nimble
open source. Portable. Offline First.
nimble Wins Best Overall Proof-of-Concept in the 2021 IEEE Connecting the Unconnected Challenge
257 entries from 69 nations, and $60,000 in cash prizes…and nimble rose to the top!
To learn more about the Challenge and the 2021 CTU Summit click here:
model – m
- Small and light enough to be a carry-on for international flights
- Less than 1000 EUR (not including the power bank)
- Can handle thousands of users (with additional mesh APs)
- <100 Watts. Power via power bank, AC wall charger, USB, solar, car power port, laptop adapter and more
- Build locally with existing network hardware
- Rack and shelves 100% 3D Printed
hardware specs
software specs
The nimble is powered by what we’ve started to call Lokal – an open source platform that can be installed on the nimble or other servers (global or local).
Read more about Lokal here.
The nimble is currently being used to expand the reach and functionality of existing community networks (South Africa), and to enable digital literacy training in remote Indigenous communities (Canada).
Here are some potential use cases for the nimble:
- Disaster/Humanitarian response – Quickly build communications infrastructure for response coordination.
- COVID-19 Shutdowns – Share internet connection, COVID-19 information and educational resources with affected communities.
- Community Networks – Start a new network, or add offline content & services and start selling vouchers in an existing network.
- IoT Integration – Collect and disseminate sensor data through the network.
- Portable Homelab – Easy network transfer and setup for frequent travelers
- Rural schools and community centers – Conduct eLearning & provide educational content, offline or online.
- Remote events and festivals – Provide internet or offline content in remote areas.
- Field data collection, storage and sharing – Store and share data collected from mobiles on the go.
- Video and audio calling and messaging
- High-speed file-sharing and synchronization
- Voucher Sales – Share and sell access to your internet connection
- Wireless network management
- Social eLearning: build, run and take courses offline or online
- Accessing educational content – videos, books, courses
- Building and hosting local websites and blogs
- Media streaming
- Playing games and hosting game servers
- Collaborative document and spreadsheet creation
- Downloading files/torrents (like Kiwix education ZIMs)
- Social Networking and forums
- Reading and organizing e-books
- Building photo and video galleries
- Conducting surveys, polls and questionnaires
- Collecting ethical usage and traffic analytics
- Much more!
Yes! That’s the point. Build on what you already have. Our goal is to make that easier for you.
Yes! Reach out to info@wakoma.co for pre-built options.
Yes! We are soon launching a e-store where anyone can buy a kit with all the 3D printed parts needed to build a nimble.
Just buy and add the hardware and you’re off(line)!
In the meantime reach out to info@wakoma.co for kits.
We’re currently developing a self-guided & social eLearning course on how to plan, design, print, assemble and use a nimble.
We’ll post updates here when it’s ready!
These files are shared under the Creative Commons License: CC BY-SA 4.0.
For users that need things like PiHole, UniFiPi, IoT, etc…
The GPIO pins come in handy for users who want to connect sensors for things like water or air quality monitoring.
The RPi can also be a super low-power fallback solution when only a power bank or small solar panel is available.
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