The Mobile Revolution: One Laptop Per Child (OLPC)

The One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project was set up to cater for the world's poorest children living in its most remote environments. The laptop was designed collaboratively by academic and commercial contributors, as part of this non-profit humanitarian project. They set out to design a safe, power-efficient, robust and durable laptop that would cost only $100.

The laptop is designed to be extremely robust. It has rounded edges and 2mm-thick plastic walls. It has no internal hard drive (which makes it less prone to hard drive crashes and viruses). It has only two internal cables. Its mesh network antennas double as external covers for the USB ports, which are protected internally as well. The display is also cushioned by internal 'bumpers'. It has a sealed, rubber-membrane keyboard. The dual-mode, extra-wide touchpad supports pointing, as well as drawing and writing.

The laptop is fully compliant with the European Union's RoHS Directive. It contains no hazardous materials. Its NiMH batteries contain no toxic heavy metals, plus it features enhanced battery management for an extended recharge-cycle lifetime. The laptop can get by using very little power, maximum power use is 500 mA (total), while it nominally consumes less than two watts. This can be achieved by selectively suspending operation of the CPU and by using the screen in reflective mode, when it consumes only 0.2 watts.

Initially, the laptop was designed to come with an integrated handle, to work as a hand crank to charge the laptop by hand. It can be also be powered by a pedal or a pull-cord, and it will also work with alternate power-charging sources, such as car batteries.