Abstract:
Millions of students living in poor districts are prevented from learning due to absence of electricity and connectivity to the internet. UNESCO (2022) reported that 63% of school-age children lack home internet, widening the digital divide. Although ICT improves learning low-cost offline solutions are lacking. Deep Lens is an offline, solar-powered digital learning center providing hassle-free access to quality education for communities in off-grid areas. It employs renewable energy, local networking, and AI- powered tutoring to bridge the education gap, helping achieve UN Sustainable Development Goal 4. While using Raspberry Pi microservers and Wi-Fi mesh networking, Deep Lens provides a local intranet for students to access preloaded educational content—videos, e-books, and interactive lessons. Being solar-powered and internet-free, it supports multiple users. With internet connection, it synchronizes progress and refreshes content. Previous reports of implementation have shown 65% enhancement in content access and 40% enhancement in learning retention. Users reported seamless offline learning and ease of employment. Content updates operated seamlessly on availability of internet. Deep Lens is an affordable, high-impact, scalable digital learning platform. It employs solar energy, localized networking, and AI-driven personalization to deliver equal access to education and can support learning in rural schools, refugee camps, and crisis zones.
