Mobile phone – Invented in 1973 by Martin Cooper of Motorola, the first mobile phone weighed two pounds and cost more than $4,000. Today, more than 6 billion people use cell phones.
Mobile phones are the fastest growing technology ever.
2012 – 91% of Americans have cell phones. Only 36.5 percent of people in America have landline phones. About .2 % of Americans have HAM radios.
The first hand-held mobile phone was demonstrated by Motorola in 1973, using a handset weighing around 2.2 pounds (1 kg). In 1983, the DynaTAC 8000x was the first to be commercially available. From 1990 to 2011, worldwide mobile phone subscriptions grew from 12.4 million to over 6 billion, penetrating about 87% of the global population.
- More people have access to mobile phones than they do toilets, and mobile gaming is one of the fastest growing industries in the world.
Mobile Phones – Designing, Testing and Manufacturing – The process of making mobile phones. From designs on paper, through testing and finally manufacturing the actual product.
- Cell Phone is actually an extremely sophisticated radio
- SMS – text messaging
Some examples of mobile phone uses
- In Kenya, people are accustomed to using mobile phones when selling livestock. .
- banking
- education
- controlling sensors that are part of a business
- payment for goods and services
- medical diagnosis and treatment
- and, of course, voice communication
Mobile phones are benefiting people around the world. Here are some really innovative uses
- free American Red Cross apps – provide lifesaving information on how to prepare for and react to occurrences such as tornados, hurricanes and critical health crises, to guide you and the people around you safely through a crisis. They are the Tornado app, the Hurricane app, the Wildfire app, the Earthquake app, the Shelter Finder app and the First Aid app.
- SkinVision – a mobile app to analyze and monitor moles. Upload images of moles on your skin from your smart phones using the mobile application. A mathematical algorithm developed by a team of dermatologists, mathematicians and computer scientists, analyzes the mole and provides a risk classification, telling you whether the mole is suspicious or not suspicious. The app encourages you to either see a dermatologist, carefully monitor changes or simply stay alert. This way, you are quickly alerted to any potential danger.
- Mobile games teach vital survival skills – the mobile and gaming worlds are coming together to create social change, as they set out to fight the tragic cases of unhealthy pregnancies, intestinal worm infections and the unfairly inferior value of a girl’s life in developing countries. Half the Sky: Mobile Games seek to engage players around issues that women and girls face to improve their lives and the lives of their families with fun and meaningful gameplay.
- Mobile Alliance for Maternal Action (MAMA) – using technology mothers’ already own – mobile phones, provides informative text messages to mothers in low-income families, who live in countries with elevated maternal and infant mortality rates. Mobile health messages are portable, accessible 24/7, discreet for those who might be afraid to ask, and can be saved or shared. MAMA provides messages arranged by “age and stage” to cover weeks 5 to 42 of pregnancy, and the first year of the baby’s life. These messages include antental care, nutrition, vaccination, and family planning. Other messages addresses issues like how to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV. MAMA’s life-saving messages are provided completely free of charge.
What’s the problem?
- Ask – Worldwide mobile phone subscriptions have grown to over 6 billion, penetrating about 87% of the global population. Why are mobile phones so popular?
- Imagine – Mobile phones have largely replaced landline phones. How has this make providing service easier?
- Design, Build – How is it possible for so many people people to get cell phones so quickly?
- Improve – What do you think is needed to make a better mobile phone?
That’s engineering
A cell phone combines technologies, mainly telephone, radio, and computer. Cell phones work as two-way radios. They send electromagnetic microwaves from base station to base station. The waves are sent through antennas. This is called wireless communication.
Engineering ideas
- electromagnetic wave, antenna, wireless
Do it
Here are some challenges for you to work on…
- Design a cell phone – online game to design a cell phone for older people. Understand the requirements. Learn about the product design process
engineering 4 kids 