1. Universal Knowledge Project
July 24 & 25, 2001
Cambridge, USA
Universal Knowledge Project
Four Most Crucial Components In Solving IT-age Knowledge Divide
A Digital Nations Project
Dr. Kazuhiko Nishi
Media Laboratory
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

2. languages and characters
Humankind has become the master of this planet
through
languages and characters
Languages and characters
have guided humankind's development and growth
Languages and characters are
a bridge linking
all nations and peoples
We need to solve language problems on the Internet
so that we can make the best use of it 2

3. 3

4. Population Forecasts for Major Cities in 2010 (unit: millions)
(1) Tokyo (Japan) m
(2) San Paolo(Brazil) m
(3) Bombay (India) m
(4) Shanghai (China) m
(5) Lagos (Nigeria) m
(6) Mexico City(Mexico） m
(7) Beijing (China) m
(8) Dhaka (Bangladesh) m
(9) New York (USA) m
(10) Jakarta (Indonesia) m
(11) Karachi (Pakistan) m
(12) Manila (Philippines) m
(13) Tenshin (China) m
(14) Calcutta (India) m
(15) New Delhi (India) m
(16) Los Angeles (USA) m
(17) Seoul(South Korea) m
(18) Buenos Aries (Argentina) m
(19) Cairo (Egypt) m
(20) Rio de Janeiro(Brazil) m
(21) Bangkok (Thailand) m
(22) Tehran (Iran) m
(23) Istanbul (Turkey) m
(24) Osaka (Japan) m
(25) Moscow (Russia) m
(26) Lima (Peru) m 25 23 7 9 13 17 16 22 15 1 19 11 24 3 8 4 14 21 6 12 5 10 26 20 2 18 4
Source: World Bank Data

5. The spread of the Internet will expand the unfairness of knowledge
Defacto standard language on the Internet == English
Knowledge ends up being created and stored in English
The knowledge of those
who speak English
increases further
Those who cannot speak
English are unable to access
knowledge over the Internet
>
>
>
The gap grows larger and larger 5

6. In order for humankind to be able to share knowledge, the following must happen:
1. There must be universal access to the Internet.
2. The problem of currency barriers must be resolved.
3. Inexpensive computers must become available everywhere.
4. The problem of language barriers must be resolved. 6

7. Metropolitan Phased Array Antenna Groupware and Remote Disk Server
Project 1
URI (Universal Radio Internet) Project
Satellite
Ku band transponder on PanAmSat
Frequency
Ku band and 2.4/1.2 GHz
worldwide coverage
Developing
a global wireless connection
to the Internet
without government license
Metropolitan Phased Array Antenna
“The Sun Flower”
Distributed small antennas to and from
Ku band Satellite
IEEE b + new x link
Terrestrial network connections for
inter-wireless packet routers & clients
802 for PC
401 for long distance slow speed
Groupware and Remote Disk Server
Integrated messaging and
interactive learning 7

8. Ku band
satellite
Ku band
satellite
GPS
Ku band
satellite
GPS
802.11b
401.11x
USAT
GPS
802.11b
401.11x
$500-$1000
USAT
$500 - $1000
802.11b
401.11x
USAT
$500 - $1000 8

9. UEC (Universal Electronic Coin) Project
Minimum unit is
1 microgram of gold
0.001 cent
Collaboration with
major credit card companies and
major international banks
Includes localization flexibility
Develop gold-based electronic prepaid money system for micro payment
for browsing complying Web pages
3 options
[US dollar and gold] in America
[Euro and gold] in Europe
[Gold only] in the rest of the world
Combination of Online and Offline transactions
Web-based link operation
technology
Repaying for quotes 9

10. Internet Universal PC Access RFID card support RDID sensor
Swatch Access RFID
support
Pay by touching 10

11. UPC (Universal Paper Computer) Project
Manufacturing several kinds of VLSI chips base on Strong Arm
Technology for printing circuits on paper (application of
Joe Jacobson’s research at MIT)
Developing $100 network PC
Cardboard PC based on one VLSI chip and circuits printed on paper
Developing an improved OS, JAVA, and CPU-independent
P-code as the OS and programming language
Recyclable cardboard and
plastic body
Power supply by
air and solar batteries 11

12. Single-Chip PC on a Paper
antenna
802
11.b
USB 2.0 port
Paper printed circuit
1 chip
Display option
Video out for
TV monitor
Optional
memory
640x480, 1024x768
2000x1000
Rechargeable
batteries
1 shot 1 piece KB 12

13. Universal PC chip design
Video Out
SDRAM
Video
DAC
FPGA
ARM9+
Core
Video
MUX
VIDEO
Video
(PCM)
SDRAMC
MEMC
Config
Bridge
(OPLL)
SDRAM 16MB
(PSG)
buffer
Bridge
Wireless
LAN
FLASH
(I/O)
(RTC)
(TIMER) 13

14. Universal PC Chip Block Design Ver. 4
USB2.0 UP
Stream
7 ports
USB2.0
DOWN
Stream
1 port
JTAG
Video
encoder
RAM
16 MB
FLASH
8 MB
Video
selector
USB
Target
controller
ARM920T
400 MHz
4ch
DMAC
MEMORY
controller
Interrupt
controller
USB-Host
controller
Video RAM
8 MB
Video
controller
AHB
AHB-APB
Bridge
PLD
Downloader
PLD
1 million gates
APB
PLD RAM
8 MB
MEDIA
controller
Security
Wireless LAN or
Bluetooth
TIMER
RTC
PIO
I/O selector
SD-memory
2 slots
RF-IC
Keyboard
port
General I/O
port
AUDIO
DAC
Universal PC Chip Block Design Ver. 4
©2001 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Media Lab / Kazuhiko Nishi 14

15. Develop a browser-based translation system between 189 languages
Project 4
UNL (Universal Networking Language) Project
Automated translation
technology
Universal Word and Syntax
as intermediate language
Develop
a browser-based
translation system
between 189 languages
Online multi-language dictionary maintenance system
HTML language extension
Web-based operation
technology 15

16. UNL is The Way to Solve the Language Problem
Store knowledge in both its mother tongue and UNL
Those who speak that
mother tongue can access
knowledge as is
Those who speak another
language can use a deconverter
to translate UNL into their own
language
Users install the deconverter
as a plug-in for their browser 16

17. Established Achievements in Key Languagesby
Governments, Universities, Laboratories, and Companies
for
Arabic, Chinese, English, French,
German, Hindi, Indonesian, Italian,
Japanese, Latvian, Mongolian,
Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swahili, and Thai
with support from
United Nations University,
Institute for Advanced Study,
UNL Center 17

18. 16 languages online with UNL. (Almost done) By the end of 2003,
Our Goals
By 2000,
16 languages online with UNL. (Almost done)
By the end of 2003,
31 languages (16 + all 15 EU) online with UNL.
(Soon…)
By 2009,
support all 189 UN member states.
(This is the real challenge!) 18

19. Field Tests (Proposal)
As we develop this project, we will plan to start a field test in 2005 for the tools that will enable everyone, everywhere to participate in the digital community and share knowledge in their mother tongue for less than $100.
URI
Accessible anywhere in the world
Ku band and 1.2/2.4GHz
Feedback for technology evaluation
Online festival by participating communities
Field test both in real world and cyberspace
Electronic payment experiment with wireless prepaid card system
UEC
Useable in cyberspace
in any country
UPC
Available to everyone at a low price
Strong Arm +
Distributing 1000 sets of $100 PCs
connection routers to
1,000 communities
Digital Foster Families
Workshops and contests for
designing a $100 PC
Communication test using
pictographs and symbols
Digital applications to community problems such as medical care, education, and the environment
UNL
Accessible in any of the 189 languages
United
Nations
United
Nations
University
Tokyo
UNL
Foundation
Geneva
ITU
UNESCO
Unicef
Harvard
Camp
MLE
IOC
Junior
Summit 19

20. The organization that accomplishes this
will gain astronomical profit and fame.
However,
we should not purse this project for profit and fame.
Should we not instead make this come true for the world
as a legacy for our future generations?
If we do not do this,
it is likely that other groups will try the same thing.
Not for competition,
but for open cooperation and open collaboration
with other organizations and groups as well. 20