TED Residency
Carlos Bautista: The awful logic of land mines -- and an app that helps people avoid them
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Fifty years of armed conflict in Colombia has left the countryside riddled with land mines that maim and kill innocent people who happen across them. To help keep communities safe from harm, TED Resident Carlos Bautista is developing an app to track land mines -- and direct travelers away from them. Learn more about how this potentially life-saving tool could promote peace in countries plagued by land mines once conflicts end.
Carlos Bautista - Entrepreneur, creative technologist
TED Resident Carlos Bautista wants to close the information and technology gap for people in developing countries. Full bio
TED Resident Carlos Bautista wants to close the information and technology gap for people in developing countries. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
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When you walk around
the place where you live,
the place where you live,
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most of the times,
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you feel pretty safe
and comfortable, right?
and comfortable, right?
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Now imagine if there were land mines
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buried right here,
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scattered around,
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and you'd never know
when you might step on one.
when you might step on one.
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That's how it is for many
in my home country, Colombia.
in my home country, Colombia.
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As a result of a 50-year
internal armed conflict,
internal armed conflict,
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we have an undetermined
number of land mines
number of land mines
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buried throughout the countryside,
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affecting more than one third
of the Colombian population.
of the Colombian population.
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These anti-personnel mines
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are designed to maim,
not to kill their targets.
not to kill their targets.
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The logic behind this, which is awful,
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is that more resources are taken up
caring for an injured soldier
caring for an injured soldier
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than dealing with a person
who has been killed.
who has been killed.
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I met Adriana Rodriguez
about five years ago
about five years ago
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while I was working
for the Colombian government
for the Colombian government
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as a documentary filmmaker.
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During the conflict,
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she was forced to leave her house ...
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with her kids in her arms.
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One day, one of her neighbors was killed
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while he stepped on a land mine.
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He was actually inside
an abandoned house, not outside,
an abandoned house, not outside,
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a house exactly like the one
Adriana was forced to leave.
Adriana was forced to leave.
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Ever since, she has been living
with the fear that she, or her children,
with the fear that she, or her children,
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might step on a land mine.
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You know, the Colombian conflict
has been running for so long
has been running for so long
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that neither me nor my mom
have seen our country in peace,
have seen our country in peace,
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and for someone like me,
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who has been living detached
from all this suffering,
from all this suffering,
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there was only two options:
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either I get used to it,
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or I can try to change it
with all my heart.
with all my heart.
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And I have to admit
that for almost 30 years,
that for almost 30 years,
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I was getting used to it, you know?
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But something changed for me
when I met my wife.
when I met my wife.
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She is a political scientist
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completely passionate
about the Colombian armed conflict.
about the Colombian armed conflict.
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She helped me to understand
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how deeply our country has
been affected by land mines and by war.
been affected by land mines and by war.
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We decided to come here
to the United States
to the United States
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in search of new skills
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that would enable us to contribute
in a fair way to our society,
in a fair way to our society,
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and maybe even help heal it.
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While in grad school,
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I started developing
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an augmented reality,
really broad application
really broad application
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to help military personnel
to deactivate land mines more safely.
to deactivate land mines more safely.
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During that time, I also realized
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that Colombia is not
the only country in the world
the only country in the world
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that has to worry about land mines.
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In fact, more than 58 countries
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are still contaminated
with any sort of explosive device.
with any sort of explosive device.
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Only in 2015, due to an escalation of war
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in countries like Libya,
Syria, Ukraine and Yemen,
Syria, Ukraine and Yemen,
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the number of land mines almost doubled,
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from 3,695 to 6,461 people.
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Imagine that.
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While some countries
are trying to get rid of land mines,
are trying to get rid of land mines,
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some others are increasing their use.
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But what happens when a conflict
that involved land mines
that involved land mines
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comes to an end?
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There are two consequences.
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On the one hand,
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the internally displaced population
will start returning to their lands,
will start returning to their lands,
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and on the other hand,
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hidden land mines are going
to start exploding more often
to start exploding more often
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on the civilian side.
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That's the reason why I decided to join
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the Computer Science Department at NYU,
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along with Professor Claudio Silva
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to start to develop an app
called MineSafe.
called MineSafe.
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MineSafe uses information
from the community
from the community
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to suggest paths that have been declared
as the most transited
as the most transited
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without accident or incident
caused by a land mine.
caused by a land mine.
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These traffic patterns
can also be used to determine
can also be used to determine
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the top priority zones to be de-mined.
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Almost 15 million people are living now
in the countryside of Colombia.
in the countryside of Colombia.
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Imagine, for a moment, if we can
crowdsource information from all of them
crowdsource information from all of them
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to help people like Adriana
and her children
and her children
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to find safe and reliable paths.
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This information
can not only be used for that.
can not only be used for that.
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This information can also help them
to become more productive.
to become more productive.
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Farmers will be able to find
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which lands have been cleared
from explosive devices,
from explosive devices,
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and in that way, they will be able
to find new, fertile grounds
to find new, fertile grounds
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to start growing food again.
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MineSafe has now a partnership
with the Colombian government
with the Colombian government
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for the initial pilot,
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and we have now some connections
with Cambodia and Somalia as well.
with Cambodia and Somalia as well.
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This project is being funded
by private money
by private money
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here in the United States,
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but we don't want to stop here.
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We want to go big,
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and we want to scale the project
to every single place
to every single place
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where land mines are still a threat.
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The Colombian armed conflict
is finally coming to an end,
is finally coming to an end,
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but the consequences of years of war
are still buried under our feet.
are still buried under our feet.
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We at MineSafe are working
to help both people and land
to help both people and land
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to find peace.
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Thank you.
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05:57
(Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Carlos Bautista - Entrepreneur, creative technologistTED Resident Carlos Bautista wants to close the information and technology gap for people in developing countries.
Why you should listen
Carlos Bautista is working to develop MineSafe: a crowd-sourced information system for people in landmine-affected areas around the world. MineSafe aimsto analyze and deliver safe paths and reliable information for their daily commutes.
Bautista in an entrepreneur and creative technologist who has collaborated with other professionals to create a number of companies and research projects, ranging from a tailored shoe company to an augmented reality app that helps military personnel to deactivate landmines. He's worked with start-ups in New York City, helping them to develop and implement technological tools to enhance their educational services, using human-centered design methodologies.
As a professor, Bautista coached a team of young women during the summer of 2017, guiding them through the design thinking process at the Cornell and CUNY Women in Technology in NY (WiTNY) program. This experience allowed students to experiment with the use of empathy to develop successful technological products. Bautista has also taught classes at the Politécnico Grancolombiano in interactive design, 3D design and animation, web design, augmented reality and descriptive geometry. Bautista led the process of opening the Industrial Design program in Politécnico Grancolombiano, which opened in 2015.
Bautista is based in NYC working as a research associate at Tandon School of Engineering's computer science department, under the supervision of professor Claudio Silva, Interim Director of Center for Data Science. Together they are working to develop MineSafe to help people in rural areas of the world to move freely and safely without worrying about landmines.
Carlos Bautista | Speaker | TED.com