APJ Abdul Kalam once said: "You were born with wings. Don’t crawl. Learn to use them to fly and fly." On World Students' Day that marks Kalam’s birthday, we talk to 9-year-old Hiten Gautam and 16-year-old Sarthak Jain both students from Modern Public School at Shalimar Bagh, who have created new devices to help people maintain social distancing in this new normal.
Contactless taps and soap dispensers
Class 5 student, Gautam, has innovated a device made using ultrasonic sensors, buzzer, and LED light that gets power supply from a 5 volt adapter. "I did coding using Arduino software that sets the distance as per the need. Whenever an object comes within 10 cm from the sensor, the buzzer goes off and the LED glows," he said. Gautam took five days to make the device that can turn sensor taps, soap dispensers and electric switches into contactless devices.
“It can be worn as a wristband to maintain social distancing in public places,” he adds. Gautam was inspired seeing the projects that his seniors had uploaded on the school’s Facebook page and videos about ultrasonic sensors. With his coding skills and help from his teachers at Atal Tinkering Lab at his school – Atal innovation Mission labs set up in schools, he built a device.
His mother Jyoti Shahraja says he was always a fast learner and a curious child. "He used to dismantle his toys with screwdrivers to see how these were made. He even made a robotic car that asks people who come in its range to maintain social distancing," she adds.
Gautam is now creating a robot that functions on solar energy. He wants to follow Kalam’s footsteps and become a scientist. He has also entered the third level in the National level Drawing and Painting Competition organised by the APJ Abdul Kalam International Foundation.
Smart doorbell
Seeing the COVID-19 cases escalating and few people still not wearing a face mask, prompted Class 11 non-medical student Sarthak Jain to start with protecting the periphery of his own home. In time, he devised Smart Doorbell, where you don’t have to touch the bell to ring it.
"The virus can spread if an affected person touches the bell. So, with the help of my teachers in our school and the Arduino software, I created the robotics device from two ultrasonic sensors, wires, a buzzer and a power bank for power supply. When you hover your hand within the range of 15-20 cm over the bell, it will ring. It was a sensor-based sanitiser vending machine that motivated me to make this device. It can be made by spending Rs 500, excluding the cost of the power bank," Jain adds.
In future, he wants to create a system that can prevent rape. Jain has already won recognition as Minister of Education , Ramesh Pokhriyal, tweeted about his project.