Miss.Africa Digital Program recently caught up with Ms. Paloma Muzoma, (Co Founder – Pamtech Designs and Systems, Zimbabwe) – Pamtech Designs and Systems, is a creative ICT Consultancy dedicated to the development and optimisation of high- impact websites, graphics, digital marketing, web and mobile applications that fuel competitive advantage and revenue growth.
They also educate and train young girls, at an early stage to identify problems and try solving them using technology like IoT, coding and graphic design. This also keeps the young ones from doing bad things on the internet like watching adultery stuff, cyberbullying and drugs and street crime by keeping them occupied with something that they can also potential benefit from monetary
1. Can you tell us about this project that has applied for the 2022 Miss Africa Digital Seed Fund Awards?
Trapeed is a 24/7 digital IoT device and mobile-web application used to help control traffic congestion. The device uses artificial intelligence to calculate traffic light timings, i.e. if its peak hours the roads with more traffic gets longer green lights time unlike the other.
Some of the data that is used to calculate is taken from google maps data and together with some of the data it has saved in the database it is able to calculate which days and time schedules are possibly safer for people to travel. IoT also has camera scanners which number plates has passed which can be used to detect stolen cars by number plate.
How it works:
IoT device acts as a traffic light, the same way a traffic police officer would do on the road but with exceptions of being able to calculate which side of the road has more cars than the other
Can work 24-7 unlike a human which can be tired.
The camera’s on the IoT device can scan number plates as they pass, when a car that has been reported to police passes by, it will report its movement
The mobile app can be used to check road congestion before travelling
The application can also give weekly traffic reports on which routes had traffic jams, the daytime it had, which can be useful to someone who wants to travel on time.
2. What are some of the challenges you are trying to address with your project?
Traffic congestion headaches and fuel consumption are high, being late to work or school.
Car theft alarming when the car moves around.
Police officers in traffic jams get tired of controlling traffic
Unknown which routes have traffic and what times.
3. How are you bringing innovative approaches to these problems?
Integration, used as a traffic light simulator for intersection changing (turning green, amber, and red).
Mobile and web application development, programming using flutter and Laravel.
Real-time data access, you can search whichever places you would like to travel and see how the routes time has traffic
Data analytics to estimate daytimes where there is less traffic to travel.
Integration with other applications like google maps to enhance its usability.
4. How does it feel to gain international recognition for your work?
Gaining international recognition will be one of the best things to have happened to our organizations, not only does it validate that we exist, but we are also trying to empower women and girls with digital skills, and programs and be able to work and earn for themselves, with the organization being female owned setting up an example to the woman.
This is a lifetime achievement that women can also do, women can solve real problems with digital solutions. More so it serves as motivation to do more good work, with or without anyone watching, good work always pays up and comes to light.
5. Can you explain why skills for women in tech are so important?
Tech skills for women are important since they are a way for earning a decent living for women and they also help solve problems in the simplest ways (creative thinking) and use technology.
6. What in your opinion should be done to address the digital skills gap in Africa?
The more we equip young girls with digital skills at an earlier stage, the easier it becomes to adapt to the new world of technology.
Ms. Paloma Muzoma, (Co-Founder – Pamtech Designs and Systems, Zimbabwe)
Pamtech Designs and Systems is a creative ICT Consultancy dedicated to the development and optimization of high- impact websites, graphics, digital marketing, web and mobile applications that fuel competitive advantage and revenue growth. Read More