April 2004
ABSTRACT
Many of the sites where our researchers work are remote from information sources. The researchers lose much valuable time in manually collecting field data, and transcribing and processing them in laboratories and offices—steps that increase risks of error. If, instead, they could use wireless technology, the researchers would be able to access databases rapidly and reliably—even when working in remote locations—thus avoiding intermediary paper work and saving time.
Furthermore, they would also be able to transfer data from the field to other work sites. CIAT’s Wireless project is taking advantage of current wireless technologies to enhance its researchers’ efficiency.
This paper briefly describes the Project and its implementation at CIAT. The general approach is to study the researchers’ needs and explore the state of the art in wireless technology, focusing on outdoor solutions and services offered. We have already constructed a prototype model for final design. We also hope to replicate our experience at other CGIAR centers and for our partners worldwide. The most important issues are to design effective interfaces, in order to reduce the complexity of use of handheld devices, and guarantee compatibility with technology already in use.
Keywords: Agricultural research, collaboration, connectivity, data capture efficiency, rural environment, wireless technology.
INTRODUCTION
Context
The Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT), located near Cali, Colombia, is a not-for-profit organization that conducts socially and environmentally progressive research aimed at reducing hunger and poverty and preserving natural resources in developing countries. CIAT is one of 15 food and environmental research centers working toward these goals around the world, in partnership with farmers, scientists, and policy makers. Known as the Future Harvest centers, they are funded mainly by the 58 countries, private foundations, and international organizations that make up the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR).
(For more information see www.ciat.cgiar.org.)
Problem statement
Many of the sites where CIAT’s researchers work are remote from information sources. Until now researchers have had to collect data on paper, which are then transcribed into digital format to be fed into databases. These intermediary steps increase the risks of error between data capture and processing, and researchers lose much valuable time.
To improve the efficiency of its fieldwork, CIAT must also connect its researchers with collaborators at headquarters and other locations. At the same time, scientists need continuous connection with databases and information systems for further use and processing of the data they collect.
After initially testing some devices, the Wireless Project began in early 2003 with the installation of basic infrastructure and development of applications.
Project goals
The general objective is to enable any CIAT researcher to have real-time access to central databases so that he or she may consult and store data directly from the fieldwork location with minimal error.
The specific goals, therefore, are to provide connectivity between information systems and Internet services, and CIAT researchers working in remote locations; and to design and implement digital field books for data capture in digital format.
A secondary benefit is that the connectivity features facilitate collaboration in research projects.
To exploit the recent advances in information and communications technology, we decided to look for an interconnectivity solution that would combine voice, data, and
Internet technologies. Because the problems we wanted to solve are to do with field locations, we began examining wireless technology in search of a mobile solution that would be low cost, easy to install and manage, and meet our researchers’ expectations with respect to coverage and service.
Justification
Offering our researchers wireless technology combined with information technology would not only reduce errors in data collection, but would also yield the following benefits:

Reliability : The program feeding the applications verifies the input and output of data directly from the databases. Eliminating intermediaries and paper work reduces the number of errors.

Services offered : Using wireless and Internet technology offers the possibility of working with voice and data, and gives access to a wide range of proven information and communication tools, such as e-mail, Instant Messaging (IM), Internet services,
Web pages, and databases.

Backups : Data are saved directly to the servers, where backups can be easily performed.

Speed/immediacy: The information obtained is sent directly to the database, without handwriting or transcription. Data can be consulted directly from databases and the Internet.


Mobility: The user does not depend on fixed infrastructure.

Independence: Systems can be created that work autonomously without being connected at all times
(contrasting with net-centric systems). Those users who are beyond the reach of any access point of the wireless network, can still collect data in digital format, using preset forms. Synchronization occurs as soon as the user is within the reach of the network - with no need to return to headquarters.
Methodology used
We first studied our researchers’ needs and explored the state of the art in wireless technology, focusing on outdoor solutions and services offered. We took into account such factors as our researchers’ work environment, processing of collected data, conditions under which researchers collect data (e.g., with one or both hands), and the time they typically need to connect with information systems.
With this knowledge, we constructed a prototype of wireless mobile technology as a model for developing the final design, focusing first on achieving on-campus connectivity, as it relies less on third-party service providers. Once the application was proven on campus, we tested it off campus.
We hope eventually to replicate the experience with other
CGIAR centers and our partners worldwide.
Description of the following sections
We first have a closer look at the Background of the project: general local conditions, driving forces behind the wireless technology and a general overview of the main wireless technologies (without entering into much technical detail), and services needed and how they are provided in general.
Follows a comparison of different Alternative Approaches and the Solution Implemented. Application Demos are detailed in a separate section.
We also have a look at where to go from here, before getting to the Conclusions.
BACKGROUND
Local conditions
The Wireless Project was carried out at CIAT headquarters near
Cali, Colombia. Many factors influenced the solutions at hand and the execution of this connectivity project.
Most of Colombia consists of rural or “untouched” areas with no or poor infrastructure for communications. Large parts of the country, especially in the south, are very mountainous.
Moreover, the presence of guerilla and paramilitary groups often makes it difficult to install and maintain good communications infrastructure as wires often get interrupted. As a result, in many places, mobile telephony is introduced before, and more readily than, fixed-line telephony.
Like other developing countries, Colombia is usually slow to adopt new technologies or does so at high initial costs, and with initially poor support from local providers. The country generally adheres to the U.S. Federal Communications
Commission’s (FCC) specifications for Wireless Local Area
Network (WLAN) technology and uses GSM or CDMA technology for mobile phones (2G+ being the most widely used generation to date).
CIAT’s researchers mainly perform their work in either the laboratory or field. While they may approach field sites by car, they nearly always have to walk the last part. Fieldwork is performed under the open sky. Lightweight devices that can be easily carried and not dependent on a power outlet are preferable. They should be rainproof, dust resistant, and readable, even with the sun shining.
A preliminary study indicated two basic types of needs for connectivity with databases and collaborators:

When researchers are working and collecting field information on the CIAT campus, which is a roughly circular area, with a radius of about 1.2 km, and in the middle of which lies the campus center.

When researchers are working and collecting data off the CIAT campus, without access to local area networks (LANs).
Driving forces behind wireless technologies
Generally speaking, the core values looked for when deploying wireless technologies are:

Immediacy: instant communication, regardless of where the user is.

Mobility: independence of fixed infrastructure (except for access points).

Context Sensitivity: services may depend on or vary with e.g. location, time, day.

Personalization: services may depend on the authentication/user of the person using it.
Major types of wireless technologies
Two basic approaches are used to apply wireless technology: wireless replacement and wireless mobile.
Wireless Replacement: is used where wiring would be somehow possible, but would be either cumbersome or very expensive. Solutions can be grouped as:

WLANs (Wireless Local Area Networks): to extend the coverage of the wired core of a corporate environment.

SOHOs (Small Office Home Office): similar to
WLANs but for short range needs. Interference by microwave ovens and cordless telephones are of special interest here.

PANs (Personal Area Networks): mostly for intercommunication of peripherals, such as mice, keyboards, printers, etc. It usually uses Bluetooth technology.

Cordless telephones make a special case, that generally use the DECT standard (Digital Enhanced
Cordless Telephone) or its supposed replacement
SWAP (Shared Wireless Access Protocol).
For the needs of our project, we will look closer at the WLANs:

Standards: Today there exist 802.11a, b and g, where b is the oldest and slowest one (up to 11Mbps), but also the most standard.

Compatibility: b and g work in the same frequency range and are compatible. Multiband devices
(especially clients) allow connection with any standard.


Speeds: go up to 54Mbps (802.11a or 802.11g), shared amongst all users. If b and g share access point, all the devices connect at lowest speed!

Interference: Because 802.11b and g work in the
2.4GHz frequency range (like cordless phones, microwave ovens or bluetooth), because of their widespread use, their coverage, and limited channels
(only 3), interference is a common problem with these two standards. 802.11a works in the 5GHz only, with
12 channels available, so it is ideal for reducing interference. Nevertheless, newer appliances include additional mechanisms to reduce interference.

Range: 802.11a only 180 feet, b and g up to 300 feet.
Nevertheless, distance varies strongly depending on environment (walls, trees, interference, etc.) and
(antennae) technology used. Generally speaking, g and b cover more distance than a.
All of these standards need free line-of-sight in order to provide full connection.

Costs: the cheapest are 802.11b and g – a can be up to four times as expensive.
Table 1: Here's how the three wireless LAN standards stack up against each other[1]:
Standard
Number of channels
802.11a
X
802.11b 802.11g
Interference
Bandwidth
X
X X
Power consumption
Range/ penetration
Upgrade/ compatability
Price
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X indicates superior technology or feature.
Wireless Mobile: generally uses a WWAN (Wireless
Wide Area Network), which makes it possible to access web applications using cellular phone devices; assuming that the mobile unit is within the area of coverage defined by the cellular phone service supplier. You usually use one of the local cellular services providers, which offer coverage of a significant part of Colombia and even with other countries.
Wireless Mobile features:

Uses a local cellular network provider
(CDMA/GSM).

Development steps specified in Generations. In developed countries 3G is getting widely adopted, in
Colombia 2G+ is still dominating. 3G+ is already in definition stage.

Speeds: up to 384Kbps for 2G+, 2Mbps for 3G.

Technology used depends on the country.
Both approaches -Wireless Replacement and Wireless Mobile- enable a user to access information on the Internet, including the possibility of sending e-mails, and using IM (Instant
Messaging) or Chat and Web applications.
General distinctive characteristics of wireless technologies include:

Spectrum used – range of frequency used.

Transmission speeds supported.

Transmission mechanisms (FDMA, TDMA, CDMA, etc.).

Infrastructure: in-building/enterprise, fixed, mobile.

Technology and standards support of the country or region.
Additional characteristics of wireless mobile include:

Control of transmitted power.

Radio resource management and channel allocation.

Coding algorithms.

Network topology and frequency use.

Handoff mechanisms.

Optional G-independence.
Application development platforms
When developing applications for small-screen interfaces with low bandwidths (such as typically found in handheld devices), any of several protocols can be used: Wireless Application
Protocol (WAP), cHTML (deployed by DoCoMo), Short
Message Service (SMS), and Java 2 Platform Mobile Edition
(J2ME). The decision basically depends on the services needed and the diversity of access devices used. The first three are netcentric and therefore rely on continuous connection, whereas
J2ME also allows working locally on the device (i.e., autonomously). An interesting side benefit of working locally is the optimizing of battery use (because of fewer transmissions).
If, however, a technology supported by a wide range of devices is needed, you would be best off with a WAP; and, where possible, using XML for data interchange.
Effective user interface and application design differs from normal software development because of the technical limitations of communication bandwidths and end-user devices.
For example, the user interface of most handheld devices makes it difficult to navigate through complex menus and to enter large data strings.
When designing an interface for handheld devices you should use the following [2]:

Shallow rather than deep hierarchy.

Layered sequential process rather than field selection process.

Proximate selection method, which makes objects located nearby easier to choose

Minimal-attention interfaces.
Common uses
The most frequent use of information and wireless technologies is information exchange between databases and Web applications for final access by the end-user. The information sent or received by the mobile device is transferred directly to the servers to be saved in appropriate files.
In addition, the end-user has access to a wide range of common
Internet services such as e-mail, IM, and Web browsing, limited only by the hardware characteristics and operating system of the end-user’s device.
ALTERNATE APROACHES AND THE SOLUTION
CHOSEN

The two basic types of necessities -on and off campus connectivity- match the wireless replacement and wireless mobile technologies, respectively.
After first assessing the then-available mobile phone and radio communications, we started with the on-campus connectivity problem, and so examined the wireless replacement technology.
On-campus connectivity
Because of the need for both speed and access range, we chose
WLAN technology. When we started with the Project, IEEE
802.11b was the common standard, with a maximum (shared) bandwidth of 11 Mbps. IEEE 802.11a already existed, but because of its high costs, compared with 802.11b, and our need for long distance cover, we chose the latter.
Instead of having many repeaters around the campus, we installed a central system on a tower (30 m high) near the center of the deployment area, which simplified support and cut costs.
Despite the ranges specified by the standards, the antenna covered a distance of about 1 km around the central point, wherever there was a clear line of sight.
As for the access devices, we could choose between cellular phones, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), laptops, or rugged
PCs.
When we started the Project, cellular phones offered a poor interface, basically designed for making voice calls. Only just now are sophisticated devices with keyboards coming out, but for data communications, they still are more difficult to handle than laptops or PDAs (although this situation may change by the time this paper is published!). Laptops are weighty and bulky, compared with PDAs, and their screens more difficult to read outdoors. Unfortunately, neither is resistant to such environmental hazards as water, shock, and dust, commonly found in fieldwork.
Eventually, we decided to focus on PDAs and rugged PCs, and to use J2EE as the software platform for the initial tests, mainly because it is our standard development platform.
Table 2: Details of the solution implemented
WLAN Hardware 2.4GHz, central system
(for 802.11b) PDA
WLAN Security
WWAN Hardware
Software development
Rugged PC
Digital camera for PDA
Bar code scanner for PDA
WLAN PC-Card
MAC address filtering
G2.5, CDMA 1.x
CDMA 1.x cellular PC-Card
Local provider
J2EE
HTML
Services provided
This network enabled researchers to perform the following functions:

Collect data in the field, with online access to databases on the Center’s network, and introduce new or updated data into the databases.

Consult databases in real-time and access Web applications containing historical data that can be used for decision-making.

Optimize data capture, using a bar code scanner and inconsistency data checks in the existing applications to minimize errors.

From the field, consult information on diverse research topics by accessing search engines and Web pages offering important information through the
Internet.

Capture and send voice, data, and images directly from the field.

Collaborate with colleagues, exchanging opinions and suggestions on specific research topics, via e-mail,
IM, or Chat in real-time.
Wireless mobile connectivity (using cellular technology) was tested for different remote locations in southwestern Colombia.
Management of wireless technology
The support personnel for wired technologies also manage, support, and maintain the wireless system. These services are therefore integrated with those for wired technologies.
Taking advantage of the close relationships existing between
CIAT and local universities, no formal education was needed for staff handling the new technology. The necessary knowledge was acquired through books, attending congresses, and receiving support from university staff.
Costs
To test and prove the usability of wireless technology at CIAT, investment was low (a few thousand U.S. dollars). Thanks to integration with the infrastructure of the wired system, operation costs have so far been negligible. Nevertheless, this may change when more projects start using wireless technology and the initial infrastructure needs upgrading.
PILOT APPLICATIONS
For the tests, we developed demonstration applications for access and use with wireless technology. Because of the many different projects available for testing, we selected according to researchers’ interest in the technology and the number of outdoor, on-campus sites where they worked.
Identifying Diseases of Forage Legumes and Grasses

Germplasm Passport Information
CIAT’s Genetic Resources Unit staff, when multiplying and characterizing germplasm, want to be able to access directly from field sites passport information and characterization data of accessions listed in their databases. This would help them complete and update their databases on beans, forages, and cassava, and thus improve their decision making.
Digital Field Book
A major goal for developing this application was to use predesigned, online, field books to capture data in magnetic form directly from field sites while accessing existing information in the databases. The digital field books replace the paper books, thus reducing time and errors in data capture, and permitting real-time updating of the databases.
Wireless Field Data Collector for the Genetic Resources
Unit
This application lets staff undertaking seed multiplication, and agronomic and morphologic characterization to consult the passport information, and collect and edit data in real-time.
WHERE TO NOW?
The success of deploying wireless technology for fieldwork by our researchers could be complemented by:

New pilot application projects.

Adding to the current wireless tools other peripherals such as portable printers.

Combining the development platform with J2ME to cover those researchers who want to use the system off-campus, and thus will not always be connected.
Minimizing communications also minimizes the battery power needed and thus helps personal devices to stay on longer.

Extending coverage to certain indoor and greenhouse areas used by researchers, and to some “dead” zones currently not covered because of impeding buildings and other constructions.

Upgrading current infrastructure to newer technology
(IEEE 802.11g; hybrid access devices, e.g., cellular phone and WLAN, 802.11a, b, and g compatible, with
QUERTY keyboard; enhanced security using WPA,
Radius and 802.1x; maybe WLAN switch).

Using GPS in combination with data capture for location-sensitive information.

Installing GPS and general mobile technology in
CIAT cars to improve security for our researchers off campus.
 Making CIAT’s information systems accessible to our clients, especially to poor farmers, through wireless mobile technology.

Including high-gain mobile technologies in cars, which would function as relays for the PDAs when researchers are off campus. Maybe this could be done with Wi-Max (IEEE 802.16) technology (see below).

In the future, by complementing or replacing bar code scanning with Radio Frequency Identification (RFID).
In addition, inventory management, maintenance, and technical support could profit from the installed infrastructure. For this, extra access points are needed to better cover indoor areas.
Upcoming technologies to take into account

Wi-Max, short for ‘Worldwide Interoperability for
Microwave Access,’ refers to any broadband wireless access network based on the new IEEE
802.16 standard. o IEEE 802.16 features: o Vendor interoperability, o >45km reach (ideal for rural areas), o Bandwidth up to 70Mbps (shared) – diminishes with distance, o Its primary use will be the interconnection of WLANs with Ethernet, because of its non-mobile antenna.


MIMO (multiple-input multiple-output): A technique for boosting wireless bandwidth and range by taking advantage of multiplexing.
MIMO algorithms in a radio chipset send information out over two or more antennas. The radio signals reflect off objects, creating multiple paths that in conventional radios cause interference and fading. But
MIMO uses these paths to carry more information, which is recombined on the receiving side by the
MIMO algorithms

The 802.11i protocol comes to improve security, e.g. with improved encryption using the Advanced
Encryption Standard (AES).

Seamless and immediate change/transition from wireless mobile to wireless replacement in the same end-user device will be possible.

Radio frequency identification (RFID) technology uses radio waves to transfer data between a reader device and an item, such as clothing or a shipping container (similar to barcode reading).

IEEE 802.15.4/ZigBee is intended as a specification for low-powered networks for such uses as wireless monitoring and control of lights, security alarms, motion sensors, thermostats and smoke detectors.
CONCLUSIONS
We can reliably access and store, in central databases, information from rural environments, using wireless technology.
While most providers and technical manuals talk about walls and buildings in relation to equipment’s reach, they rarely talk about trees. We found that trees between the end-user device and access points are far more disruptive than walls - a significant fact to consider when working in a rural environment. Hence, for this reason, but also to develop effective interface design, the conditions of use at each location and for each application must be thoroughly studied.
Wireless technologies help reduce errors by eliminating intermediate (paper) transcriptions, thus making data capture more efficient.
Our design of a central system mounted on a tower got the system running quickly at very low cost. But a full coverage of the campus, with no “dead” zones, needs a more complex infrastructure.
The effectiveness of wireless technology can be improved by using complementary input devices, such as digital cameras or bar code scanners, which we are already using.
Success on the campus opened the way for an off-campus equivalent, using wireless mobile technology.
Deployment of wireless technology presents new challenges in technical support, but it can be easily integrated with other information and communication technology infrastructure management.
In open fields, the distance range can be far more than the standards established for indoor solutions.
Testing against the Technology Acceptance Model and
Diffusion of Innovation framework
This framework specifies the following criteria to anticipate the acceptance of a new technology ([3]):

Relative Advantage: the degree to which the innovation is perceived as being better than the practice it supersedes;

Compatibility: the extent to which adopting the innovation is compatible with what people do;

Complexity: the degree to which an innovation is perceived as relatively difficult to understand and use;

Triability: the degree to which an innovation may be experimented with on a limited basis before making an adoption (or rejection) decision;

Observability: the degree to which the results of an innovation are visible to others.

Image: the degree to which adoption and use of the innovation is perceived to enhance one's image or status);

Trust: the extent to which the innovation adopter perceives the innovation provider to be trustworthy.

Influence of Friends, Working Group, Family,
Opinion Leaders.
This framework specifies criteria to anticipate the acceptance of a new technology ([3]). We think that the use of wireless technology generally complies with these criteria:

Relative advantage through reducing errors and gaining time.

Compatibility, thanks to using the same databases and similar interfaces. However, researchers must get used
 to a new kind of interface (the handheld device).

Complexity is reduced by designing interfaces that are easy to use and understand, and trying to ensure that users can do all they need with just one type of device,

Triability thanks to the demonstration applications created,

Observability, that is, partners and third parties see increased efficiency and, at least potential for, greater sharing of systems,
Image, because wireless technology is currently one of the “hottest” communication technologies and is likely to remain so in the foreseeable future,

Trust, because we are actively working to reduce errors.

As for other influences, for this paper we took into account the fact that wireless technologies are generally recommended for this type of use.
We conclude that most researchers of the CGIAR Centers would accept working with wireless technologies for the reasons listed above.
Social impact
CIAT is a tropical American regional center, but its work has a global reach. Currently, about two-thirds of our resources are

dedicated to research for tropical America, while the remaining third is divided between Africa and Asia. CIAT has offices in
Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Ethiopia, France,
Honduras, Kenya, Laos, Malawi, Nicaragua, Peru, the
Philippines, Rwanda, Tanzania, Thailand, Uganda, the USA, and Zimbabwe. Thus, to the extent that our Wireless Project is successful, it can be replicated at many other locations, and
CIAT can play a leading role in introducing and applying wireless technology in many rural regions of the world.
CIAT is collaborator in many projects involving information technology—especially in rural areas, where people may use, for example, methodologies and tools for territorial planning or information systems for rural agroenterprise development. The experience gained and the facilities created through this Project will be very useful for facilitating access to such tools from rural areas. Our information systems could be made more readily accessible to clients, especially rural development professionals.
REFERENCES
[1] Hurwicz M. The ABGs of wireless LANs. Network World
Fusion. 2002. http://www.nwfusion.com/techinsider/2002/0520wlan/052
0feat1.html
[2] Lee Y. E., Benbasat I. Interface Design for Mobile
Commerce. Communications of the ACM. Vol. 46. No. 12.
2003. pp. 49 – 52.
[3] Karahanna E., Straub D., and Chervany N. Information technology adoption across time: A cross-sectional comparison of pre-adoption and post-adoption beliefs. MIS
Quarterly, 23, 1999, pp. 183-207.