Smart powers S&T innovations for communities

What do weather monitoring and disaster preparedness devices, weather and public storm bulletins, an inter-facility health records database and e-referral system and a mobile amputee screening platform all have in common? These innovations are all being powered by Smart Communications Inc. in partnership with government institutions and local government units in order to serve communities. These technology applications and more were showcased by Smart at the Expo Science 2011 during the recent National Science and Technology Week celebration held at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City. The event, spearheaded by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), is the biggest annual gathering of the country’s science practitioners from the different government offices, agencies, and the academe, together with their technology partners from the private sector. Smart was among the technology partners featured, having had collaborated with several institutions like the DOST, the Department of Health (DOH) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, among others, for projects aimed at using technology for the benefit of the citizens, their communities and the environment. “When people hear Smart, they would normally think of its more common applications like personal communications and broadband connectivity,” said Darwin Flores, manager for community partnerships of Smart Public Affairs. “But Smart also aims to be part of nation-building by using technologies to assist government agencies in responding to the needs of the people. This is how we make Smart’s wireless technologies and innovations work for the benefit of more Filipinos,” he said. During the opening ceremonies of Expo Science 2011, President Aquino acknowledged the contributions of the private sector in the advancement of science and technology in the country, through useful innovations. He cited several public-private partnership programs such as the use of Automated Weather Stations (AWS) and Telehealth. Smart is one of enablers of the use of AWS in the country, using its technologies to back up a weather monitoring and disaster alert system developed by the Ateneo de Davao University. Through Smart’s wireless connectivity, this system sends and gathers weather data that become accessible via the Web. This system is an upgraded version of ADDU’s winning entry in the Smart Wireless Engineering Education Program (SWEEP) Awards, Smart’s annual search for innovative wireless applications. Smart also recently partnered with the DOH to pioneer the Telehealth project called Secured Health Information Network and Exchange (SHINE) — a system that enables public and private health care providers to securely access and store medical records online and to efficiently manage referrals of patients, all via the mobile phone or the Web. Aside from AWS and SHINE, Smart also featured Project Rain Gauge (rainfall monitoring and observation in cooperation with the Department of Education and its network of participating schools nationwide), Smart-PAGASA co-location project (installation of PAGASA’s weather monitoring devices in Smart’s cellsites), PAGASA SMS (SMS weather bulletin from the weather bureau powered by Smart’s Infoboard), and ASCENT (Amputee Screening via CEllphone NeTworking). The telco also highlighted its efforts to be energy-efficient and environment-friendly through the use of wind and solar power to run its cellsites.