cable would be unthinkable. One of the applications with the greatest social reach would be the exploration of this technology in educational activities, greatly expanding the democratization of teaching.

Unicamp and PUC test system in school of Campinas

These possibilities motivated professor Guido Araújo, from the Department of Computing Systems at Unicamp's Computing Institute (IC), to propose the “WiMax Integration Pilot Project: digital inclusion, knowledge and culture”, coordinated by him and professor Omar Branquinho , from the Radio-Frequency Laboratory at PUC Campinas. The project is supported by the Wireless Competence Network laboratory (WCN/IC), maintained by Intel through a scientific cooperation agreement signed several years ago with Unicamp – the company forms partnerships with the Center for Information Technology Applied to Education (Nied) and with the Exploratory Science Museum.

Maria Cecília Martins, a researcher at Nied, explains that the pilot project involves the study of WiMax connection, services and applications in educational and digital inclusion contexts. “Currently, WiMax test scenarios are concentrated in a Radio Base Station installed at PUC and three connection points: at Escola do Sítio, in the district of Barão Gerando; in the NanoAventura Project, currently installed here on our campus; and a third, mobile and in the installation phase, in the Project Oficina do Desafio truck – the last two programs are maintained by the Unicamp Exploratory Science Museum”, she informs.

Guido Araújo clarifies that WiMax technology is equivalent to cell phone technology, but much cheaper. Radiating antennas do not need to reach such high points and the attached equipment is much lower in cost. Furthermore, the system allows simultaneous transmission of voice, video and Internet data at good speed. “Cellular technology, on the other hand, does not allow image quality for large screens and works at a slower speed. WiMax is beginning to be implemented in Europe and the USA and is still in the pre-industrial phase, but there is no doubt about the enormous advantages in terms of breadth of use and costs”, he states.

The federal government announced the auction of bands to be used by the WiMax system, which competes with large telephone companies. Therefore, there is discussion regarding the advisability of these companies participating in tenders, fearing that they will exercise exaggerated control over this sector, restricting competition. Anatel received a request to postpone the auction, after putting up for sale four frequency blocks corresponding to telephone concession areas, and eight more blocks for smaller areas. Telephone companies were prohibited from purchasing frequencies within their areas, which reignited the war between them, pay TV stations and Embratel.

On the other hand, some state governments are moving to obtain frequency bands among those auctioned, with a view to creating public wireless Internet networks that would interconnect schools, police stations, hospitals and public administration bodies. These networks would reduce spending on the Internet and telephone calls. Guido Araújo considers this to be the way forward.

The idea - Approximately four years ago, says the professor at the Computing Institute, Intel and Unicamp signed a first agreement to create a wireless technology laboratory. WiMax antennas, small WiFi antennas and other necessary equipment were added to the laboratory – which is part of a larger network called WCN. “We have a long partnership with PUC de Campinas, which has resulted in many technical studies with antennas. More recently, we identified the need to make an application for this technology viable,” he recalls. That's when he invited Omar Branquinho and Maria Cecília to study WiMax. “Technology in itself leads to nothing. It only becomes useful when people come up with ideas for its application. Technology is a tool,” he notes. The idea of ​​developing a project with schools in Campinas was made possible in a few months, with Maria Cecília promoting fruitful contacts with the schools and developing an educational project, while Omar Branquinho took care of the installation and technical support of the program.

In Branquinho's opinion, the democratization of information depends on its ubiquity, which in a developing country the size of Brazil can only be achieved through wireless technology and cheap infrastructure. “But the distribution of information is insufficient. It is essential to ensure interactivity, enabling both the sending and receiving of information, hence the need to incorporate the Internet. WiMax technology largely meets this context, bringing together services that are currently offered separately in a wireless network: telephone, TV and the Internet”, he explains. The professor adds that all this potential was tested by the Intel/Unicamp laboratory and by his group at PUC in various parts of the region. The next step will be to use this infrastructure already set up to interconnect schools and promote the distribution of video, voice and web.

Escola do Sítio – The first tests involving students and teachers will be carried out in cooperation with Escola do Sítio, during meetings throughout the semester. “We will evaluate the feasibility of the proposed experiments, allow familiarization with new technologies, devices and applications, and encourage reflection on the relevance of these technologies in the educational process”, says pedagogue Maria Cecília Martins. Among the activities planned at the school are pedagogical robotics applications; making mechanical devices with Lego kits; remote control of robots; formation of a WebRadio, with the creation of content and programs alongside the students; development of a GPS application in the area of ​​geography; applications integrating technology and art; and applications related to the event celebrating the 30th anniversary of Escola do Sitio.

WiMax in robotics and recreational activities
Researcher João Vilhete Viegas d'Abreu is an electrical engineer and responsible for the Pedagogical Robotics area at Nied, where he has been for twenty years. It uses Lego kits and other materials to build robotic devices that interact with the computer and can be used in teaching-learning activities. “It is an area that contributes to the construction of knowledge. Assembling robots teaches general scientific concepts, from the mechanical principle that makes an axis rotate, to mechatronics itself. Robots can be learning objects for students from elementary school to graduate school,” he says.

The robots are controlled by a computer – connected to it by wires – and operated on benches. But WiMax technology, according to João Vilhete, allows them to be controlled remotely, for example, to obtain measurements and other information about a cultivated area. “An agricultural engineering student, anywhere in the world, would have access to the robot to collect data in the field. It would be unfeasible to have the robot attached to a wire and move between tomato plants”, he jokes. The researcher has many experiences with robots in teaching activities. At the Faculty of Civil Engineering, a robot was used for students to study the functional comfort of a physical space where people circulate. In Mechanical Engineering and the Computing Institute, pedagogical robotics contributed to the assimilation of automation and control concepts.

Science Museum – The Unicamp Exploratory Science Museum is now being officially opened, in November, as part of the University's 40th anniversary celebrations, occupying an area of ​​the former Naked Eye Observatory. Two projects are maintained there: NanoAventura, which presents science concepts in a playful way (videos, actor performances, music and electronic games), has already received around 25 thousand visitors; and the Oficina Desafio, which encourages young students to develop technological solutions with their own hands, in an equipped truck, and entitles them to prizes at the end of the activities.

WiMax technology was the big attraction at the NanoAventura tent in September, during the last edition of Unicamp de Portas Abertas (UPA) – an event that brought more than 60 thousand high school students to visit the University. An antenna installed next to the tent made it possible to transmit the activities carried out there in real time, via the Unicamp website. This antenna will continue to serve future activities at the Science Museum. And another will be installed on the truck of the Oficina Desafio project, whose activities can also be accessed via the Internet.