Meet BRCK, a Backup Generator for the Internet

In short it is a small form-factor router that has WiFi/Ethernet/4G input and WiFi/Ethernet output. So you can connect to the device using an ethernet cable or WiFi and the BRCK will connect you to the Internet via an ethernet connection, a wifi signal or a 4G (cellular) signal.

The brick also has an internal battery pack, which is handy, and for the hardware geeks the BRCK has a number of connectors on the motherboard allowing you to connect different types of sensors which can then be remotely read and managed.

So what's the buzz?   First of all it's Ushahidi's first venture into the hardware domain and coupled with a Kickstarter campaign it has a high touchy-feely factor. Everyone loves Ushahidi (so do I) and the Kickstarter campaign let's you actually make a real tangible contribution. On top of that the BRCK seems to have a fairly easy to use configuration GUI which allows you to configure the unit via a mobile app. This is pretty cool but not unique. I addition the BRCK is cloud managed meaning that you can access, monitor and manage the device form anywhere in the world pending that both you and the device have internet access. Again,very handy feature but not unique either.

Lastly according to the spec the BRCK will seamlessly switch between whatever backhaul is available. Now this is a nice feature and not one that many manufacturers have done well. If they get this to work it will make the unit a lot easier to use especially for less technically skilled people. They've also included an external antenna connector allowing the use of different types of antennas which can improve the range as well as an USB port which I presume is for external storage. The OS for the unit appears to be an Open Source type as they mention that it can be modified and that "apps" can be developed for it. Cool, but not completely new.

Would I buy it? Yes I would, for $200 it is definitely worth playing around with and testing. However as with any new hardware product time will tell. There are an awful lot of steps between a working prototype and a mass produced product and the mechanics of production can mean that certain features will be dropped or changed. Is it something that I would build a mesh network on, either during disaster response or as part of a resilient network? No, not at this time. The BRCK would need a lot more real life testing before I trust it to be reliable enough for that as well as that in my opinion there are too many features being crammed into one product which means that there will be lots of things that can "break".

Considering all that I did back it on Kickstarter ;-)

Hope this makes sense.

Evert.